Sunday 11 September 2016

Chocolate Box Cottages In Adare.


I took these photographs in Adare in County Limerick the other day.   They always attract the tourists on their way to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and to Shannon Airport.



Apparently the English landowner the Earl of Dunraven built them for his workers building Adare Manor.  Don't think he actually physically built them himself.  He just paid to have them built and no doubt had a say in their design.  He rented the houses out to the tenants.  A fine example of nineteenth century social housing and they are probably worth a king's ransom these days.

They look so quintessential English and I wouldn't mind living in one of them.  Would you like to live in an old rustic building like a thatched cottage?

9 comments:

  1. Well we are living in a sort of old rustic building, even though it has been patched up and re roofed, but not with the thatch. And yes, I love living in this cottage, with its acres of wooden ceilings and white walls. The rooms are probably bigger than an English cottage would have, and the ceilings are higher but, the house does have wondrously thick walls, the front wall in particular looking very rustic at the moment as the sparrows continue to chip away at the lime rendering which exposes the stones, which is not a good thing as if they continue on their demolition activities will have the wall falling down in a year or two if we don't get it fixed!

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  2. Hope the sparrows leave your lime render alone. Your house sounds wonderful Vera. So many modern houses don't seem to have the character and charm of the old rural dwellings. It would be good to see new houses built with old style characteristics complete with veg plots... Thanks!

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  3. As a carpenter I never want to live in a character cottage - far too much work to keep them running! I lke my 1950's house, simple, easy to work on and built well, also modern enough to be energy efficient with a bit of extra work.

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  4. I like character cottages Kev. I know what you mean that they are often very small rooms and nothing is in line. We once lived in a modern house and it had studded internal walls with a red brick facade. You could hear the neighbours walk up their stairs.

    When we built our dwelling here in Ireland. We made it look old with rough render on the outside. The walls are made of concrete blocks. Thanks!

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  5. I like the look of thatched cottages. I really dont like beamed ceilings. I am awful about spiders hiding, my grand parents farm house had them. And they were dark in colour, the spiders could hide. My cousin when he lived there, painted them white, on his wifes request, it made it look better but I still didnt like them.

    Give me a victorian house onwards to the 1950's and then from then on I dont want a house. The plots get too small and the rooms get smaller. This house is 1960's but it has had a big extension and then us converting the attic to living space. If we could build ourselves and find reliable builders it would be different. But until then, I would like a Victorian house again, now I have had a cotswold stone coloured one I am open to something else.

    Are you thinking you may stay in Ireland?

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  6. Hi Sol,

    Thanks for that. I like spiders and I always leave them alone when they walk across the floor. Our cat Domino thinks different and he chases them.

    The farmhouse next door is about 200 years old but the rooms aren't really big enough for modern 3 piece suites. I know what you mean about Victorian houses. Especially if they belonged to somebody who was fairy comfortably well off and the rooms are big. I love Georgian houses. Don't like the conservation orders they put on them though. Once lived in a village in Cheshire and they wouldn't allow you to have satellite dishes or upvc windows.

    We still want to live in Portugal. But we would like to buy a small house in Portugal that we can lock up and leave it and go there for 3 months in the winter and holidays in the summer. Eventually retiring there. That's the idea any way. Thanks!

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  7. My ideal cottage would have to have a roof made of Welsh slate. I'd be dreading fires if I lived under a thatched roof. My thick walls are fine in summer but it's cold place in winter.

    I don't mind spiders, it's mosquitoes I can't stand. People say the damned things pick on me because my blood smells sweet (whatever that means) is the theory.

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  8. Thanks Gwil. I think central heating is important in old houses especially. I have lived in new houses that were warm in summer and cold in winter.

    We get mosquitoes but it's the doctor flies (horse fly)we hate the most. They thrive in fields full of rushes. They silently land on your skin and inject their poison. Often leading to large and painful boils. Piriton tablets take away the inflammation. Thanks!

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  9. Good quality boxes not only protect products but help in giving a beautiful presentation as well. The overall look of the box depends on the quality of the material.
    chocolate box It is like a canvas on which the whole picture is made. So, choose high-quality packaging material to make the packaging look exceptional. There are different packaging materials. Here is a brief introduction to them so you can choose the best one for you.

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