COLD-HOUSE ESSENTIALS
It’s at night, when temperatures drop even further, that the denizens of cold houses are most tested. One can fend off the cold during the day fairly easily, with an extra jumper or a few star jumps. But at night, the cold penetrates in a different way. Solicitor Ruth de Maupeou has vivid memories of climbing into bed and “not being quite sure if the sheets were actually wet or just really, really cold”. This level of cold requires resourcefulness. Forget the seductive lingerie; this is the time for flannel pyjamas and, quite probably, hats, scarves, gloves, rugs and dogs. Indeed, the youngest Langford child, Raphael, “acquired a pair of ear mufflers quite soon after [the family] moved into Slogarie [in Dumfries], and insisted on keeping them on in bed at night so that his ears wouldn’t freeze off,” his mother reports.
Fingerless gloves: hats and scarves are pretty critical for life in a cold house, but I often think that these are the cleverest sartorial invention of all time, and the esteemed Editor of The Field has herself described these as “vital” when she was growing up in a distinctly cold country house in Leicestershire. The cleverness lies in the combination of keeping your hands warm while allowing your fingers to remain flexible. That is, if your fingers have retained any flexibility after decades in a cold house – chances are osteoarthritis will have kicked in.
Gilets: these are useful in a similar way to fingerless gloves, in that they warm the core while allowing your arms a degree of freedom. They are such a critical part of cold-house attire that many owners forget to take them off. Ever. “They go on over pyjamas without a second thought,” observes one well-clad gentleman.
Hot-water bottles: Jill Langford says that at Slogarie “leaky hot-water bottles were de rigueur, year round”. And, indeed, these are such a cold-house staple that some owners never manage to kick the habit even after they’ve had central heating installed. De Maupeou says that her mother still offers her one every evening when she visits her childhood home.
Cashmere bed socks: in all honesty, any decent bed socks will do, but when one is denying oneself the basic human right to warmth, it seems a fair trade-off to allow oneself such a small but comforting luxury. Though, if it’s so cold you’ve lost all feeling in your extremities, it may take a bit of time before you appreciate the fabric.
Open fires: at Creskeld, in Yorkshire, Tom Stoddart-scott recalls that they once had 18 open fires going, a number of which were in the bedrooms. “A fire in the bedroom is a real treat you don’t get in a warm house,” he enthuses.
Draught excluders: there’s a naffness to these, obviously, but if you’ve gone to the trouble of laying a fire, you want to make the most of it. A friend with a large number of brothers and sisters recalls how certain siblings might switch on the electric radiators in their bedrooms when things got really desperate, but he “always wondered what good they really did against the draught which blew through the universally ill-fitting sash windows”. This is where a decent draught excluder could have helped solve the problem.
Fur: there’s a reason why Arctic communities have no moral qualms about wearing fur. When Langford discovered how cold it was at Slogarie, she decided to invest in some vintage fur coats. She quickly realised that these could be sourced very advantageously on ebay during the summer months. Langford recalls that on one occasion a fire in the open fireplace in the Great Hall got out of hand. “We were forced to retreat outdoors in the middle of the night while we waited for the fire engine to arrive and extinguish the fire. The firemen were astonished to see me and my four young children all wrapped up in these voluminous fur coats, huddled together in a little group on the front lawn with our dogs, cats and several pet hamsters.”
Guests: these are not only useful for adding jollity to a cold house. Bodies generate warmth (particularly after a cocktail or two) and so having a house full of visitors, for a party or a hunt ball, makes sense from a scientific point of view as well. Just be sure to remind them to bring more clothes than they think might be necessary for their stay, and don’t be shocked come the morning if you find they have used the rug from the bedroom floor as an additional layer for warmth.