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have mentioned in the great chamber), arras on such parts of the walls aswere not otherwise occupied, and a few pieces of armour, comprised thefurniture.
The object of these observations being to show the advanced state offurniture at the period to which they apply, and to produce, from coevalauthorities, proofs that the gentry were not quite so far behind thepresent race in their notions of conveniency and comfort as writersgenerally set forth, we shall transcribe a few descriptions of the chattelsof English gentlemen’s parlours in the reign of Henry VIII. , frominventories of that date ; and abstract, under their several heads, some ofthe various articles ordinarily possessed by that class of society, in theseand other apartments.
In the parlour of Richard Fermor, Gentleman :—
“ A fayre table; two tressils; three joyned formes; a lyttell plainecubbarde ; two turnyde chairs, three lyttell gilt chairs for women, and fourfoote-stooles ; six cushions of tapstre, with armes in the myddes ; an oldcarpet upon the borde, of Turkye saye strypide, two lyttel carpets forcubberdes, one of Turkye makynge, the other of tapestrie; in thechymney two andirons,” (sometimes called cob-irons,) “ with a fier-forcke;hangyng about the said perlor on the seeling, two tables” (pictures onboard), “ of Lucrece and Mary Magdalen , and a payr of tables” forbackgammon.
In the parlour of Sir Adrian Foskewe, Knight:—
“ A hanging of greine say and red panede; a table with twotressils, and a greene verder carpet upon it; three greene verdercushions; a joyned cubberd, with a carpet upon it; a piece of verdercarpet in one windowe, and a piece of counterfeit carpet in the other;