16. Nov, 2021
Highland Houses.
I have posted two pages, today, on Highland Thatched Houses. Many visitors to the Highlands were amazed, and often alarmed at the standard of housing which the local population occupied. Whilst it is true that they were correct in concerns over hygene, I think these visitors did not appreciate the skill displayed in the construction of these dwellings, often made with very little material to hand - mainly rocks, turf and heather, and a very little wood.
One of the pages is in the form of a photo album, using images from my collection. A word of warning: there are quite a few of them, and I don't want to bore you! But they are there for the sake of completeness, and many offer small insights into social history if the images include people.
I am indebted to Colin Sinclair's book Thatched Houses, a Contribution to the Social History of the Old Highlands, (Oliver & Boyd, 1953), which explains the differences in the basic construction designs.
Details of my book, The Immeasurable Wilds can be found at:
https://www.whittlespublishing.com/The_Immeasurable_Wilds