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Post by CathCat on Jul 19, 2010 11:05:25 GMT
Yay! I get to put up the first set of Toll House pics! Since you all had a lot of questions and requests for photos in the prefab, we've decided to give you some general room wide shots really early on this time so that you can ask us for more specific things and we'll have all week to go photographing. So, here's the first five! Enjoy. This is upstairs, the small bedroom: This is upstairs, the main bedroom: This is the scullery: This is the main room downstairs, facing the fireplace. The next shot is the same room but the other way, facing the window and the staircase: So, ask away!
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Post by azurewolf on Jul 19, 2010 13:14:25 GMT
My first question is what's a toll house? I either think of cookies or a toll booth, neither of which seems relevant.
Ok, items...what's on the bed in the main bed room? And what's in the pitcher by the clock on the mantle? Lastly the book on the dresser in the main room looks quite old, what is it? I lied, one more, I'm curious about the box on the dresser as well.
Thank you all so much, this is like getting to visit a museum (in England!) from home with no time constraints =D
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Post by Anna D on Jul 19, 2010 13:21:59 GMT
Aw, no prob! We like that people are interested! Nowadays, we pay a road tax that pays for the upkeep of the public highways, but in years gone by when people owned bits of road, they would charge people a toll to pay to use the road. There would be a toll house at each end of the road with a gate to stop people going past without paying the toll. Sadly nothing to do with cookies, though I wish it was! I'll get a snap of the outside for you; you'll be able to see the front of the building is angled oddly so that you can see up and down the road both ways (so no-one escapes without paying, haha!). There's also a toll board, which says how much it cost for different things to use the road, like... a cow, or a sheep, or a cart or whatever. The ceramic thing on the bed in the main bedroom is a hot water bottle, believe it or not! They'd put hot water in it then put it at the bottom of the bed to warm it before they went to sleep. The stuff in the pitcher is interesting - I'll snap photos next time I'm down there for you. They're woven with herbs like lavender so that they smell nice. You'd carry them around with you (as people in Victorian times didn't bathe much and so smelt awful!). Not sure about the book or the box; I'll photograph next time I'm there!
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Post by eiram80 on Jul 19, 2010 18:17:55 GMT
How old is the Toll House?
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Post by lmcontaldi on Jul 19, 2010 20:08:31 GMT
Hey, here are things id like to see :] Small bedroom: Whats on the tabletop
Scullery: The machine with box on it Whatever is in that pot or can
Main room: The label on the tea kettle
Thanks so much guys!!
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Post by mravoncroft on Jul 19, 2010 20:11:36 GMT
The Toll House was built in 1822.
Anna, I haven't worked out how to do the quote thing on these pages, but I have to pull you up on the "as people in Victorian times didn't bathe much and so smelt awful!".
I always object to this view of history - that because people didn't have fitted bathrooms and showers or washing machines that they weren't bothered about keeping themselves clean. They did wash frequently, as the jug and bowl on the bedroom chest of drawers indicates and all those items for keeping clothes clean in the scullery. I admit it would have been harder work. You'd have to draw the water from a well, put it on the fire to warm up (after clearing out yesterday's ashes and lighting a fire if it was first thing in the morning) and then have your wash - obviously a slow process, so heating enough water for a luxurious bath was clearly going to be a rarity, but that's not the same as not keeping clean. I think there noses worked just as well, and I'm sure to an extent they would have smelt differently - clothes would have absorbed coal smoke and cooking smells etc, but they would wear long easily (relatively) washable aprons and extensive underwear which would be made of cotton and could be boiled so that the main outer garments were protected and didn't need to be washed as frequently.
People also weren't necessarily a lot shorter in 'olden days' which is another historic myth I object to (human height has fluctuated and the average man was about the same height in medieval times as he was in the early 20th century, but there was a dip in between over about 3 centuries - it's often to do with environmental and health factors)
Anyway, looks like you had a drier day today. Not sure if you are in tomorrow, but Mark has fixed the barrier in the Prefab now so that should prevent anyone else moving things or dropping things in there. Sarah, you've not done any craft activities in recent months with purple and silver shiny paper have you - that card can't have been a child's craft activity from earlier in the year that somehow got put in a drawer in the prefab and pulled out by an inquisitive visitor? I'm not sure, Bea, how you managed to only get a feeling about something being out of place when something as garish as that was in there - would you have noticed if there was a space hopper or a teletubby sitting in the chair! We do have to keep an eye on detail in the furnished interiors as otherwise the public will think we've got things wrong and won't trust what we present as being historically accurate. Anyway, enough ranting about things, the photos should help with the project - could you take some more of items on the downstairs cupboard and mantleshelf. As we don't present this house behind barriers we have to accept some things get moved around but that's nice as people are able to connect with interior more, but we have to take the chance with theft (these aren't particularly rare or valuable items), but that does mean photos are useful of the smaller items.
By the way, there's definitely nothing in the Prefab which is 130 years old.
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Post by mravoncroft on Jul 19, 2010 20:18:50 GMT
Hey, here are things id like to see :] Small bedroom: Whats on the tabletop Main room: The label on the tea kettle !! Hello Mr Imcontaldi I may have worked out the quote thing! Just seen this, and since I was answering some questions I'll help with those I can. There is a childrens book and a blue enamel chamber candlestick on the table in the small bedroom (along with the crocheted tablecloth, of course) The label on the tea kettle is part of children's trail we're doing over the summer (it might have been helpful of us to have removed it before taking the photographs) I'll have to let the others answer about the scullery items as I don't recall what exactly is in there.
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Post by Anna D on Jul 19, 2010 20:58:19 GMT
Sorry Simon! My area of history is more prehistoric than Victorian... if anyone has questions on Stonehenge I'm totally your girl for that.
We'll take some more pictures tomorrow to cover all the stuff you want to look more closely at, and Simon we'll do the mantle and the dresser too. Sorry about the label; we were told not to move things so we didn't! Sarah was quite particular about leaving stuff where we found it... I suppose we took that quite literally.
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Post by BuzyBea on Jul 20, 2010 12:06:19 GMT
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Post by horriblesanity on Jul 20, 2010 17:17:10 GMT
Bea, two quick questions:
The painting above the sideboard has a section on the lefthand side that seems odd compared to the rest of the painting. What is it? Was the painting restored at some point?
In the kid's bedroom, there's the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from under the rug by the bed. What is it?
Thanks!
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Post by Siobhan on Jul 20, 2010 17:27:53 GMT
Hi, horriblesanity! I'm Siobhan, one of the family activities staff at Avoncroft. Sarah might have mentioned us at some point! I've been on site all of today, and can't say I saw the piece of paper sticking out from under the rug that you noticed, I'm not going to be in tomorrow but I will mention it and get Anna, Cath or Bea to have a better look when they're in tomorrow
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Post by horriblesanity on Jul 20, 2010 17:49:31 GMT
Thanks Siobhan!
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Post by mravoncroft on Jul 20, 2010 18:15:53 GMT
Bea, two quick questions: The painting above the sideboard has a section on the lefthand side that seems odd compared to the rest of the painting. What is it? Was the painting restored at some point? Thanks! Hi there, I think what you're seeing is a reflection of the window on the left hand side of the picture - though the picture has been restored - albeit amateurishly with Sellotape by myself! It is actually a reverse painting on glass, produced in the 19th century, I believe in central europe - I've seen others like it and a favourite great aunt of mine had one in her living room very similar, which is why I bought it (it's on loan to the Toll House from me - it was the right period and seemed to be the right social level for a family living in the Toll House in the mid 19th century). I paid a £3 for it at a secondhand market in Bath about 5 year's ago because it had been broken into four pieces and since the painting is painted directly onto the back of the glass it had entirely devalued it - but I liked it so bought it and stuck it back together. This style, which is wonderfully naive and always shows similar elements such as water, a castle or other fanciful building picked out in black outlines, green hills and sometimes a figure on a pathway, seems to be common to a lot of them - I've found some other images of similar ones. images.denhams.com.s3.amazonaws.com/483/483lot711.jpgarchive.liveauctioneers.com/archive/104/0294_1_lg.jpgwww.pauloadams.com/070628/img/DSCF2751.jpgwww.pauloadams.com/070628/img/DSCF2716.jpg
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Post by mitsuko48 on Jul 20, 2010 20:23:04 GMT
What are those colorful things in the pitcher??? What is their function? Also, what are the things on the child's bed? In the first pic I thought they were puzzle pieces, but in the second pic they don't seem to be puzzle pieces. Out of curiosity, what is the copyright date on the Nelson's Library for Children book? Inquiring librarians want to know...
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Post by horriblesanity on Jul 20, 2010 20:33:10 GMT
Thanks Simon. That explains it. I've seen paintings on glass before, but with that as the only reflection, I hadn't realized that this was one.
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