Weavers Cottage Kitchen
Although called the kitchen, this room would be kitchen, living room and bedroom for the weaver and his family. They would have cooked on an open fire and the room would be lit by means of candles and fish-oil lamps - it doesn't take much to imagine what the smell would be like!.
There are two box-beds which are raised high off the floor to keep them away from the dampness produced by the original clay or earth floor.
Below one of the beds there is a truckle or hurley bed. This would have been pulled out at night for children to sleep on if needed.
The utensils on the table are made mainly from either wood or horn. You can also see a nutmeg grater . Nutmeg was very important to the people of this time as food was not always as fresh as it is today and the spice was used as seasoning.
A dresser is a set of shelves, usually also with cupboards or drawers, used for the displaying of dishes etc.. Not to be confused with a dressing table
Some other items that can be found here include a long stool that was used by the children.
There is a tinder box which was the only method of lighting the fire or candles. It was not easy to use, so the fire would be alight continuously almost every day and night. It would be damped down at night, and opened up again in the morning.
There is a small low seat, a nursing chair, which was very practical for a mother when nursing or bathing her baby.
The lighting for the room would be either by candles or fish oil lamps, so the atmosphere could become pretty smelly at times.
The spinning wheel would be used by either the mother or her daughters. They had to spin enough wool or cotton to keep the weaver supplied with enough pirins for his loom. Just in front of the spinning wheel you can see a wicker basket containing the wool or cotton.
The pirn is the Scots word for the spool of the shuttle. Wool is spun into thread and wound on to the pirn using the spinning wheel. Once the pirn is full it is inserted into the shuttle ready for the weaver to start weaving.
