The Still Room
In today’s times houses and flats often only have a kitchen, and the extra storage space is usually either the utility room or a pantry. As such, the term ‘still room’ is unfamiliar to most people. But if you looked inside, the things on its shelves would have been very familiar.
A still room would have been a small room close to the kitchen, used by the house’s housekeeper and maids to store preserves, cakes, liqueurs and to prepare teas and jams. It would have been both a service and storage area, sometimes even having its own specific maid – a Still Room Maid – to do the work in it. The teas and jams may have had other ingredients for a light breakfast or light lunch added to them, in which case the meal would be made entirely in that room. Similarly, if a guest had arrived and some hot chocolate or coffee was needed, it would have also been made there. It was a useful extra space that aided the running of the household.
Often enough people use the term ‘still room’ and ‘pantry’ interchangeably. And the use of both rooms would have been very similar, so that makes sense, though the still room may have had more actual preparation made inside it.