Walk-through
- Ground Floor
- Upper floor
- Structure
- The accoutrements of daily life
Ground floor
The ground floor housed the kitchen, the stables, the stores and the bedrooms. The kitchen has been in the same place since the 16th century, and it is there that the central fireplace used for cooking stands. Other typical items of kitchen furniture include the pot-hook, the zizeilu, a bench with a fold-down table and a high back that afforded protection against the cold, and storage chests.
Beside the kitchen door stands the stone counterweight of the cider press and the end of the press screw, which extends up into the upper floor, reached via the stairway opposite. All these elements date back to the 16th century and were maintained when the building was renovated in the 17th century. The stable area was divided into two parts, one for livestock and the other for storage. The livestock area with its mangers was behind the kitchen. The kitchen and stables were separated by two openings with sliding doors. The animals kept in this area were usually sheep.
The rest of the stable area was used to store cider casks and large farming implements (carts, ploughs, etc). In the ceiling of the livestock area the great wooden joists that support the trough of the cider press can be seen.
Beside the kitchen is the one bedroom that was in use in the 16th century. As can be seen, its walls were clad entirely with wood. With the extension in the 17th century the house was given three independent bedrooms and this original bedroom fell into disuse.
Upper floor
The upper floor is reached via the stairway in the kitchen. It was used as a food store and for part of the cider-making process. In the centre stands the cider press, the heart of the building. It comprises a trough on which crushed apples were placed. Above stands the great beam, which is 10m long. At one end the screw can be seen, running through the floor to the stone in the kitchen.
Although the press was only used to make cider once a year, it was the determining feature for the whole layout of the house. The length of the press determined the length of the house, and the great one-piece wooden posts and beams were installed to support its weight.
The space around the trough was used to store foodstuffs, dry straw for animal feed, broad beans, the pork products made when a pig was slaughtered and small and medium-sized tools.
The wall next to the screw was the original 16th century façade. Not all of it is preserved: with the extension in the 17th century doorways were opened up to provide access to the large area above the porch. This whole area was compartmented off for corn and wheat storage, carpentry tools, bee-hives and a dove-cote.
Structure
Some of the original structure has been lost or modified over time, but many major original features have survived.
Chief among them are the great one-piece posts running from floor to ceiling, the twin central posts that support the beam of the cider press, the impressive structure of the press itself, with its beam, screw, nut, stone, trough and joists, the wood cladding on the walls, the rafters (one-piece rafters from the 16th century and shorter ones from the 17th) and the floors.
The accoutrements of daily life
What little furniture there was in farmhouses of this type was eminently practical. Most items were made of wood, as were the household utensils, which were kept in the rooms where they were needed.
The kitchen contains simple crockery and utensils used to prepare food, keep the fire going, work with flax, etc. The bedrooms are furnished merely with beds and storage chests.
The stable area contained the tools and utensils used for arable and livestock farming and for making and storing cider.
In the upper storey, under the roof, are the tools used to start up the cider press, carpentry tools and the large chests used to store cereals and seasonal produce.