Wicklow Houses
Thatched Cottage, Boghall Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow
This is a picture of a pretty thatched house in Wicklow, taken in 1957. It is almost certainly a direct-entry cottage. It belonged to the O’Toole family and was situated on Boghall Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
'A Pictorial History of Bray', by Henry Cairns and Own Gallagher.Thatched Cottage, Boghall Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow
'A Pictorial History of Bray', by Henry Cairns and Own Gallagher.
'A Pictorial History of Bray', by Henry Cairns and Own Gallagher.
Thatched Cottage, Boghall Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow
This is a picture of a pretty thatched house in Wicklow, taken in 1957. It is almost certainly a direct-entry cottage. It belonged to the O’Toole family and was situated on Boghall Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
'A Pictorial History of Bray', by Henry Cairns and Own Gallagher.Houses in urban and rural settings are designed differently, based on the lifestyles of their inhabitants.
In general, Ireland's traditional houses are of two types: lobby-entry and direct-entry.
The direct-entry house is most common in rural and mountainous parts of Ireland. Lobby-entry homes are the more typical townhouses found in cities.
Let's take a look at what houses were like in Wicklow in the past. We will focus our investigation on Ballyknockan in West Wicklow. The buildings in this town are special, because they were built with very high-quality stone and attention to detail.
Direct-Entry
Homestead in Brockagh, Co. Wicklow
The Nolan Homestead in Brockagh, Co. Wicklow, with Mrs Kevin Nolan and two daughters, 1946. Although the opposite side is not evident in the picture, the roof shown is a gable roof.
Local History Collection, Wicklow County Council Library Service.Homestead in Brockagh, Co. Wicklow
Local History Collection, Wicklow County Council Library Service.
Local History Collection, Wicklow County Council Library Service.
Homestead in Brockagh, Co. Wicklow
The Nolan Homestead in Brockagh, Co. Wicklow, with Mrs Kevin Nolan and two daughters, 1946. Although the opposite side is not evident in the picture, the roof shown is a gable roof.
Local History Collection, Wicklow County Council Library Service.
A typical Wicklow house was direct-entry.
In these houses, the old kitchen hearth is located on a wall opposite the room in the front of the house.
Direct-entry houses are frequently built of stone and have gabled roofs, which means they have two roof slopes.
Lobby-Entry
The lobby-entry design is simple, consisting of one room on each floor on either side of a large central chimney stack. The kitchen hearth is typically located in line with the front door. However, the kitchen is screened from unwelcome draughts by a partition wall, known as a jamb wall.
The jamb wall is usually pierced by a small spy window, which permits the person seated at the fire to peer through and note the arrival of visitors.