52

Cabinet from the guest room
18th century, circa 1750
Batiscan (Quebec), Canada

Credits:
Collection of the Musée de la civilisation
Archives of the Fondation des Amis du Vieux presbytère de Batiscan

53

Cabinet from the guest room
18th century, circa 1750
Batiscan (Quebec), Canada

Credits:
Collection of the Musée de la civilisation
Archives of the Fondation des Amis du Vieux presbytère de Batiscan

54

THE STORAGE ROOM

The bedrooms on this floor are located at the center of the building, where it is warmer. The two extremities of the house were kept vacant and used for storage. This is where seasonal tools, furniture, unused or broken objects, damaged clothing, additional blankets and anything that was not used on a regular basis were kept.

This part of the house also served as a pantry to stock yearly supplies. The parish priest's food provisions were mainly given by the parishioners as tithe. Indeed, very few inhabitants had the cash amounts to pay the yearly tithe. They paid their due with various foodstuff, such as grains, sugar loaves or maple syrup, dried food, aromatic and medicinal herbs, a few vegetables and so on. Every farmer in Batiscan was obligated to pay a tithe equivalent to 1/26th of his harvest to Father Fréchette. The proportion of the tithe varied in time and according to the size of the parish.

This food stock allowed the occupants of the presbytery to survive during the long and harsh winter period. The poor insulation of the first floor helped preserve the food, but rodents and insects much appreciated the reserves!