17th century english inns

[danbes]

What kind of food would have been served in a small, workingman's English country inn of the 17th century?

What would the sleeping arrangements have been like?

[Lil O'lady]

Depends on size of the inn. Many were simply a house parlour - a larger establishment might have stables and a few public rooms plus hirable private rooms. Food would vary accordingly - many smaller beerhouses wouldn't cater for diners, but depending on size you could negotiate with the innkeeper for whatever was being cooked for the family. Ordinary travellers often slept in barns and haylofts rather than paying for 'hostelries'. Sometimes these evolved into a kind of bunkhouse where travellers could doss down. It would be dangerous to travel alone as you could be robbed while you slept and it would be normal for men to share sleeping spaces and even mattresses (straw in a sack). People had a different sense of personal space and very much less privacy then than now. If you stayed with a family in a farm, you might even be 'bundled' in the same bed as family members ie wrap in a blanket and lie on the same mattress / bedframe.

[Bigun6605]

Lousy

Bigun