Curracloe, County Wexford, 1944: Architectural Drawings of Traditional Houses

County Wexford, Curracloe - Plan, front elevation and section of a house

Wove paper, pencil, black drawing ink. Height 569mm. Width 762mm.

The plan of this substantial single-story house shows a number of living spaces including a kitchen, parlour, dairy store and four bedrooms. This reflects the more prosperous living conditions frequently found in the south east region of the country at one time. The front door is in line with the hearth and leads into a porch area.  A jamb wall screens the porch from the hearth. Vernacular architecture is often classified by the type of house entrance, and this house is classified as a hearth lobby entrance type house. The section shows the open fire and chimney construction.  A crook secured and hanging within the chimney is illustrated. 

Mud or clay walling is more common in the drier east and south-east of Ireland. These houses tend to have wide bases of rough stones on which the walls were built and wider walls at the base. They also had roofs with projecting eaves. These features were designed to protect the house from water.