Photo: Courtesy of Gites de Meneham
I love history! That our house might be 200 to 400 years old is fascinating me. Its large stone fireplace is impressive, and it was very exciting to realize that we could still imagine how people lived so long ago. The house still has its dirt floor and you can still see the special wall enclosing, where the “lit clos” was located, right next to the fireplace.
As you may know, the “lit clos” or enclosed bed is a very traditional and unique piece of Brittany furniture. People used to sleep in it, until the beginning of the 20th century certainly.
My grand-mother, like many people here in Brittany, still owned one as a decorative piece. Interestingly, the beds were short, because people were not sleeping laying down. Laying down was the symbol of death.
So, I did some research online, and I was very excited when I discovered an old photo that could have been taken in our house: a lit clos beside the fireplace, in a modest home. Even the shape of the fireplace stone mantel is exactly the same. I love it!
