Orkney August 2015: Part the Fourth

A change of pace today, partly as a result of wet weather, with visits to a couple of places off the main tourist itinerary. Local museums are always interesting to visit as they are, mmm, local. They reflect the history and customs of where they are in a way that larger museums can't. And, although they may very well be arranged and curated by professionals, more often than not they have a disarmingly jumbled but homely feel. The two in question were the Corrigal Farm Museum and the Kirbuster Museum. Both are under the care of the Orkney Council and both have free entry. How long will this remain the case? Perhaps, as Orkney Council is relatively rich (hooray for the oil revenues), they may be around for longer than pessimistic me thinks.

Back to the museums: in chronological terms we visited them in reverse order of age. Corrigal Farm dates from the later 1700s and was occupied until the 1970s. Kirbuster Farm stems from the 1600s, possibly earlier, and was occupied until the 1960s. They bear comparison, both with each other and Scara Brea. Not too many photographs were taken because of the conditions.

Corrigal Farm: inside the cattle byre with split brined mackerel being smoked over an open peat fire.

Corrigal Farm: the living area with the open fire, hearth and box beds. No electricity or running water, of course, and lighting was provided by rush oil lamps. 

 

Kirkbuster Farm: the main living area with its central hearth, peat fire and string of fish being smoked. In the background you can see the box bed with two containing walls of large stone. This model slept two people: one on the straw mattress (paliass) which is visible and the other underneath on straw bedding.

Kirkbuster Farm: smoke escapes through a hole in the roof, which was clad with large flat stones and sometimes finished with a layer of turf.

Kirkbuster Farm: in its latter years of occupation some rooms had been renovated to allow wallpaper (this is original from the 1920s) and a few more creature comforts. But, or so we were told, the open hearth was still used until the end.

As we were going around both farms we were struck by how, in many respects, little had changed from what we saw at Scara Brae and the Ness. The central hearth, peat fires, box beds, use of stone etc were all constants for around five millennia. And not just on Orkney as we could both remember the houses of elderly relatives where the cooking was done over an open fire, running water was limited and all toilet facilities were outside (and without water flushes). In that small way, we have a direct link with the past.

No glorious sunset as the rain got in the way so here's a plover in flight.