The practice was called “bundling” because the young man and young lady were each fully clothed, each had a separate set of linens, and the couple was usually separated by a board or bolster. It was a custom followed by the lower levels (certainly not by the upper classes, where a woman’s chaste reputation was highly prized) and practiced in rural areas of England through the 18th century. Bundling was considered a sensible alternative to an amorous man and woman going off to a shed or field to follow their biological instincts. Considering that a couple could not marry until they could afford to set up house, the average bride and groom to be had to wait years before they were wedded. Parents were realistic about the hot blood coursing through a courting couple’s veins and their need to be together. Even then, children were expected to share a bed.ġ8th century woodcut of a bundling couple. It wasn’t until Georgian times that a couple began to expect privacy as they slept. In medieval times, the family often shared their bedroom with people they did not know. A bed was for sleeping people had sex elsewhere. The bedroom was a crowded and semi-public space. I was struck by the evolution of the bedroom. Until quite recently in historic terms, there were not enough rooms in a house to provide a separate room for sleeping. Click here to read her excellent post, The Georgian Kitchen. In Austenonly, Julie Wakefield discusses the evolution of the kitchen. This video provides a perfect introduction to the book:
The book answers questions like: Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why were kitchens cut off from the rest of a home? And did strangers really share beds as recently as a century ago? (Yes, they did.) – If Walls Could Talk The differences between her home and her workplace inspired Worsley to research the history of the home, which she details in her new book If Walls Could Talk. In contrast, she lives in what she calls a “normal, boring modern flat.” Lucy Worsley works as the chief curator in several palatial buildings in London, including Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London. I listened to Terry’s interview with Lucy and was mesmerized. As is often the case, I am among the last to know. The video series was also shown on BBC last fall. This interview came almost a year after the book was introduced in the UK.
On March 13, I had a most delightful listen when Terry Gross interviewed Lucy Worsley, the author of If Walls Could Talk: An intimate History of the Home. I love to listen to Fresh Air when I am walking my dog.
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