A Stone Salting Sink at Athelhampton House & Gardens
- Juliet Braidwood
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
One of the pieces of furniture that we often get questions about at Athelhampton House & Gardens is the stone sink in the scullery, just beyond the kitchen. At first glance, this shallow block of stone is apparently pointless: how are you meant to fill it with water and use it for washing up?!
The reality is that, while it is a sink, it wasn't originally intended to be anything like the kitchen sinks that we're used to today. Historically, it wouldn't have been used with a washing up bowl, or filled with soapy suds. Instead, it was a salting sink: used for curing and preserving meat.
What often goes unnoticed, however, is the stonework supporting the sink. It's worth looking at, if you get the chance to when visiting Athelhampton House & Gardens. It's not new: it was salvaged from the gatehouse and and our Norman church when they were demolished in the 1860s.
While neither of these buildings survive, their ghosts live on: much of the stonework survives, repurposed in the nearby St Edward's Church, in our gardens, and now in the house as well.
Come and see our stone salting sink in person! Athelhampton House & Gardens are open 7 days a week all year round, aside from a few days at Christmas.