When Emily owned the "House of All Sorts", she would often sleep in the basement. She had to keep the fire in the furnace burning for her tenants. "I could hear tenants still sleeping- the house must be warm for them to wake to...".
She hated the basement; she "loathed its black, (and) the smell of soot.". Originally, the basement consisted of several storage rooms, a laundry room and a room where the furnace was located.
At some point in the house's history, a portion of the basement was converted into another suite. It is difficult to determine an exact date for this alteration, but most likely it occurred after Emily sold the house. She does not mention a basement suite in any of her written works and there isn't an official record of this addition.
A set of stairs leading from the Lower East Flat to the basement are also an addition. These could have been installed during the construction of the basement suite, but there are no documents to prove this claim.
The present day basement is used for storage. The basement suite is no longer rented and remains empty.
For more detailed information visit the floorplans section.
