 Inside, the houses were sometimes partitioned with curtains or wooden partitions, but usually they consisted of a single room; furniture was spartan, consisting of little more than benches and store chests; floors were strewn with rushes or straw; the only source of heat or light (other than the doorway) was the hearth in the centre of the living room.Rush lights fuelled by mutton fat were available, but they were expensive.A shuttered hole in the roof served as a chimney.