The typical nineteenth-century Irish cottage has been explored here, with its total of three rooms: one kitchen flanked by two bedrooms. On average family sizes were large, included grandparents, and the bedrooms usually held four beds – so what were the actual sleeping arrangements?
The answer lies in the nature of bed furniture in Irish cottages which was variously hidden, transformer, multifunction and the ways of sleeping which were pragmatic with a strong emphasis on maximising warmth and cosiness.
In the cottage of the period discussed here, bedrooms were on either side of the main kitchen. They were sparsely furnished and little used in comparison to the warmer kitchen which contained the fire. Because of the cold in bedrooms, beds were shared by family members: the boys shared one bed, the girls shared another, the younger children another and the parents had their own bed. Extra occupants availed of other beds in the kitchen.
Prior to the popularity of Victorian wrought-iron beds with sprung mattresses in the later nineteenth century, the main type of bed were wooden box beds on raised legs, enclosed on three sides with a wooden ‘roof’. The entrance could be curtained off for privacy and protection from drafts. Inside, the bed was ‘papered’ or lined to further reduce drafts. A basic straw mattress was used, wrapped in fabric. A similar type of bed known as a tester bed was covered with cloth curtains to protect occupants from dust or turf which fell from the interior of the thatched roof. Featherbeds (mattresses) were also popular, if more expensive: only the feathers of water fowl were used for these. Irish patchwork quilts were common. Blankets were cherished and made from wool, and pillows were not commonly used.
The other chief piece of furniture in the bedroom was the chest. Chests evolved from those with lift-up tops, to cupboards with worktops and drawers. Dowry chests in some parts of Ireland were given as wedding gifts. Many were carved and were prized as an heirloom and used to store precious fabric items. As having a 'parlour' became fashionable in homes, some chests could convert into a bed at night to facilitate the bedroom being used as a ‘good room’.
Sleeping in the kitchen
Sleeping communally in a room where the fire was, was a habit the Irish were used to and continued in some dwellings into the nineteenth century. In medieval Irish castles ‘the grand hall’ contained the open fire and was where the feasting and sleeping took place, all together with little privacy.
Irish one-roomed cabins generally predated cottages discussed here . These had no actual bedrooms or beds, and the common way of familial sleeping was in a ‘stradogue’: this was where everyone was wrapped in the same bedding (like a big communal sleeping bag) on a straw mattress on the floor beside the fire.
Out of the tradition of sleeping in the kitchen beside the fire evolved the use of the outshot bed. This was a feature of cottages in the North and West of the island, where it was also known as a ‘cailleach’ or hag. It was a small projecting extension to the rear of the cottage and near the fireside, used commonly by the elderly of the household. It had a fitted bed and some level of privacy was provided by curtains or doors. When infirm or bedridden, the elderly could continue to be a central part of the household by occupying the outshot.
As houses were modernised and notions of hygiene changed, sleeping in the kitchen by the fire died out, and became only the occasional preserve of house guests.
Transformer and multifunction furniture
There were multifunctional pieces of furniture such as settle beds and press beds that could be used as beds at night but that remained hidden during the day.
Settles were popular items of furniture in the Irish cottage, they are a long bench with a high back and wooden arms. They often included storage or dining tables and were located in the kitchen. Settle beds could be folded down to become a box-bed, which was given a straw mattress and bedding. It was a multifunction piece of furniture used for seating and often as a secure playpen for toddlers.
Press beds (or ‘Murphy’ beds, as they became known when brought to the USA by Irish emigrants in the nineteenth-century) were also used. This bed folded up into a tall cupboard or ‘press’ (as cupboards are sometimes referred to in Ireland and Scotland).
Roof spaces were often used for sleeping accommodation for children. The loft was sometimes left open and overlooked the main room or given a wall. It was suitable for children’s bedrooms (due to the small size) and when left open drew the heat up from the room. The loft could be accessed from a ladder or through a hatch door. Lofts were commonly lit by a small side window that is a distinctive feature of the Irish cottage.
For more see my forthcoming book, The Irish Cottage: Cultural Identity, Life and Customs, Architectural Design and Interiors, 1860–1960 (Orpen Press, Dublin 2017).
All photographs taken by the author 2016.
ABOVE - Twin wooden beds, Ulster American Folk Park, (Tyrone).
BELOW -Clockwise from left: Tester Bed; Outshot Bed (at Glencolmcille Folk Park, Donegal);
Twin wooden beds (at Sean McDermott Cottage, Kiltyclogher, Leitrim).