Menlough Village, Lough Corrib, Co. Galway, 1945: Architectural Drawings of Irish Traditional Houses

County Galway, Menlough Village - Plan, south elevation, cross section and sketch of Interior , 1945

Watercolour paper, black drawing ink, pencil. Height 474mm, Width 608 mm.

This two roomed house was originally surrounded by six others. The sketch of interior shows an open hearth with a cast iron pot suspended upon a pot crook above the fire. Behind the fire is a stepped hob wall. The carpenter chair and kitchen table are also shown. The detail of the unhewn roof timber is also shown.

The section-sketch shows the details of the hearth wall. An aluminium saucepan rests on the hob wall, an oil lamp hangs to the right of the chimney and storage areas are shown either side of the hearth. The plan indicates steps up to the entrance doorway and a step down inside. Interiors were often lower that outdoors to allow for the spreading of rushes on the floors inside. The traditional placement of furniture along the walls is also shown. The small buttress, shown in the front elevation, is a common construction devise to give added support to the house walls.