School: Durrus, Bantry (roll number 13023)
- Location:
- Durrus, Co. Cork
- Teacher: L. Blennerhassett
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- XML “Old Houses”
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- In former times mostly all the houses were thatched and there are still some to be seen in the district. The material used for thatching was straw and rushes which grow in marshy land. Some houses were roofed with corrugated iron and slate. Slate roofed houses are most commonly used at present.
The thatched houses were one storeyed, small and the walls which were built very thickly were composed of stones and mortar made from mud. There was a bed in the kitchen usually know as a settle-bed. It was a wooden affair and it was placed beside the fire. It was two feet high and approximately six feet long. The bedding was not as comfortable as nowadays. It was used for other purposes during the day.
The floor was earthen but some people put large flags on it which made it very tough and uneven. Some of the thatched houses had no chimneys but the smoke was allowed to go out the door and windows. Bags were used as a substitute for glass in the windows.
Lights from bog-deal splinters were used for giving light at night. These were got in the bog when cutting the turf and when they dry they lit easily.
Susannah Jane Pyburn,
Dunbeacon, Durrius, Co. Cork- Collector
- Susannah Jane Pyburn
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Dunbeacon, Co. Cork