School: Carpenterstown (Templefanum) (roll number 5415)

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1. Old Houses

   

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   Long ago houses were different to nowaday. They were nearly all built of yellow clay which got dry and hard with the heat of the sun. The roofs were thatched instead of slates. The chimneys were holes made in the roofs with a small square box without a bottom, or sometimes a bucket fastened on the hole. In the smaller houses there were usually two or three apartments, although some of them had only one. Outside and inside, the walls were white washed which made them look very clean and white. In this district every house had a half door until the cottages were built. All the thatched houses have half doors still. In the kitchen of every house there was a bed called a settlebed. This bed was always placed at the back wall. It was made of wood and could be closed up when not in use. There are still many settlebeds 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

   Eiblin Shields

   Gender

   Female

   Informant

   Mrs Mc Guin

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   64

   Address

   Hilltown, Co. Westmeath