Victorian Laundry room

[flowera]

My kitchen is located in the old Victorian laundry which serviced the whole estate. As a result the floor was engineered with a significant slope (to aid drainage) and I still have an original slate laundry sink which looks like it has had plenty of use.

Anyway, there is a large 'cupboard' (9' x 5') off the kitchen (laundry) which has a sliding frame inside that clearly was pulled out from time to time. I wondered what this was used for. Today I decided to lift the old rotten floorboards within the cupboard and found that the 'frame' is mounted on wheels that run along iron rails and the cupboard pretty much would slide out in to the middle of the room. Inside the cupboard and beneath the iron rails I have found a sunken floor upon which are mounted brick/iron 'ovens' each with an iron 'lid' in to which I assume hot embers/ashes were deposited to heat the cupboard. I suspect this was a drying room where laundry would hang when unable to dry outside.

Has anyone come across such a thing? Was this indeed a drying room or am I mistaken? I cannot think whatever else this cupboard was used for. The flagstones cleary show worn grooves that indicate the frame within the cupboard was heavy and frequently used.

I am going to install a non-destructve wooden floor above the 'ovens' but wonder if there is any significance to what lies beneath!


Alan.

 

[Nemesis]

It is indeed a drying room! How splendid.



Beningbrough Hall Yorkshire - National Trust - has a laundry with a similar feature I recall.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-beningbroughhallandgardens/w-beningbroughhallandgardens-seeanddo.ht

 

[Jocelyn]

Wow, lucky you. I seem to remember seeing a cupboard like that in a NT property in Dorset.How will you utilise it?

 

[flowera]

Wow, lucky you. I seem to remember seeing a cupboard like that in a NT property in Dorset.How will you utilise it?

Sorry to say... but I will use it as a pantry/cupboard. I simply plan to cover the floor with boards so that the heating system is preserved. I'm going to keep as much of the frame in-situ but some 'low value' pieces will have to come out.

Is there some way to post pictures here? I could then show you what I've got should it be of interest to anyone.

Alan.

 

[Nemesis]

You can simply post pics through ImageShack, for which you don't have to register but the down side is that you get a heap of ads thrown in, or via an external host.

I use Photobucket. You have to register but after that it's free and once you get the hang of it it's pretty simple really.

If you have a look on page 2 of the forum there's a thread where I tried various things out which may help a little.

There's a test area so you can try. If you get stuck say and I can gude you through it.

It does seem to me that trying to adapt the drying frame without losing any of it would be the best thing if possible - it's so interesting to find things like this still in situ.