The still room

No, not a room which doesn't roam, nor usually a silent room. Mrs Beeton would have known at once not only what kind of room it is, also each detail of the necessary things within it and the best recipes to fill its shelves. A place in which to prepare medicines, cordials, oils, herbal teas, flower waters, soap, and so many other things which were once common in large homes before industry took over from the housekeeper and modernity sought to hand over the herbswoman's craft to pharmacies and laboratories. In my cottage it's an outside room near the kitchen, on the way to the herb garden. Untidy bundles of almost dry herbs hang from the ceiling. The window is small, the still room relies for ventilation on a few air bricks strategically placed. Too much light and the herbs would be spoiled, too little and they will grow musty before they dry or develop fungi and be unusable.