{"id":140,"date":"2014-07-06T15:18:45","date_gmt":"2014-07-06T14:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/?p=140"},"modified":"2019-01-27T20:15:36","modified_gmt":"2019-01-27T20:15:36","slug":"samuel-atcherleys-true-and-perfect-inventory-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/samuel-atcherleys-true-and-perfect-inventory-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Samuel Atcherley\u2019s true and perfect inventory \u2013 Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

< Back to Samuel Atcherley\u2019s true and perfect inventory \u2013\u00a0Part 1<\/a><\/p>\n

Our \u2018guided tour\u2019 of the house of Samuel Atcherley\u00a0[<\/a>], aided by the \u201ctrue and perfect Inventory\u201d of his possessions taken in 1731, continues. Once again, to save space the items listed below are not set out in the same format as in the inventory, but they follow the same order and all original spellings remain unchanged, including the use of \u2018ff\u2019 to represent an upper case F.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Parlour: <\/strong>Two Tables and 12 Chairs (\u00a31 13s); 12 old Pickters (4s); Toys on the Mantlepiece (1s 6d).<\/p>\n

A parlour, according to the 1854 publication Exercises on Etymology<\/em> by William Graham, is \u201cliterally, a room for conversation; from parler<\/em> (French), to speak \u2026\u201d. The earlier Universal Etymological English Dictionary (by Nathan Bailey, published 1773) describes it as \u201ca low Room to receive company in.\u201d With two tables and a dozen chairs, Samuel Atcherley\u2019s parlour was equipped a to receive a good number of guests. We can only speculate as to how often (and how many) guests were accommodated therein, what the subjects of the \u201cold Pickters\u201d (pictures) on the walls were, and what toys Samuel had upon his mantelpiece.<\/p>\n

Samuel had no young children of his own in 1731; his only child, John, was then in his late teens. He did however have nephews and nieces, the children of his \u201cDearly Beloved Brother Roger Atcherley\u201d and it is possible that Roger took them on trips from Shrewsbury to Sowbath from time to time to see their uncle Samuel. The \u2018toys\u2019 on Samuel\u2019s mantelpiece may not have been children\u2019s playthings however. The term was quite possibly used to described ornamental or decorative trinkets intended for the delight of adults. A list of commodities in a pamphlet dated 1738 includes \u201cTin, Lead, Leather, Toys of Gold and Silver, hard Wares of all sorts \u2026\u201d while another publication from 1719 refers to \u201cHatbands, Feathers, Fans, Girdles, Hoods, Masks, Looking-Glasses, Watches, Pictures, medals, Cabinets, Cases, Bracelets, Tablets, and other Toys\u201d.<\/p>\n

The mantelpiece, of course, indicates the presence of a fireplace \u2013 but the lack of a grate, fender or fire plate (all of which were present in the kitchen) suggests the absence of a fire, at least when there were no visitors.<\/p>\n

In the Pantery: <\/strong>One Cupboard (1s 6d); Four Wheels (4s); Hops (\u00a32).<\/p>\n

The presence of a cupboard here is not a surprise. The hops, one of many indications that brewing took place in Samuel Atcherley\u2019s home, well, why not keep them in the pantry. But the wheels? I find myself imagining Samuel\u2019s wife tutting loudly, if they had been stored in the pantry before she passed away!<\/p>\n

In the Celler: <\/strong>Ten Barrells (\u00a32 10s); Three Stillages (2s 6d); Three Doz\u2019n of Glass Bottles (3s 0d).<\/p>\n

More \"\"evidence of brewing is found in the cellar, in the form of barrels, stillages (racks for supporting the barrels, or casks of ale) and bottles. There was no shortage of guidance in print for those wishing to make their own beer. One such publication was A Guide to Gentlemen, Farmers, and House-keepers, for Brewing the Finest Malt-Liquors<\/em> (written by \u201ca Country Gentleman\u201d and published 1727 in Dublin). According to the preface to this tome: \u201cmiddling ALE, Brew\u2019d of the best Malt, Boil\u2019d, Fermented, and Depurated, according to Art; […] such Liquor is the most comfortable, and to be coveted Drink, the World perhaps ever yet found out […] Thus it quencheth that most insuperable Passion of Thirst, refresheth the Bowels, relieveth the Spirits and proveth a true Cordial in most outrageous scalding Fevers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brewing required water, malt (which we will find later in the Corn Chamber), and hops (which, as we have already seen, were stored in the pantry). The \u2018Country Gentleman\u2019 of Dublin recommended that \u201cHops must be bright, well-scented, will dry\u2019d, cur\u2019d, and bagg\u2019d; and, generally speaking, are best about a Year old.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the dairy: <\/strong>Two Cheese presses (\u00a31 1s); Wooden ware (\u00a31 16s); 3 Scarches (1s 6d); Scales and weights (3s).<\/p>\n

Lack of cold storage, particularly in the warmer months when production was at its peak, meant that in Samuel\u2019s day (and for more than a century after) milk could not be transported over great distances, nor kept for any great length of time after its production for later consumption locally. Butter and cheese on the other hand could be safely stored for longer periods, making such dairy products more marketable commodities.<\/p>\n

The parish of Stanton on Hine Heath, where Samuel had his home at Sowbath, fell within the southern part of the area of Cheshire cheese production. Shropshire historian Barrie Trinder has noted that inventories dating from the late 1600s and early 1700s, from nearby Shropshire parishes, \u201cdescribe well-equipped dairy farms, with relatively large milking herds, producing cheese as a cash product within a mixed farming economy.\u201d Samuel, who (as we will see later in his inventory) owned 12 cows, was far from being a large dairy farmer (other inventories mentioned by Trinder detailed dairy herds ranging in size from 13 to 137). Yet he was, I am certain, producing cheese commercially as it appears that he had over half a ton of it in his cheese chamber.<\/p>\n

The cheese presses in Samuel\u2019s dairy had a self-explanatory use (photos showing what they might have looked like can be found on the website of the University of Reading, see objects 51\/1246<\/a> and 58\/69<\/a>). The \u2018wooden ware\u2019 found there was perhaps also associated with cheese manufacture, and the scales and weights were no doubt used to quantify the output before it was sold. But what were \u2018scarches\u2019? While they may have been items otherwise known as sarches (items made of bristles, probably for scrubbing) I suspect that they were actually sieves or strainers (more often referred to as serces or searces) through which the milk used for cheese-making was first run.<\/p>\n

In the Dairy Chamber: <\/strong>Hurds (15s).<\/p>\n

Having found wheels in Samuel\u2019s pantry, perhaps we should not be surprised that his dairy chamber contained nothing related to dairying. Hurds, or hards, were the coarser part of hemp or flax, separated from the finer elements. Barrie Trinder has written: \u201cInventories show that in almost every part of Shropshire flax and hemp were grown […] The Crops were retted, scutched with tewtaws, combed with heckles, and spun into yard in the homes of the growers, after which the yarn was taken to professional weavers to be made into cloth for use as bed or table linen.\u201d From the hurds, hurden sheets could be made.<\/p>\n

In the Green Room: <\/strong>One Bed and 2 Bedsteads (\u00a32 5s); One dresser one Coffer one Close stool One Box 1 Joyn Stool (7s 6d); Dress\u2019d Hemp & fflax (\u00a31); Wearing apparell (\u00a38).<\/p>\n

The Green Room appears to have been Samuel\u2019s bedroom. Here we find a bed, two bedsteads, a dresser, a coffer (a wooden chest or box in which clothes and other valuables were stored), another box, a joyn stool (see the list of items found in Samuel\u2019s kitchen), and the dressed flax and hemp from which the hurds in the dairy chamber had probably been removed.\"\" We also find the possessions which, I think, mark this room as Samuel\u2019s own. First, his clothes or \u2018wearing apparell\u2019. And second, his \u2018close stool\u2019.<\/p>\n

Catherine Simpson provides a good description of the close stool in her contribution to a series of blog posts,\u00a0Shakespeare\u2019s World in 100 Objects<\/em>: \u201cAlso referred to as a \u2018night\u2019 stool, \u2018necessary\u2019 stool, or \u2018stool of ease\u2019, these objects were actually toilets in disguise. At first glance their primary function may have been overlooked when entering a room. However, the piece of furniture contained a hinged top that opened to reveal a large circular hole, within which a chamber pot […] was placed. For comfort during the more prolonged occupations of the stool a cushion could be fitted around the hole.\u201d The photo above is of a close stool at Plas Mawr in Wales, which has a lid over the hole above the enclosed chamber pot.<\/p>\n

This seems a good point at which to bring Part 2 of our tour of Samuel Atcherfley\u2019s home to a close<\/em>. You may continue to Part 3 at your own convenience<\/em>.<\/p>\n

> Forward to Samuel Atcherley\u2019s true and perfect inventory \u2013\u00a0Part 3<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Picture credits.<\/strong> <\/em>\u201cDirections for Brewing\u201d from A Guide to Gentlemen, Farmers, and House-keepers, for Brewing the Finest Malt-Liquors. Copyright expired. <\/em>Close stool at Plas Mawr, adapted from a photo taken from Wikimedia Commons<\/a> by Hchc2009 (both the original image and my adaptation are available for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1] <\/strong>Will of Samuel Atcherley of Sowbath, Gent. Proved 28 Apr 1732. Copy from Lichfield Record Office, reference B\/C\/11. Indexed at Staffordshire Name Indexes<\/a>.
\n[2] <\/strong>William Graham (1854), Exercises on Etymology. Page 39. Copy viewed at Google Books<\/a>.
\n[3] <\/strong>Nathan Bailey (1773), Universal Etymological English Dictionary. Copy viewed at\u00a0Google Books<\/a>.
\n[4] <\/strong>T Cooper (1738), Reflections and Considerations Occasioned by the Petition Presented to the Honourable House of Commons, for Taking Off the Drawback on Foreign Linens, &c. Copy viewed at Google Books<\/a>.
\n[5] <\/strong>John Chamberlayne (1719), Magnae Britanniae Notitia. Page 36. Copy viewed at\u00a0Google Books<\/a>.
\n[6] <\/strong>\u2018A Country Gentleman\u2019 (1727), A Guide to Gentlemen, Farmers, and House-keepers, for Brewing the Finest Malt-Liquors. Page iii. Copy viewed at Google Books<\/a>.
\n[7] <\/strong>Andrea S. Wiley (2014), Cultures of Milk. Page 27.
\n[8]<\/strong> Barrie Trinder (1998), A History of Shropshire. Second edition. Pages 68-9.
\n[9]<\/strong> Matthew Nathan (1957), The Annals of West Coker. Page 352. Copy viewed at Google Books<\/a>.
\n[10]<\/strong> Samuel Johnson (1766), A Dictionary of the English Language. Third edition. Volume 2. Copy viewed at Google Books<\/a>.
\n[11] <\/strong>Michael Russell (2014), Dorchester & Fordington Glossary<\/a>. Rootsweb (website, accessed 29 Jun 2014).
\n[12] <\/strong>John Baxter (1830), The library of agricultural and horticultural knowledge. Page 165. Copy viewed at Google Books<\/a>.
\n[13] <\/strong>Arnold J Cooley, J C Brough (1864), Cooley\u2019s Cyclopaedia. Page 408. Copy viewed atGoogle Books<\/a>.
\n[14] <\/strong>Temple Henry Croker, Thomas Williams, Samuel Clarke (1765), The Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. Volume II. Copy viewed at Google Books<\/a>.
\n[15] <\/strong>Nathan Baily, John Worlidge (eds) (1726),Dictionarium Rusticum, Urbanicum & Botanicum. Volume I. Copy viewed at Google Books<\/a>.
\n[16] <\/strong>Thomas Hale (1758), A Compleat Body Of Husbandry. Page 138. Copy viewed atGoogle Books<\/a>.
\n[17] <\/strong>B S Sharples (2011), Inventory Terms<\/a>. Ledbury Local History (website, accessed 29 Jun 2014).
\n[18] <\/strong>Catherine Simpson (2014), Shakespeare\u2019s World in 100 Objects: Number 96, a Close Stool<\/a>. Finding Shakespeare (website, accessed 6 Jul 2014).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

< Back to Samuel Atcherley\u2019s true and perfect inventory \u2013\u00a0Part 1 Our \u2018guided tour\u2019 of the house of Samuel Atcherley\u00a0[], aided by the \u201ctrue and perfect Inventory\u201d of his possessions taken in 1731, continues. Once again, to save space the items listed below are not set out in the same format as in the inventory, but they follow the same… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-history-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2956,"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140\/revisions\/2956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.atcherley.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}