Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Kitchens, Sculleries and Larders

From Geri Walton:
Kitchens were used for cooking and usually connected to Larders, Entrances, Sculleries, Dining-rooms, Sideboard-rooms, Servant-Halls, Steward-rooms, Housekeeper's room, and Still-rooms. The most important features of a good Kitchen was coolness, dryness, and good lighting. Ventilation was also of primary importance because people did not want odors or cooking smells permeating into a family's living quarters or greeting guests at the front door.

There were also several other things to consider when it came to Kitchens. These things included floors, entrances, and size. Stone floors were considered the best and the most practical because they helped keep the Kitchen dry and cool, but wood floors were also acceptable. Kitchens also usually had several entrances or exits that included one from a Corridor, one to the Scullery, and one to the Larders. If a Kitchen garden was present, it was also nice to have a door that opened onto it. A Kitchen for a small house might be no larger than 15 feet square with its ceilings at least 10 feet high. However, in mansions the Kitchen was usually somewhere between 18 and 30 feet with a ceiling height of 20 feet not considered too high.

It was always important to think about placement and access to a Kitchen. If a Kitchen was on a lower floor, there was always the danger of overheating the floors above. Entrances from the Kitchen to the Dining-room also needed to be as direct as possible, which meant no interfering traffic as direct routes allowed meals to be delivered to the Dining-room as quickly as possible, thereby ensuring they remained hot and fresh.(Read more.)
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