School: Baurnafea, Paulstown (roll number 807)
- Location:
- Baurnafea, Co. Kilkenny
- Teacher: Sean Moffat
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0861, Page 326
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- Farm houses of the period had clay or stone walls, sometimess two or three feet thick. Glass was always used in the windows but they were very small. Roofs were thatched with oaten or wheaten straw. These small farmers could never grow a large acreage of corn and there never seemed to be enough straw to keep dwelling house, barn and outhouses in Courlea were generally roofed with flags. One of these, the Widow Walshe's, still stands. The floors were of clay, packed hard except at the fire, where a large hearth stone reached out for two or three feet. Open fire places or large grates were the order of the day and in every house a croc was used for hanging pots or kettles over the fire. The word is still used. The pots and kettles were of iron and almost everlasting. Some of them still in use have been in the family for generations. A settle bed made by the local carpenter was attached to wall near every fire place, used as a seat during the day it could be turned down to form a comfortable bed at night. One of these settle beds, at Staunton's must be a 100 years old. The back is rather roughly "moulded" or ornamented showing that the local carpenter in spite of his rough & ready tools could turn his hand to the finer points of the trade. A table, some time hinged to the wall, chairs , and the inevitable dresser completed the furniture of the kitchen. Wooden vessels were(continues on next page)
