In Hidden Chambers.
The splendour of mediæval days when feasting in the great hall of the baron or overlord has been revealed by many noted finds. The great kitchens of those mansions were full of copper and brass, and it is from such supplies that many of the best authenticated specimens have come. Some are historical; even bronze caldrons and more modest-looking saucepans have been made to the order of some mediæval chieftain or baron.
The life of the common people of this country varied little between the days of the Norman Conquest and those of the Tudor sovereigns who held court in the houses of the nobility. The dress, costume, and rough splendour of the Elizabethan age had its effect, however, on the homes of courtiers and eventually of the common people. When the stormy times of the Civil War came there was a rude breaking up of the old order of things, and in Cromwellian days some preparation for the new which was to come. After the battlefield came the destruction of stronghold and mansion by order of the Parliament. Some escaped, and within the last century not a few domestic curios have been found during the restoration and rebuilding of old houses dating from the time of the Commonwealth. Priests' cells and secret chambers, sliding panels and concealed cupboards, and other hidden places were the rule rather than the exception at the time of the Civil War. In some of these long-forgotten places of concealment some very interesting domestic objects in copper and brass have been found during rebuilding and restoration.