tHen and nOW
You Think
YOU
Have it Tough?
---------------------------------------------N E H T
W
Kayak #48 maY 2014
Illust Istockphoto
16 16
Wikipedia
hen it was finished in 1835, Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ont., was as modern and up-to-date as could be. (The owner, Sir Allan Napier Macnab, simply called it “Dundurn,” Gaelic for “strong fort.” Local people tacked on the “Castle” nickname.) With 40 rooms and 12 servants for just four people, you might think it would be a luxurious place to live. But when Macnab’s daughters Minnie and Sophia were young, they likely weren’t nearly as comfortable as you would be in an ordinary Canadian home today. There was no main furnace, so heat came from the 24 fireplaces, and rooms had very hot parts and very chilly parts. Instead of electrical lights, the Macnabs had dim candles and smoky whale oil lamps. And there was no indoor plumbing meaning — you guessed it — they’d have to go to the bathroom outside, or maybe use a chamber pot kept under the bed. They’d wash their hands in porcelain bowls with water poured from jugs the servants had filled.