The Dining Room and Groined Passage
In the Dining Room you can see the fourteenth century work in its original form, with its series of vaulted connecting passage-ways. The Dining Room was an undercroft in the medieval house.
In the Middle Ages the matter of storing goods of all kinds was of especial importance, and the undercroft was the principal place of storage. Placed beneath the owner's chamber, it could then be kept under his direct supervision.
By the end of the fifteenth century it had become the Parlour, and a fireplace was introduced to add to its comfort. The oak panelling is known as double-linenfold and dates from the sixteenth century. The chairs are of the Regency period.
Once the setting of a Kellogg Corn Flakes advertisement, we only eat in the dining room now if guests are staying (and for Christmas lunch!).
In the Groined Passage beyond the Dining Room are some remarkable and fanciful corbel heads at the base of the arches.
Photographs © Simon Watts
