School: Muckalee, Kilkenny (roll number 3832)

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1. Old Houses (continued)

   

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   "shake down". The fire was at the gable-end of most houses. The fire was often in the corner of the house and against the side walls. The front of the chimney was not built of mortar or stones. Most of the chimneys were built of sally rods and mud and more of them were built of yellow clay. The people who lived in some of the houses made a grate of stones in the middle of the floor and lit a fire in it. They were no windows in the houses in the olden times, only a hole in the wall and a bag of hay in it. A bag of hay was used to keep out the wind and cold. The old floors were made of yellow clay. They were no rooms in a great many of the houses. The yellow clay was mixed and was walked. Then it was shovelled into the floor and trampled down well.

   There was a cut on the top of the cake when it was going to be baked to keep the crust from rising. The people in the olden times only remember griddles. The bread used to be put on a brand in front of the fire to make the brow of it hard. Oaten bread was often made if there were any person going to America. They would take a store of bread to take them over.

   The half doors are very common in this district. In olden times there were no doors in the houses only a faggot of furze for a door. Half doors were made to keep out fowl and leave in light into the

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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

   Patrick Fitzpatrick

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Cloghpook, Co. Kilkenny

   Informant

   Michael Fitzpatrick

   Relation

   Parent

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   53

   Address

   Cloghpook, Co. Kilkenny