Continue through the Dining Room to the next room.
You have now crossed into the service wing of Lucknow Mansion. This room is the Butler’s Pantry – a space for final preparation and plating of meals. This is also where Lucknow’s fine china and crystal would be stored in locked cabinets – the key for which was held by the highest-ranking domestic servant. There’s no evidence that the Plants had a butler, so here at Lucknow this was the domain of the head housekeeper.
The china services stored in these cabinets today were not owned by the Plants, but are representative of the style and quality of the period. The Plants likely owned several dish services for specific meals. One such service was made by Haviland & Company. It features a gilt edge and a simple pattern of delicate blue flowers around the rim. Look for a platter bearing this pattern in the cabinets. Olive also had a set of Wedgwood tableware featuring a hand-painted purple floral design identified as “Lowescroft”.
Turning to face the window, you will see a rather unique sink. Like all of Lucknow’s plumbing fixtures, this sink was manufactured by the J.L. Mott Iron Works. It is made of German silver – a combination of copper, nickel, and zinc – and would have been used for handwashing the Plants' fine dishware and silver. This sink was designed so that it would not overflow. Notice the two metal posts near the sink’s center. When raised, water would drain out of the sink at the base of each post. Lowering the post plugged the drain, but if the level of water rose too high, it could escape through the holes at the top of the post.
And, of course, this room is dominated by the refrigerator. A surprising fact about Lucknow is that this home had electricity for seven years before the rest of the town of Moultonborough. Power was originally furnished by a hydro-powered generator. Unfortunately, we have no record of the size, capacity, or manufacturer of the hydro generator. After the town began furnishing electricity in 1921, the generator went out of use and was likely removed.
However, because Lucknow Mansion always had electricity, this home never had an icebox. Rather, it boasted three refrigerators and two walk-in cold storage rooms, all chilled by an ammonia-brine coolant system. In this system, compressed ammonia chilled a saltwater solution that flowed through pipes to cool the food storage space. Systems like this were unusual for even wealthy homes at the time, but were in use commercially in breweries, dairies, and butcher shops.
