Country life -- England; England -- Social life and customs; Gentry -- England
But to this arrangement followed another, more practical and
convenient, that of having a grand corridor up-stairs, out of which
opened the doors of the bedrooms; or, where there was a glazed-in
quadrangle with staircase and landings around it, there the doors of
the bedrooms opened from these landings. The corridor was used as a
room for dancing, or for music, or for games; it was the recreation
place of the house on a rainy day. Being up-stairs, and away from
library and parlours, the young people might skip, and play blind-man's
buff, dance, and disturb no one; nor was there much furniture in these
corridors to stand in the way and get knocked over.
This corridor is a feature of an old house so very dear to young folks,
and so very advantageous to their health, that it is a pity in our
modern houses we have got rid of it.
A word on the furniture of our old country houses must not be omitted.
Unfortunately there set in at the beginning of this century a most
detestable fashion in furniture, absolutely void of taste; and to make
room for the villainous articles then imported into our old country
houses, much beautiful old work was turned out, very often was given to
servants when they married. The consequence is, that much of it passed
into cottages, where it soon got destroyed. It was not only old carved
oak that was cast forth, for much of that had been got rid of in the
Georgian epoch, but even the beautiful polished wood cabinets, chests
of drawers, and Chippendale chairs of a more recent period.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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