School: Gortnessy (roll number 7235)

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1. Old Houses

   

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   There are a good many old houses in this district. Long ago the houses were small and were thatched but they are built bigger now and some are slated and some are still thatched and there are zinc roofs on some.

   Old houses had beds in the kitchen and they were called “out shots”. The bed was placed in the corner of the kitchen. The fire was always in the gable-wall.

   Some houses had no chimneys in them only a hole in the roof for the smoke to go out through. Others had what was called a road brace [sic]

   Houses had no chimneys in many cases but the fire was never in the centre of the house. If there was a window in a house there was always glass in it. The floors were made out of clay. The people used to tie the young calves in one side of the kitchen and keep the pigs in the other side of it.

   Half doors are not so common as they used to be but there are some still. Turf was the only thing that was used for the fire. Rush candles were used for lights. People used to cut the candles and dry them and dip them in

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. objects
      1. man-made structures
         1. buildings
            1. residential buildings (~2,723)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Ernest Crawford

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Cullion, Co. Donegal

   Informant

   Mr B. Crawford

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   59

   Address

   Cullion, Co. Donegal