Dick Clark: The Irish Cottage
[Mini Site Links at bottom of pages]
A focus on Irish Cottages makes up by far the major section of our Dick Clark collection. It takes up several pages in this website.
Today it is virtually impossible to find a genuine, original Irish cottage. I
n 1992, of 30,000 thatched buildings in full use in the 1950s , only 200 remained. And now?
We are pretty sure that Dick had similar feelings to ours when he began his work: with the many different shapes, sizes and constructions it is difficult to answer the question,
"What is an Irish Cottage?'
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Googling "Irish Cottages" brings so many different results and a few surprises like the number of donkeys who seem to be walking past as artists or photographers take up their tools!
Study of our collection has allowed us to draw up our own list of cottage criteria to help with identification.
It would appear that the depth of a cottage is important: the all important roof construction depended on available wood and Irish trees being Irish trees, almost all were only one room wide. .
At the smallest end of the cottage spectrum were the laborer’s cottage or Bothán Scóir, traveling laborers would build these one roomed houses as they moved from farm to farm, working the land for about 80 days of year to pay rent and the rest of the year as their wages.
These houses are simple affairs with mud floors, sparse furniture and often not even a window.
There are numerous examples in our collection: too many to display at once. Dick used many "authentic" materials to make sure that finishes on walls etc. were as authentic as possible.
We need a byre dwelling photo for here!
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The "byre" dwelling was a slightly larger cottage that was shared with the animals. Livestock were an extremely valuable asset to poorer farmers so they kept them within their dwelling.
Usually built on a slope or at least with sloped floors with the animals on the lower end so their effluent would run away from the living quarters.
This arrangement meant the animals were close at hand if there were any problems or the weather was too poor to tend them and they also benefited from the heat of the fireplace.
Another form of this dwelling had the family living in the loft area over the livestock with an external staircase accessing the living quarters.
Many of these dwellings were converted fully into livestock barns as the family’s fortunes increased.
On the larger end of the scale were the thatched mansions – two story thatched farmhouses that were often extended from single story cottages as the occupants become wealthier. The Old Farm cottage in Co. Kilkenny is an example of such a dwelling. Thatched mansions still remained one room deep but were much taller; it was considered bad luck to build in any direction other than lengthwise.
The most popular form of cottage is that with the living area at the center with the hearth fireplace and a bedroom on either end.
The ceiling of the living area usually extended to the open rafters although the space over the two bedrooms was often utilised as loft sleeping areas.
Another more unusual sleeping arrangement often found in northern cottages was the nook or outshot, an alcove built into the cottage walls close to the hearth where the elderly inhabitants of the dwelling slept for the warmth. The outshot would usually be curtained off from view of any visitors.
LINKS: Completed Pages...
Coming (quite) soon...
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The "Big House" a Georgian Mansion
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Gate Lodges
On View in the Collection...
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Portrush Railway Station
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Dunluce Castle, Portrush
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Caravans
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Shops and Shopping
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On the Water
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You're Having a Laugh!
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