Sponsored by
Aristocrat's bathing room is unearthed
Paul Whitehouse ARCHAEOLOGISTS are hoping to unearth fresh information about the lifestyle of 17th Century aristocrats after re-opening rooms at Bolsover Castle which have remained sealed for more than 100 years.
The castle is undergoing an improvement programme, and its owners, English Heritage are taking the opportunity to break through into some rooms which were sealed for safety reasons as the building crumbled into disrepair more than a century ago.
It is now believed one of the rooms was converted to a bathing room for owner Sir William Cavendish, with a boiler room alongside.
English Heritage spokesman John Burditt said: "We are trying to improve visitor access to parts of the castle and to further our knowledge of the site at the same time.
"Some doorways have been opened up which have not been open for more than 100 years.
"We are quite excited because we think one room is a bathing house.
"At some stage in history, bathing was invented and this was probably after the Civil War, in the 1660s. We are also looking at the back, into a smaller chamber which may have provided hot water."
The archeological work is expected to continue all year and may lead to permanent access for visitors to new areas.
The castle was built as a weekend retreat by Sir William Cavendish after his father Sir Charles started work on the site in 1614. Although it has the appearance of a medieval castle, it was built much later.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Three-inch blanket of snow heading our way today
- Alan Shearer in list of favourites for Leeds and England jobs: Latest odds
- Barnsley’s Keith Hill invokes Fawlty Towers over link with Leeds job
- McCormack feels United search can be narrowed down
- Redfearn throws down gauntlet as queue builds at Elland Road
- Rival chips in with £500,000 to restore the original Harry Ramsden’s
- Visit from Princess as Serbian culture celebrated
- SportsTalk: Leeds United’s manager search, Super League and Calcutta Cup
- Libraries aren’t like supermarkets, they are magical places where dreams begin
- Strategic review will lead to job losses at Yorkshire Bank
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
