Inside the Thatched Cottage at Bunratty Folk Park

It wasn’t my first time to visit one of these Irish villages but every time I visit one always makes me smile. I thought that these thatched roof cottages were very attractive. There were a few of these thatched roof cottages here at Bunratty Folk Park. Some of them were even relocated from elsewhere. I guess it was a better than getting torn down. While there are still these types of houses, most of them are just for tourism purposes. Each one of these houses are like time machines which take you to the time before the internet was even an electron.

As one might expect, the thatched roof cottages served as the dwellings of the villagers. Most of the time it is occupied by a family. The cottages are spacious enough to house an entire family and you can see from the furniture they have there. Beds weren’t exactly very big, they are usually off to one side of the bedroom usually by the wall. This is to maximize the use of space. The walls of these cottages are very thick to keep out the cold. To keep the inside dry, the thatch roof wicks away the rain to the side of the house thus avoiding moisture in the house. One thing I noticed was that doorways seem to be quite low. I don’t know if it is because of a limitation of building materials at the time or people just didn’t grow that tall back then. Then again, that might explain why the beds weren’t very long. It is nice to go in these houses as they give you a peek into the life of the Irish back then.

[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/BunrattyCastle.kmz} zoom=19]