The Harrington Homestead

I've just been out for a spot of exploration and mini trespass with my friend Colin. He's an archaeologist and when he came for supper the other evening, expressed an interest in the goings on on my website but wanted to know more, different things. So we ventured out to explore, two abandoned houses on the agenda. Fortunately we didn't have to clamber furtively over gates for we met the owner of the land who in fact had been doing work for Colin, sought his permission and gained loads of information - the cottage had been last lived in 60 years ago by an elderly brother and sister, and at one point someone had fallen down the stairs and had died, the blood was still on the wall!! It also transpired that the owner's great grandfather had been born in Colin's house.

Colin viewed the old building with completely different eyes which was fascinating - we peered up the very impressive chimney (built later than the rest of the house), crumbled flaky mortar between our fingers looking for specks of coal or wood ( I can't remember excatly what that told you), raked around in the soil trying to find bits of elusive date giving pottery and minutely examined bits of wood for evidence of being hewn with a saw. The conculsion - a pre famine cottage, probably renovated later when an extra half storey was added, when a new fireplace hood was installed and an upstairs fireplace added. He got very excited about bits of obscure woods and I got very excited about the old flaky distemper and layered colours of paintwork - plus I'm sure I identified the bloodstains! I also liked this old churn gently rusting in the window.
More pix here
Colin, if you read this - those bits of pink wood were the old backdoor not the stairs!!
And sad to hear of the death of Seamus Heaney, he will be much missed but he has left a fine legacy.