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Solar
Manor houses were public buildings, used for official ceremonies. The solar was the private room,
used by the lord and his family as a combined living room and bedroom. It was on the first floor and had
many windows, making it well-lit. The 'sol' in 'solar' is Latin for 'sun'.
The archaeologists know a solar existed at Thrislington because they found the garderobe tower base,
which proved there must have been a second storey. Also, the wall at the end of the lower hall was reinforced
so it could hold up an extra storey.
The solar would have been reached by either a wooden ladder, ladder-like flight of wooden stairs
or by a stone spiral staircase. The entrance to the solar at Thrislington would have been at the end of the lower hall, behind the lord’s dais.
The archaeologists found no evidence of any stone stairs, so it’s likely that stairs at Thrislington solar were built
from wood
See the reconstructions of loom and chest found in solar, explore
garderobe or return to main hall.
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