Ways of keeping warm in the Regency Period

As the wind whistled in from the Arctic this week and I added another layer of thermals I started to wonder what it must have been like trying to keep warm in the days before there was efficient heating. I love gorgeous old stately homes but those high ceilings and large rooms must have been impossible to keep warm in the winter. Like my little country cottage, the old houses were also cursed with ill-fitting windows and doors, and wicked little draughts that spring up from nowhere to chill your ankles. In the days before central heating I imagine people needed to be very imaginative to find ways to keep warm.

Fire

The wood burning stove in our living room is the hub of the house at times like this and I imagine that the vast open fires in old houses served the same purpose in the past, with people huddled around them. In my last house, built in the 17^th century, the inglenook fireplace was so vast it took up half of one wall and contained a bread oven as well as a grate. An open fire is special. It provides heat, light and comfort with the warmth, extremely important when the rest of the house might be so cold that ice would form on the inside of the windows.

I do remember that with a big open fire it’s possible to have a very warm body but a cold head! Of course ladies in the Regency would actually use a fire screen – a decorated panel on a pole – to protect their complexions from the direct heat of the fire. Larger room screens partitioned off warmer parts of a hall or sitting room and kept out the draughts.

Similarly those gorgeous wing chairs weren’t just designed in that style for the fun of it. The high back and sides are great for keeping out the cold. In humbler cottages wooden high back chairs served a similar purpose. You piled them high with cushions for a very cosy seat.

Clothes

Like me with my four layers of thermals, the savvy Regency person would not wear a thin muslin dress in freezing cold weather but would layer on a lot of clothes. Linen, cotton, wool and fur were popular with huge muffs for ladies to wear. The heroine of my current book comments that in the Scottish winter she was seen carrying such a huge fur muff that it gave rise to reports that she was hiding a family of orphans inside it. Sailors on the Arctic expeditions of the early 19^th century wore coachmen’s great coats in a vain attempt to keep out the cold.

Then there were the petticoats. Four or five were in no way unreasonable, with socks, stockings, shawls, gloves, caps and hats. If one was travelling on the outside of the stagecoach every one of these layers would prove necessary in the winter and even then you were risking death from exposure.

Keeping the feet warm

There is a school of thought that says that if you keep the feet warm the rest of the body will follow. Regency footwear for women was pretty flimsy and even the leather half boot wouldn’t necessarily keep you warm and dry. For men the standard outdoor footwear was the riding boot, which was considerably more hard wearing.

Carriages were not heated, so a hot brick to keep your feet warm was essential. These would be heated up in a stove, wrapped in flannel and could then retain their warmth for quite a while, particularly if insulated under layers of travelling rugs.

And so to bed

These days the four poster bed is the height of luxury but in Regency times a tester bed or four poster with thick bed hangings was a must to keep the warmth in and the draughts out.

The earliest type of hot water bottle was the warming pan, which dates back to the 16^th century. A metal pan, it contained the embers of the fire, and had a long handle so that it could be moved across the bed to heat up those chilly corners! These were pretty dangerous if left in the bed for too long since they could set it on fire, providing rather more heat than one actually wanted.

Large stone wear hot water bottles were safer. These were also known as foot warmers. They followed the same principle as today’s hot water bottles; they were filled with near boiling water, sealed and placed in the bed.

If all else failed you could always go for shared bodily warmth! You could also sleep in the same space as your animals. In many cottages this is exactly what happened; the one room housed both people and their animals. At Ashdown House some of the servants’ quarters were above the stables. Apparently it was quite cosy with the heat rising from the horses. And a dog or cat on the bed is as warm as a hot water bottle. More than one of my heroines has let their pet sleep on their bed for warmth and one of my relatives came across this on a recent stay at a castle in Ireland where the hostess offered all the visitors a dog to keep them warm.

What about you? Do you think you could have survived a Regency winter? What is your favourite way of keeping warm in a cold climate? 

Comments

[Frances Bevan]

Can I come and sit by your wood burning stove Nicola? A lovely post to keep out the cold and remind us how fortunate we are with our centrally heated homes.

[Janjonesauthor]

Love the castle dog idea!

[Carol Cork]

Nicola, I remember growing up in the fifties with a coal fire. I used to sit on a rug just in front of it. Great until it needed more coal and then you'd have to wait for the warm to be generated again!

In this current cold spell, I'm wearing three layers of clothes and when I'm reading, I drape a blanket over my legs. Even in a fairly modern apartment, there still seem to be drafts.

[Louise Allen]

Can you imagine trying to squeeze into a stagecoach with everyone so bundled up? Must have been a nightmare and they were small enough as it was! Still, better inside than freezing on the roof! Lovely post.

[Liz V.]

Wood stove, wing chair, sweaters and slacks, and grandma's afghan plus puppy warmth are on my list.

[Nicola Cornick]

Frances, you are very welcome! I do think we are very fortunate indeed these days although this current cold spell is putting all sorts of strain on my ingenuity for finding ways to keep warm!

Jan, yes the dog warmer is one of my favourites too!

[Nicola Cornick]

Carol, I remember those coal fires too from my childhood. My grandparents had one and I sued to love it because we didn't have an open fire at home. I was amused to see recently that the Queen has an electric heater in her open fireplace!

[Nicola Cornick]

Louise, I love the thought of having to fight your way into a stagecoach past everyone wrapped up in ten layers of clothing!

Liz, your list sounds just right. I have been very interested to discover just what a difference a wing chair can make.

[Margaret Blake]

Like Carol I used to hug the fire. There was one fire in the two up and two down I lived in, no fire in the bedroom unless you were ill. Lots of blankets on the bed and bricks wrapped in fleece to warm the bed before you climbed in. No wonder the windows froze on the inside. Those Regency folks were really tough too, I can't imagine how they kept warm, and there were severe winters too. I wonder if the younger ladies (like our younger ladies) did not feel the cold like older folk. Vests and thermals and long johns were never worn till I got to be quite old. Perhaps the young Regency ladies were like that too. (Judging by young girl passing my window in a sleet storm it is probable they never felt the cold!!!). Really interesting post, Nicola, as always.

[Nicola Cornick]

Thanks, Margaret! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I do find it odd that the young don't seem to feel the cold and go out in this sort of weather wearing very few layers! I wonder if it is a feature of youth. I do remember that when I lived in the north I had a far better ability to tolerate the cold than I do now after 25 years living in the south.

[Patricia Rice]

Shivery post, Nicola! I cannot tolerate cold in any way (hence the upcoming move to Southern CA). My modern house with two-story ceilings can be 63F even when the thermostat is set on 70F because heat does rise. I have space heaters near all my chairs. And since the head is really where we lose the most heat, I'm thinking those Regency lady caps might be quite useful indoors.

[Nicola Cornick]

That's a very good point about losing heat through the head, Pat. Maybe that's why the curly brimmed beaver was so popular?!

[Caroline Storer]

Fascinating stuff stuff, Nicola! But what about the poorer people of society I wonder? I bet they froze to death poor things! Caroline x

[Mary Jo Putney]

Nicola--

Just reading this made me shiver with unfond memories of growing up in a mid-19th century farmhouse near Buffalo! Central heating is one of the great inventions of civilization.

[Ella Quinn]

I've lived in very old houses with large fireplaces as well. My heroine's aren't too proud to wear wool in the winter with either flannel or wool petticoats. Tweeted.

[Jenny Reid]

Great blog Nicola. Very topical for all you poor people on the nth hemisphere with the recent snow storms. Here in the sth we are just coming out of a very warm/hot summer so keeping warm hasn't been on the agenda but in winter I enjoy an open wood fire, wood kitchen stove, cosy thick curtains and cosy wool clothes with a thick rug over the legs when reading. And of course the heated cars, in lieu of the horse and carriage. I do like the offer of the dog though. I would be tempted to accept.

[Nicola Cornick]

Caroline, I think they would need to be very hardy. Of course with everyone living and cooking in one room there would be the chance of keeping warm by the fire.

Sorry to bring back unhappy memories, Mary Jo! I totally agree that the benefits of central heating should never be underestimated!

[Nicola Cornick]

Many thanks, Ella. I do think a Regency heroine has to be practical about warmth and comfort over style! I wonder at all those fashionable ladies shivering in their barely-there gowns!

Jenny, I have been hearing reports of your hot summer and trying not to feel too jealous! A dose of warmth would be just the thing now. We have sunshine today, which is a big improvement, but the chill is still bitter.

[Lil]

I got up this morning and discovered that the heat is not working. Okay, I suppose I should be grateful that it's March, not January,and the temperature is supposed to be in the 40s today, not the 20s, but still... I'm COLD.
At least if this were 1812, I would be used to this and there would be a fireplace and wood and--if I'm going to fantasize--I will toss in there a servant to come in and build up the fire before I have to get out of bed.

[Nicola Cornick]

Lil, I love the idea of someone else coming in and making the fire for me before I got out of bed. Perhaps winter in 1812 wouldn't be so bad after all!

[Andrea Penrose]

A VERY welcome post, Nicola, as it's still really cold where I am despite the fact that spring has arrived. I have a large floor to ceiling stone fireplace in the large room that flows right into the open kitchen layout. I love fires, so all winter there's a cheery blaze at night, and during some of the recent power outages, it's been a welcome source of warmth! No four poster bed with curtains, but big thick down quilts which are divine in keeping one toasty through a cold winter night.

[Nicola Cornick]

Cara/Andrea your fire sounds gorgeous and a real blessing in the current cold snap. I must admit that I was reaching for an extra down quilt last night. This weather is no joke!