What did they store inside them?

Mostly household provisions. The deep shelves held bulky items like preserving jars and heavy mixing bowls in the kitchen. Upstairs examples held folded linen and blankets. The configuration of the shelves usually hints at the original room it stood in.

I have a space in my hallway that gets a lot of direct afternoon sunlight and I was wondering if this would damage the wood over time?

Prolonged sunlight does bleach antique timber. Mahogany turns a lighter shade of orange, while pine can darken or yellow depending on its finish. Keep the piece away from direct glare if you want to preserve the current colour. You can apply a good quality beeswax polish twice a year to help nourish the surface. If the room gets very warm, the change in humidity might also cause the door panels to shrink slightly within their frames.

How do the doors stay shut?

Most rely on a simple brass or iron lock with a key. Others use a wooden turn-button attached to the shelf edge, or a brass ball catch recessed into the door frame.

My doors are a bit stiff and one side seems to rub against the bottom of the frame whenever I try to close it properly, how do I fix this?

That is usually down to the floor rather than the piece itself. Old houses settle, and floorboards are rarely level. If the cupboard leans slightly, the heavy carcase twists out of square. This makes the rectangular doors bind against the frame. Try wedging a small piece of wood or folded card under one of the front corners. Watch how the door gaps change as you lift it.

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Victorian Cupboards in East of England

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Victorian cupboards are robust wooden storage units built with solid panelled doors and internal shelving, originally designed to hold household goods ranging from kitchen provisions to linens in nineteenth-century homes.