A Cozy Night at a Medieval English Inn | History for Sleep

Fall asleep tonight inside an English inn in about 1450, from the last of the November light to the smell of baking before dawn. The New Inn at Gloucester was begun in 1432, four ranges around a courtyard, with at least 20 bedchambers and room for something like 200 guests. On a surviving itemised inn account, a bed cost 2d a night, or 1d a head in London, while fodder for the horses came to 10d, the largest line on the whole bill. The curfew bell rang at 8 o'clock and was rung for a quarter of an hour, and at that sound every household covered its fire with a domed clay lid pierced by a single hole, so the embers would smoulder and not die. In a country where the gates of walled towns closed from sunset to sunrise, the inn was the one door that stayed open, and somebody had to stay awake to keep it that way. Subscribe to the channel: @oldenglandnights In this video, we talk about one ordinary night inside a medieval English inn, including the unmetalled road and the failing November light, the painted sign hanging seven feet over the street, the ostler who takes your horse before anyone asks your name, the stable ration of three bushels of oats a week and a pennyworth of horse bread a day, the open hearth burning in the middle of the hall floor, the pot of pottage that cost a farthing and never came off the fire, the ale brewed within walking distance because it soured in two days, the seven grades of wine in one house, the reckoning worked out with counters on a board in two columns for the man and the horse, the curfew bell and the pierced lid set over the embers, the maid carrying hot water upstairs to wash your feet, the shared bed and what a bed was actually worth in a century when a duke's was valued at £182, the hour of waking between the first sleep and the second, and the dozen medieval inns still trading in England today. 🔔 Subscribe if a slow night in a medieval inn is the kind of history you want to fall asleep to. 💬 Comment where you are listening from tonight, what time it is there, and what you make of a house that covered its fire rather than putting it out. 📢 Share this with anyone who needs a long quiet night, on Facebook, in a group chat, or wherever you talk about history. You are the reason this channel exists. DISCLAIMER: This video is based on real historical events and figures, drawn from primary archives, biographies, court records, period press, and leading historical scholarship. While every video is heavily researched, occasional minor inaccuracies in dates, quotes, or specific details may occur — historical sources sometimes disagree, and interpretation is sometimes required where the historical record is silent. Any errors are unintentional. #OldEnglandNights #HistoryForSleep #SleepHistory #MedievalEngland #MedievalInn #FallAsleepFast #BedtimeHistory #SleepStory #EnglishHistory #MedievalLife #DailyLifeInHistory #HistoryDocumentary #RelaxingHistory #CalmNarration #MedievalTravel #FifteenthCentury #Curfew #MedievalNight #SleepAid #Insomnia #BritishHistory #HistoricEngland