The
Cedar Closet
The
Cedar Closet was one of the most private rooms in the house. It is directly
next to the Master's Bedchamber, and was probably
used for the entertainment of important business and private guests
of the Master of the house.
There is, however, an abundance of storage space in the room, and it
seems to have been built with security in mind. The windows in the room
are double-barred (the only windows in the house to be treated in such
a way), and the only way into the room originally was throught the door
connected to the Master's Bedchamber. This
suggests that the room was also used for secure storage. In the 17th
century, cedar was recularly used in linen rooms, to repel moths, so
the fact that the cedar closet is designed in such a way suggests that
it may have been used to store valuable papers and cloth, such as robes
and uniforms.
It is the only suriving closet in the house and is fully panelled in
17th century cedar wood. The ceiling is a painted 17th century piece,
depicting cherubs and a variety of animals and birds. In one of the
windows is a sundial, dated 1672, which helps date the house. Painted
on the sundial are two flies, a pun on the Latin 'tempus fugit', 'time
flies'!