Capstick Cottage: The Kitchen

Capstick Cottage was the perfect place for us to start life in Boroughbridge.  It was a really nice-sized house, and being built in the 1750s gave it a lot of charm and character that was a perfect introduction to English life.  We moved in the winter, so the kitchen was cold at first, especially the stone floors! But as spring arrived I happened to pull the blinds up all the way to clean the windows one day, and I never looked back.  During the long summer days I let the light stream in all day long, and the kitchen became a much happier place.

Our neighbor who lived behind us renovated the house with her husband, and she showed us some of the before pictures at our July 4th party.  They did a wonderful job of taking away some of the more modern things that had been done to it before and showcasing a lot of the older features.

We were told that this little window was used for deliveries a long time ago.  I'm not quite sure, but I do know that once upon a time this house was the servant's quarters to the house of our neighbors next door.

I love the beams on the ceiling and the beautiful fireplace.  Unfortunately, the current owner hasn't had the chimney in here lined and safe for fire-burning anymore.  It would have made the kitchen so cozy if we could have had fires in the winter!  There is also a little cooking space still there; we could have tried our hand at cooking in a fire-operated oven.

There was not a huge amount of cabinet space, so the shelves were nice to have, and when I saw nails in the wooden beams my dream of having my pots hanging in the kitchen came true.  It was also really great to have two ovens last Thanksgiving, and I made good use of the warming area on the stove when we had lots of people over.

This beam was recycled from another house (or maybe even a ship!), and we were told it could be around 400 years old!

It was a good experience for us living in a house older than our country, and we loved our neighbors and being so close to the center of town.

* You might also enjoy a look at Capstick's Garden or the Living Room.