This winter, energy and heating bills have been through the roof. On top of that, with an unseasonably chilly mid-December and another cold snap approaching, this year has left many people with far colder houses than usual, as they crank down the heating for economic or environmental reasons.
In a climate-controlled 21st century home so accustomed to 24/7 central heating throughout the colder months, suddenly having to do without any heating at all can be quite a nasty shock. You may roll your eyes at your grandparents’ lectures of how ‘your generation doesn’t know how easy you have it’ and how ‘when I was young, we had frost on the inside of the windowpanes’, but they may actually have a point. How on earth did people manage to get through the winter before double glazing, effective insulation, or electric heating were invented?
The first line of defence was clothing. People throughout history made good use of natural fibres such as wool and linen, as well as animal hides and furs too. Wool is the warmest fabric known to man – even when wet. It does a brilliant job of trapping body heat and aiding comfortable temperature regulation. Ignoring the ethical concerns of using fur, it is an extremely effective way to keep warm, and has always been a vital material for humankind in terms of warmth and comfort. The same applies to animal skins and hides – such as leather. These materials have been biologically designed and evolved to provide warmth and insulation, sometimes being the difference between freezing to death and making it through the winter. Another important heat-saving technique was layering. Until the last century or so, to keep warm, women wore layers and layers of petticoats (up to four or five), stockings, socks, and several vest-like shift layers all beneath their dresses. Then, on top of dresses would be worn shawls, scarves, caps, mittens or muffs, and capes. Men also had several layers of shirts and vests, a waistcoat, woollen coats with high collars and cravats to protect their necks, tall leather boots, multi-caped greatcoats, hats, and leather gloves. Even within the last seventy years, vests and petticoats were everyday undergarments worn by nearly everyone.
Throughout history, people also used certain garments and construction techniques designed to provide extra warmth that we have now lost. For example, quilted petticoats were popular during 18th and 19th centuries; as the name would suggest, they comprised a thick quilted underskirt made of several layers of fabric with a stuffing layer in-between, worn for warmth and to help give structure to one’s skirts. Additionally, until relatively recently, almost every garment worn by both men and women was in some way lined. Lining not only helps a garment last longer, but significantly aids the conservation of body heat.
People didn’t just dress themselves better to keep warm – they dressed their homes, too. Before the 20th century, houses were largely built of stone, with very limited insulation. As you can imagine, these houses did little to keep one warm during winter – even with open fires. To remedy this, it was common to cover as many hard surfaces as possible with insulation materials. Tapestries were hung on the walls of the wealthy, blankets or sheets were nailed over the windows the poor. Drapes were normal for anyone who could afford the fabric. Thick carpets lessened the chill of hard floors. Most beds had heavy canopy bed hangings and curtains to help insulate people at night. Additionally, foot and bed warmers (metal or ceramic boxes which would be filled with hot coals from the fire to help warm the extremities) were used by most.
Though I’m not suggesting you bring hot coals to bed with you, I think there is something to be learned from our ancestors’ habits. Extra base layers, thick tights and natural fibres are certainly not bad ideas when struggling through these cold months on as little heating as possible. Even if it’s just donning a vest when you know you’re spending Periods 1 and 2 up in the chilly MFL classrooms, perhaps our historical counterpoints were onto something with the whole energy saving business.
