Stoneware Hot Water Bottle
Dating from the late 19th or early 20th century, this hot water bottle is made from stoneware and would have been filled with hot water through the top opening, with a secure stopper to prevent any leakage. It has a flat bottom so it could be stood upright under the bedcovers, but was more likely to be laid down as shown, and wrapped in an old towel or a knitted cover to prevent burns.
Stoneware is a durable ceramic material produced by firing clay at high temperatures, creating a hard material that can be used to hold hot water. Bottles were often glazed to give a more attractive surface and one that was easier to clean.
Hot water bottles were in use as long ago as ancient Greece and Rome, where clay flasks filled with hot liquid were used by healers to relieve pain
Later, warming pans made of brass or copper were used to warm the bed before use. Like a large flat saucepan with a firmly fitting lid and a long wood handle, some hot coals from the fire were put inside and then the hot pan was held between the sheets by its long handle and moved around to warm the bed. But as coal fires went out of use, the warming pans were no longer practical.
With the invention of vulcanised rubber in 1844, “India Rubber” hot water bottles began to be available by the late 1860s and provided a much safer way of warming the bed. Nowadays, we’re more likely to think of a hot water bottle as made of rubber, often covered by a hand-made or fluffy cover.
