Solar (room)

South Solar of Bunratty Castle

The solar was a room in many English and French medieval manor houses, great houses and castles, generally situated on an upper storey, designed as the family's private living and sleeping quarters. In such houses, the main ground-floor room was known as the Great Hall, in which all members of the household, including tenants, employees and servants, would eat. Those of highest status would be at the end, often on a raised dais, and those of lesser status further down the hall. But a need was felt for more privacy to be enjoyed by the head of the household, and, especially, by the senior women of the household. The solar was a room for their particular benefit, in which they could be alone and away from the hustle, bustle, noise and smells (including cooking smells) of the Great Hall.

The solar was generally smaller than the Great Hall, because it was not expected to accommodate so many people, but it was a room of comfort and status, and usually included a fireplace and often decorative woodwork or tapestries/wall hangings.

In manor houses of western France, the solar was sometimes a separate tower or pavilion, away from the ground-floor hall (great hall) to provide more privacy to the lord and his family.

The possibly related term grianán (from Irish grian, "the sun"; often anglicised as "greenawn") was used in mediaeval Ireland for a sunny parlour or reception room.^[1] By extension it was used to refer to any summer palace or noble house.

Examples

Beverston Castle in England, dating from the 13th century, has a surviving but ruined solar in the south tower of the west range, with a vaulted undercroft below.

A good example of a recreated solar can be seen at Great Dixter, home of the late British gardener and author Christopher Lloyd in Northiam, East Sussex.

References