School: Drumakill (roll number 6365)

On this page

1. Old Houses

   

   Share Share Post

   Long ago the houses were called mud cabins. They had mud walls in their houses. The roofs of houses were thatched with rushes, and some were thatched with wattles and reeds. The wheat straw is the best for thatching the houses. In later years they began to use stoney slates which were found in a quarry in Creeve near Ballybay. The fires were all in the centre of the floors and there were no chimneys in the houses. The smoke went out through the door. Long ago there were no beds and there was nothing but settle beds and these settle beds folded up like a long seat. There are four or five settle beds in the townland of Drumakill still. The settle beds were placed in the chimney corner. There were no windows in the houses. Our teacher knew a house with a small pane of glass for the only window. The people made a hole in the wall and boarded it up and the light came in through the splits. Long ago the floors were earthen floors and these floors were not level. It wore into holes and people fed the cats in these holes. It was very common to have a half

   (continues on next page)

   

   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

   Jane Wilson

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Dromore, Co. Monaghan