Black House
The Black House (also Blackhouse Scottish Gaelic t (a) igh-dubh [t̪ʰət̪u] - Irish teach dubh - German " Black House " ) is a name for a traditional house type of the Scottish Hebrides , Highlands and Ireland as well as the areas of Celtic settlements in Nova Scotia . It was usually built from double-walled dry masonry , the space in between was filled with earth or peat. The wooden roof beams were covered with sod, straw or reeds . The ground usually consisted of stone slabs or trampled earth . Usually in the middle of the living room there was a central fireplace in which a fire was burning permanently. Usually was peat used for firing. The roof had no smoke outlet, the smoke was drawn through the roof. Food was kept in the gable as it was preserved by the smoke and lack of oxygen.
The Black House provided space for both people and cattle. People and animals lived on opposite sides of the house, with a partition between them.
Beginning in the 1880s and accompanied by legal measures, the “blackhouses” were replaced by the “whitehouses”: the people's household was separated from the animal stalls. They had chimneys and windows.
Whitehouses also had small disadvantages: For example, the heat from the smoke was now drawn off through the chimney.
The Black Houses were in use until the 1970s, and as people moved to more modern apartments, these houses fell into disrepair. In the meantime, Black Houses are increasingly being restored, especially as holiday homes.
See also
- Blackhouses of Arnol (Isle of Lewis)
- The Gearrannan Blackhouses (English Garenin on Lewis and Harris)
- The Skye Museum of Island Life with restored houses
- Highland Folk Museum
Web links
- Blackhouses of Scotland and Ireland engl.
- Lewis Black House Museum, in Arnol on Lewis and Harris
- Gearrannan Blackhouse Village, in Garenin on Lewis and Harris
- Nova Scotia Highland Village Museum / An Clachan Gàidhealach
- The Blackhouse of the Highlands "Dualchas Building Design"
- RW Brunskill: Houses and Cottages of Britain . Yale 2000, ISBN 9780575071223 , p. 243; Floor plan development (Google books)
- Entry on Black House in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database Sy 66 on Sandray
swell
- ↑ Blackhouses ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
