OLD HOUSES AND FURNITURE.
To the Editor.
Sir,—A rare and valuable copy of “Holinshed’s Chronicles of Englande, Scotlande, and Irelande,” a black letter folio volume, with curious wood-cuts, “imprinted at London” in 1577, has lately fallen in my way, and afforded me considerable amusement. One chapter especially, in “The Seconde Booke of the Description of Britaine,” namely, “Cap. 10. Of the Maner of Buylding, and furniture of our Houses,” cannot fail, I think, to interest your readers.
After a very entertaining account of the construction of our ancient cottages and country houses before glass came into general use, this historian of the age of queen Elizabeth proceeds as follows:—
“The auncient maners and houses of our gentlemen are yet for the most part of strong tymber. Howbeit such as be lately buylded are commonly either of bricke, or harde stone, their rowmes large and stately, and houses of office farder distaunt fro their lodginges. Those of the nobilitie are likewise wrought with bricke and harde stone, as provision may best be made; but so magnificent and stately, as the basest house of a barren doth often match with some honours of princes in olde tyme; so that if ever curious buylding did flourish in Englande it is in these our dayes, wherein our worckemen excel and are in maner comparable in skill with old Vitrunius and Serlo. The furniture of our houses also exceedeth, and is growne in maner even to passing delicacie; and herein I do not speake of the nobilitie and gentrie onely, but even of the lowest sorte that have any thing ‘to take to.’[437] Certes, in noble men’s houses it is not rare to see abundance of arras, riche hangings of tapestry, silver vessell, and so much other plate as may furnish sūdrie cupbordes, to the summe ofte times of a thousand or two thousande pounde at the least; wherby the value of this and the reast of their stuffe doth grow to be inestimable. Likewise, in the houses of knightes, gentlemē, marchauntmen, and other wealthie citizens, it is not geson to beholde generallye their great provision of tapestrie, Turkye worke, pewter, brasse, fine linen, and therto costly cupbords of plate woorth five or sixe hundred pounde, to be demed by estimation. But as herein all these sortes doe farre exceede their elders and predecessours, so in tyme past the costly furniture STAYED THERE, whereas now it is descended yet lower, even unto the inferiour artificers and most fermers, who have learned to garnish also their cupbordes with plate, their beddes with tapestrie and silke hanginges, and their table with fine naperie, whereby the wealth of our countrie doth infinitely appeare. Neither do I speake this in reproch of any man, God is my judge, but to shew that I doe rejoyce rather to see how God hath blessed us with hys good giftes, and to behold how that in a time, wherein all thinges are growen to most excessive prices, we doe yet finde the meanes to obtayne and atchieve such furniture as hath heretofore been impossible.
“There are olde men yet dwelling in the village where I remayne, which have noted three things to be marveylously altered in Englande within their sound remembraunce. One is, the multitude of chimnies lately erected, wheras, in their young dayes there were not above two or three, if so many, in most uplandish townes of the realme, (the religious houses and mannour places of their lordes alwayes excepted, and peradventure some great personages,) but eache one made his fire against a reredosse in the hall, where he dined and dressed his meate.
“The second is the great amendment of lodginge; for, sayde they, our fathers, and we ourselves, have lyen full oft upon straw pallettes, covered onely with a sheete under coverlettes, made of dagswain or hop-harlots, (I use their own termes,) and a good round logge under their heades in steade of a boulster. If it were so that our fathers, or the good man of the house, had a matteress or flockbed, and therto a sacke of chafe to rest hys head upon, he thought himself as well lodged as the lorde of the towne; so well were they contented. Pillowes, sayde they, were thoughte meete onely for women in childbed. As for servants if they had any sheete above them it was well; for seldom had they any under their bodies to keepe them from the pricking strawes that ran oft thorow the canvass, and raced their hardened hides.[438]
“The thirde thinge they tell of is the exchange of treene platters into pewter, and woode spoones into silver or tin. For so cōmon were al sortes of treene vesselles in old time, that a man should hardly find four peces of pewter, of which one was, peradventure, a salte in a good farmer’s house; and yet for al this frugalitie, (if it may so be justly called,) they were scarse able to lyve and paye their rentes at their dayes without selling of a cow or a horse, or more, although they payde but foure poundes at the uttermost by the yeare. Such also was their poverty, that if a fermour or husbandman had been at the ale-house, a thing greatly used in those dayes, or amongst sixe or seaven of hys neyghbours, and there in a bravery to shewe what store he had did cast down his purse, and therein a noble, or sixe shillings in silver, unto them, it was very likely that all the rest could not lay downe so much against it: wheras, in my tyme, although peradventure foure pounde of olde rent be improved to fourty or fiftye pound, yet will the farmer think his gaines very small toward the middest of his terme, if he have not sixe or seaven yeres rent lying by him, therewith to purchase a newe lease, besides a faire garnish of pewter in his cowborde, three or foure feather beddes, so many coverlettes, and carpettes of tapestry, a silver salte, a bowle for wine, (if not an whole[439] neast,) and a dussen of spoones to furnishe up the sute. Thys also he taketh to be his owne cleare; for what stocke of money soever he gathereth in all his yeares, it is often seene that the landlorde will take such order with him for the same when he renueth his lease, which is commōly eight or ten yeares before it be expyred, sith it is nowe growen almost to a custome, that if he come not to his lorde so long before, another shall step in for a reversion, and so defeat him outright, that it shall never trouble him more, then the heare of his bearde when the barber hath washed and shaven it from his chinne.”
Submitting the above to the especial consideration of our “beaux” and “belles,” doctors and patients, landlords and farmers, and informing these last, that in the two reigns preceding land was let for one shilling per acre,
I remain, Mr. Editor,
yours respectfully,
N. S.
Morley, near Leeds,
October 15, 1827.
[437] “To tack to,” a very common expression among the lower classes hereabouts.
[438] It may be useful to note, that as the body is often called hereabouts the “carcass,” so the skin is the “hide.”
[439] I presume a “peg tankerd,” a “wassail cup,” a “porringer” or two, and a dozen “apostles’ spoons,” would seem a pretty “neast” in these days. As to the silver salte “thereby hangs a tale,” and a curious one too, as I have discovered since writing the above. See Drake’s “Illustrations of Shakspeare, &c.” vol. i. p. 74.