Back to the Intro Page
Even now most homes were still made from timber although the wealthy would have bricks covered in plaster between the timber frames. Those rich people would also have tiled roofs and would hang tapestries on the walls inside their houses. This was their way of not having to look at bare walls and also stopped the drafts coming in. There would be a fire, possibly at both ends of the great hall and the smoke from the fire would go up a chimney. These rich people could have a four poster bed, surrounded by curtains and with a canopy. Special servants might sleep in the same room in case the lord or his wife needed something in the night while the others would sleep on the floor of the main hall. In the very poor homes, everyone would share a bed. There were no pillows; you slept with your head on a wooden log. In the inns, guests would share a room with others. There were no single rooms. Very few homes would have a bathroom and people would bath in wooden tubs of hot water, either in the kitchen if they had one or in the main room if not, taking it in turns and using the same water. The youngest and smallest usually had cold, dirty water. The more wealthy put linen cloth on the bottom of the tub to stop them from getting splinters in the bottom; theirs not the tubs. The great Manor houses would have a great hall, a chapel, kitchens and stables as well as places to sleep. Beeswax candles scented the homes of the rich while the poor would have smelly, tallow candles.
Back to the Plantagenets Again Hoots - HomesForward to the Tudors Hoots - Homes
