Victorian Kitchen - HWfW by sueeverettuk on Flickr.
Information on a Victorian Kitchen: SCULLERY: In the Victorian period, it was universally understood that the kitchen was used only for cooking. Washing-up, scrubbing vegetables and all the messy, low-status activities that involved water were done in the scullery. Even the smallest Victorian houses had a separate scullery, and it was rare for sinks to be installed in kitchens before the twentieth century. WALLS: Kitchen walls were of plain plaster, regularly whitewashed or distempered. A bag of laundry blue in the paint bucket imparted a faint blue tinge to the walls, which was said to repel flies and imparted a feeling of coolness to the room. Lower down, the walls were covered with a high dado of tongue-and-groove boarding painted with washable gloss paint, tiles or glazed brick for hard wear and hygiene. Why were the windows in Victorian kitchens so high? This was not in order to prevent the servants from daydreaming, or spying on their employer's family taking the air in the garden. Open ranges generated huge amounts of heat, and so kitchens had high ceilings, with the windows set as high in the walls as possible, for the most efficient ventilation. CLEANING: Few proprietary cleaners were available, and most of the cleaning materials used in the Victorian kitchen and scullery were hard on the hands. A mixture of soda and soft soap was used for washing up. Whiting made a mild, creamy cleaner that would remove grease. Stronger abrasives such as bath brick and emery powder were used for cleaning knives and iron utensils. Rottenstone was mixed with rape oil to make a paste for cleaning brass and tin. Washing-up cloths were boiled in water to which a little vinegar had been added. Drains were disinfected with chloride of lime. Source: Victorian Society Photo taken at Palace House Beaulieu.