WHAT'S A STILLROOM?

From the Dictionarium Domesticus by N. Bailey, 1736


Stillrooms, once integral to the fabric of grand estates and noble households, trace their origins back to medieval Europe. 

Evolving from early apothecaries and alchemy laboratories, stillrooms emerged as dedicated spaces within manor houses where herbs, flowers, and botanicals were distilled and processed for medicinal, culinary, and cosmetic purposes. 

In the 16th and 17th centuries, during the height of the Renaissance, stillrooms flourished as centres of domestic industry, manned by skilled artisans and knowledgeable practitioners. 

Here, the aromatic scents of rose petals and herbs mingled with the gentle hum of distillation, as maids and gentlewomen meticulously crafted remedies, preserved foods, and concocted perfumes using age-old recipes passed down through generations. 

Today, while the traditional stillrooms of the past have largely faded into obscurity, their legacy lives on in the revival of herbalism and the appreciation for the art of botanical crafting.

Stillrooms were used to make:​

Herbal Remedies and Medicine
  • Caudles ~ Warm, thickened drinks typically made from ale or wine mixed with eggs, bread, sugar, spices, and sometimes other ingredients like milk or honey. They were used as a nourishing drink for the sick or weak.
  • Cerecloaths ~ Ceratum ~ Cloths that had been treated with wax (often beeswax) and sometimes other substances, then used in various medical applications
  • Cordials ~ Stimulating or invigorating drinks, often sweetened and infused with herbs, spices, or other medicinal ingredients. Cordials were believed to strengthen the heart and revive the spirits.
  • Decoctions ~ Decoctum ~ Preparations made by boiling herbs, bark, roots, or other plant parts to extract their medicinal properties. 
  • Electuaries ~ Electuarium ~ A mixture of powdered drugs or herbs combined with a sweet substance like honey, syrup, or sugar to form a paste or thick, syrupy consistency.
  • Essential Oils ~ Concentrated oils extracted from plants, used for their aromatic and therapeutic properties. They were often applied topically or inhaled.
  • Juice ~ Succus ~ Freshly extracted juice from plants, fruits, or vegetables, used for its medicinal properties.
  • Lohoch or Eclegmata ~  "signifies a thing to be licked up, it is in respect of body, something thicker than a syrup, and not so thick as an electuary" (Culpeper)
  • Lozenges/ SugarsSaccharum ~ Hard, sweetened tablets that dissolved slowly in the mouth to release medicinal ingredients. They were used to soothe sore throats and other ailments.
  • Mithridate ~ A complex medicinal concoction named after Mithridates VI, who was said to have developed an immunity to poisons by ingesting small doses of them. Mithridate typically contained numerous ingredients and was used as an antidote to poison and a general remedy for various ailments.
  • Oils ~ Oleum ~ Medicinal oils extracted from plants or prepared by infusing plant materials in a base oil.
  • Ointments ~ Unguentum ~ Semi-solid preparations applied to the skin for their healing properties, often made from fats or oils mixed with medicinal substances.
  • Pills ~ Pilulae ~ "little balls, ...made up in such a form, that they may be better swallowed down, by the reason of the offensiveness of their taste" (Culpeper)
  • Plaisters / Poultices / Cataplasms ~ Emplastrum ~ Thick, moist preparations applied to the skin to draw out infection, reduce inflammation, or soothe pain. They were made from various medicinal substances and bound with a cloth or bandage.
  • Possets ~ Hot drinks made from milk curdled with ale or wine, often sweetened and spiced. Possets were consumed as a remedy for colds, fevers, and other ailments, as well as a comforting beverage
  • Powders ~ Pulvus/ Pulvis ~ Finely ground medicinal substances used alone or mixed with other ingredients. 
  • Preserved roots, stalks, barks, flowers, fruits ~ Plant materials preserved through drying, sugaring, or other methods to retain their medicinal properties for later use.
  • Purging electuaries ~ Electuaries specifically formulated to act as laxatives or purgatives, aiding in the expulsion of waste from the body.
  • Physical vinegars ~ Acetum ~ Medicinal vinegars infused with herbs, used for their health benefits, such as aiding digestion or treating infections.
  • Physical wines ~ Vinum ~ Medicinal wines that were infused with various herbs, spices, and other botanicals believed to have therapeutic properties. 
  • Purging syrups ~ Syrupus ~ Syrups specifically formulated to induce purging, often containing laxative herbs or other substances.
  • Rob or Sapa ~ "the juice of a fruit, made thick by the heat either of the sun, or the fire, that it is capable of being kept safe from putrefaction" (Culpeper)
  • Simples ~ referred to medicinal herbs or plants used singly, rather than in combination with other ingredients. Each simple had its own medicinal properties and was used to treat specific ailments.
  • Syrups ~ Syrupus ~"a medicine of a liquid body, compounded of Decoction, Infusion, or Juice, with Sugar or Honey, and brought by the heat of the fire, into the thickness of Honey" (Culpeper)
  • Syrups made with Honey ~ Mel ~ Syrups where honey was the primary sweetening and preserving agent.
  • Syrups made with Vinegar ~ Oxymel ~ Syrups where vinegar was combined with honey, often used for its expectorant and digestive properties.
  • Tinctures ~ Alcoholic extracts of herbs or other medicinal substances, used for their concentrated therapeutic properties.
  • Treacle or Theriac ~ Originally referring to a medicinal compound, treacle was a thick, syrupy mixture containing many ingredients, used as a remedy against poison and for various diseases. Over time, the term also came to refer to molasses.
  • Troches ~ Trochisci ~ Small medicinal lozenges or tablets, made from medicinal powders mixed with a binding agent like honey or gum, then formed into a small, round shape. Troches were dissolved slowly in the mouth to release their healing properties.

Beauty and Self-Care Products
  • Cosmetics
  • Soaps
  • Perfume
  • Pomanders: Perfumed balls or sachets, often made with spices and fruits, used to scent clothes and rooms.
  • Sweet Perfumed Waters: Lightly scented waters made with flowers or herbs, used for fragrance or skin care.

Culinary Delights and Edibles

  • Sweetmeats: Sugary confections, often including fruits or nuts, used as treats or desserts.
  • Candied Flowers: Edible flowers coated in sugar, used as decorations or sweet treats.
  • Marchpanes: Sweet almond paste treats, often molded into shapes and decorated, similar to marzipan.
  • Jams: Preserves made from fruit and sugar, cooked until thickened.
  • Jellies: Clear, sweet spreads made from fruit juice, sugar, and gelatin or pectin.
  • Relishes: Chopped, pickled vegetables and fruits, seasoned and used as condiments.
  • Syrups: Thick, sweet liquids made from sugar and water, often flavored with fruit or herbs.
  • Pickled Vegetables: Vegetables preserved in a solution of vinegar, salt, and spices.
  • Preserves: General term for foods preserved through methods like canning, jamming, and pickling.
  • Spices for Food Seasoning

Drinks and Beverages
  • Hippocras:  A spiced wine, traditionally sweetened and infused with spices like cinnamon and ginger.
  • Vinegars
  • Possets: Warm, creamy drinks made from milk or cream, alcohol, and spices, often served as a dessert.
  • Liqueurs: Sweetened, flavored spirits made from distilled alcohol and various flavorings.
  • Cordials: Sweetened, fruit-flavored beverages, often with medicinal properties, served as a drink or used as a remedy.
  • Herbal Infused Drinks: Beverages made by steeping herbs in hot water, similar to teas.
  • May Dew: Dew collected on May Day, believed to have magical and medicinal properties.
  • Tisanes: Herbal teas made from a variety of plant materials, excluding true tea leaves.

Home Care and Cleaning

  • Household Cleaners
  • Furniture Polishes
  • Insect and Pest Repellent
Crafts and Decorative Items
  • Candles
  • Vegetable Dye
  • Dried Herbs, Flowers, and Roots
  • Strewing Herbs: Fragrant herbs scattered on floors to freshen and scent the air

Talismans and Charms
  • Talismans: Objects believed to bring good luck or provide protection, often imbued with symbolic meaning.
  • Good Luck Charms: Small items carried or worn to attract good fortune and ward off bad luck.


 ***

The good Huswifelye Phisicke.
God huswiues prouide, ere an sicknes do come,
of sūdry good things, in her house to haue some.
Good Aqua composita, Vineger tart,
Rose water & Treacle, to comfort the hart.
Colde herbes in her gardein, for Agues that burne
that ouer strong heat, to good temper may turne.
whight Endiue & Suckrye, wt Spinage inough,
al such wt good pot herbes, should follow ye plough
Get water of Fumetory, Lyuer to coole,
and others the like, or els go like a foole.
Conserue of the Barbery, Quinces & such,
with Sirops that easeth, the sickly so much.
Ask Medicus councel, ere medeen ye make,
and honour that man, for necessities sake.
Though thousāds hate phisick, because of the cost,
yet thousands it helpeth, that else should be lost.
Good broth & good keping doth much now & than
good diet with wisedome, best comforteth man.
In health to be sturring, shall profit thee best,
in sicknes hate trouble, seeke quiet & rest.
Remember thy soule, let no fansy preuaile,
make ready to Godward, let faith neuer quaile.
The sooner thy selfe, thou submittest to God,
the sooner he ceaseth, to scourge with his rod.

Thomas Tusser, 1557