The skulls on the wall are those of turtles, brought to the house for the making of turtle soup. The impressive copper turtle tureen – after a 1750's silver model by Paul de Lamerie - was the centrepiece when turtle soup was served.
The cavernous Old Kitchen is Burghley's most evocative Tudor interior – and one of the few to survive. The fan-vaulted roof is crowned by a lantern which was originally open to the skies and would have served to draw away unwanted smoke and fumes. The 260 piece copper 'batterie de cuisine' from the late 18th and early 19th centuries gives some idea of the lavish and extravagant scale of country house entertaining at that time.
