6/20 Ferry Ride Off Orkney & Croft Museum

 Took the ferry this morning from Orkney to Thurso, Scotland and was surprised at how many motorhomes were on board.  Here are the ones on one side of the ship. 

 

And some on the other side.  

 

I had noticed this little museum when I drove past here on the way to Orkney, but did not stop because I was tired.  I did stop this time.  A croft is an old stone house that people who worked farms for the land owner lived in.  The buildings were owned by the landowner, and the people lived and worked at his pleasure.  You could compare them to share croppers in the U.S. in the 1800s.  Most were very poor and were forced off the land in the mid-1800s, resulting in them going to Canada, the U.S., or Australia for better lives. 

 

 

The information in this community-owned museum said most crofts were long buildings with a barn for one or two animals connected to the house. 

The thatch roof on this one was tied down by wire to prevent it from blowing away. 

 

The far side of the building with doors.  Notice that there were almost no windows in the back side, and only a very few on this side. 

A workroom at the far end.

Kitchen with a fireplace.  I liked the pole that hung in front of the fireplace for drying clothes.

Living and eating space.

Wash basin with ceramic potty chairs below. 

 

 

Notice that there were only partial walls between rooms and that these bed-boxes were enclosed on all sides and on the top.  I imagine it kept people warmer at night. 

And finally, at the end of the building was a space to hold one or two cows or other farm animals owned by the crofters.

 

 

The land owner provided the crofter with the main beams for his ceiling, but he was responsible for the rest, and many of the other boards in the roof were reused materials, such as board from old boats or even oars. 

You can see tens of thousands, or more, of such croft houses in ruin in the countryside as you drive through. Some are missing their original thatch roofs, while others were remodeled in the late 1800s and have more modern roofs, but those also have holes in them and are falling apart.