As you may have noticed on this I-Tour, luxury and status were important for the merchants who lived along the canals of Amsterdam, and their houses were expected reflect their standing by their spic-and-span exteriors.

A whole army of servants was needed to run a household in a canal house but these cooks, cleaners and nursemaids were not allowed to use the front door. Their entrance was the back door in the alleys between the canals, like Kerkstraat where you are now. In contrast to the front of the houses, it was a huge mess in these streets, with goods being delivered or dispatched, horse manure littering the streets and rubbish put out to be collected. It must have been very smelly – although the same could be said of the front of the house, as the canals were used as open sewers in those days.