We still use hot water bottles in our beds but nowadays they are made of rubber. The hot water bottle shown here is ceramic. It is called a stone because heated stones and bricks were a common and very old way of keeping hands and feet warm. As well as being used in beds these hot water bottles could be carried on journeys. Coaches and trains were cold and draughty places and having a hand or foot warming bottle was very important for a comfortable journey.

The hot water bottle is quite small and fairly heavy. It would be heavier still when filled with water. It is glazed in cream with a brown-glazed handle at one end and a brown-glazed screw top where the water was added. 

This hot water bottle is for the feet. It has a flat base so that it can stand upright easily, either in a bed or on the floor of a coach or train carriage. Women would have been able to warm their feet well as their long skirts covered the bottle, forming a tent to trap the heat!