Artificial sunshine - lighting the home
'For centuries the problem of lighting poor people's cottages has been unsolved... as there are, unfortunately, many very poor people in our villages now, it is not uncommon to see houses in which families sit in absolute darkness, except for the glimmer of the fire, even though paraffin oil is cheap'.
(1905) from an article in Country Life.
Today well-lit homes are commonplace. We no longer marvel that at the flick of a switch we can turn night into day.
But good lighting in all rooms with almost no maintenance is, in the history of domestic lighting, a very recent phenomenon.
Since prehistoric times the most rudimentary form of domestic lighting was the hearth fire. Until quite recently firelight continued to be the main lighting for the poorest families in Britain.
Light in the past meant prosperity. As an expression of wealth it was as powerful as furrniture, paintings, textiles and other precious objects.
But even in the homes of the very rich, a spectacular display of lighting was generally reserved for visitors on special occasions.
In fact the historical importance and social significance of lighting is a neglected area of research.
The lighting and the light fittings that people once used can tell us much about the lives they led. In National Trust houses we can explore this fascinating subject through the surviving examples of lighting from different periods:
The National Trust has in its care a wide range of properties. They include humble dwellings of the poor, the former homes of yeomanry and gentry families and many grand houses once occupied by the wealthiest in the land.
As a consequence the Trust has outstanding examples of period lighting in its collections, together with some exceptional gas and electricity installations.
Of these a complete acetylene gas installation, in use until 1983, can be seen at The Argory in Armagh.
The first house in the world to be lit by hydro-electricity was Cragside in Northumberland. Today the visitor can still see the generators in the Ram Power Houses.
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