Roseland Cottage
The Upstairs Bath
A Roseland OriginalThis little room was not a bath when Roseland Cottage was constructed—plumbing like this didn’t exist. People were using privies and chamber pots. Nor would most people have a window on an interior bathroom wall. The window lets light into the second-floor hall. This may have been Henry Bowen’s office initially. It is connected to the room we believe was his bedroom, which connects to Lucy’s room through the sitting room.
A Safe!
A Safe
That substantial looking washstand is actually a safe in disguise, and is further evidence that this room was originally Henry Bowen’s office. But when indoor plumbing arrived, probably by the late nineteenth century, this was a perfect place for a bathroom. It may have been easier to turn the safe into a washstand than it was to move it. Notice the old Listerine bottle on the Eastlake-style shelf. The other bottle contains water from the River Jordan. And on the marble top is a pitcher with poet Henry Longfellow’s likeness. Visitors who can provide evidence of a similarly-converted safe receive a free membership to Historic New England.
