referred to what we now know as a "closet" as a "clothes press." I have no idea why? Has anyone else come across this usage?

In my high school days I was a boarder (live-in student) at a Catholic school. (Girls only.) The rooms did not have closets. The closets for each room was the door next to the room door and accessible from the hall. They were called the clothes press.
In a similar vein - when I visited Ireland I was introduced to the "airing cupboard" which was a clothes press with heat in it to take the chill off clothes that were brought in from hanging to dry outside. Neat idea!