17th Century Living RoomsPage 2
Seventeenth-century pictures of English domestic interiors and most other sources of evidence for the study of the home at that period are scarce, so that much of what we know about homes at this time is gleaned from inventories. These documents, which list a person's possessions, often room by room, were made after a person died to help manage the disposal of their estate. This inventory of the hall in a London tradesman's home in 1630 shows the typical arrangement of a 'drawing table' (an extending table) and joined stools for dining, together with a 'court cupboard' which would have been used for serving drink and displaying precious objects.
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Inventory of the hall of Thomas Willis, citizen and clothworker of London, 1630.
© London Metropolitan Archives