The warming-pan. In most houses the only warm place was by the kitchen
fire. In winter the bedrooms were about as cold as the weather out of
doors. This made the beds far from comfortable to get into on a cold
night. The warming-pan was a basin of brass or copper with a hinged
cover, sometimes decorated. Hot ashes and coals from the kitchen fire
were put into it; it was then carried to the bed and the hot pan was
pushed up and down between the sheets until the whole bed was warm.