General Chat

Norah, Those poor people, however did they manage to live through it all? I think I will have to have a copy of this to show the twins! It is brilliant and certainly makes you think! Love, Molly of Nottingham

Thanks Norah Thoroughly enjoyed the write up

must have missed this glad it was brought to top again going to take it to school it will make a great tutorial. could we have a monthly history lesson please its fantasmagorical to quote the kids sandra

Norah What a fantastic bit of research . BRILLIANT. Best Wishes. Rita

Hi Norah Just wanted to bring this to the top of the list.....it's so interesting. Thank you for sharing it with us. Does anyone have any similar information on living in the 18th and 19th centuries? I've only got back to 1820.

Thanks Norah that was excellent. Zoe

Fantastic facts, thank you for sharing them with us all.

Norah, That was brilliantly interesting. Thank you for sharing it all with us. Kathy

Hi Di, Yes, it's like people of our age (yours and mine) saying that the young ones of today don't know they are born. That could really be said of us in relation to our ancestors couldn't it. Love Norah in Hampshire (no snow yet)

Thanks for all that historical information Norah. Learning all these interesting facts about everyday life in past centuries is what makes genealogy such a fascinating subject, above and beyond simply finding our ancestors. Thank goodness for all our modern conveniences. Aren't we spoiled rotten!!? Love, Di.xx

Norah, Absolutely wonderful. What a mine of information you are. Next time I feel a bit chilly or a little bit hungry before I start moaning I'll thank my lucky stars I was born in the 20th century. Thanks. Jean.

Hi Norah , that was a great history lesson I love all that stuff, you are great to go to all the trouble to do it, you must type real fast, ha ha. Love Margaret ps, did you get to see the dancing.

NOW THIS IS SOMETHING EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW....... Historical Facts The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children - last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs." There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold." (Getting quite an education, aren't you?) In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old." Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat." Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust." Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake." England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer." And that's the truth... Now , whoever said that History was boring ! ! ! Now aren't we lucky!!! Norah in Hampshire