In the pictures above (left and right) you can see
how the oat straw thatch is fixed to the stonework and kept in
place by ropes and stone. The oat straw was replaced regularly and
the old thatch was used for fertiliser. Above (middle) is the
central open fire with a bed
alcove (Pattern
No. 188) in the background. The
home (right) is a modern blackhouse built in Canada.
The house was built using 126 tons of stone on a farm near Grand Valley, ON.
The structure isn't traditionally built with two walls filled
with peat, and untypically it has windows in the wall rather than
the roof, which is green rather than the warmer thatch. Notice steps are built into the wall leading up to the chimney
and the
green roof. |