The bed-alcove tradition in Ireland and Scotland: reappraising the evidence

Abstract

The bed-alcove was a common feature of houses in parts of the north and west of Ireland during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, where it existed both as a projecting outshot and as a recess within the wall. Similar alcoves were also found in the north and west of Scotland and in other parts of Europe and Scandinavia. Although the bed-alcove tradition has been studied by a number of scholars, particularly in Ireland, numerous questions remain unanswered. Using data from physical, documentary and linguistic sources, this paper reevaluates the current evidence for the bed-alcove in Ireland, suggesting areas of further research. Evidence from Scotland is considered alongside the Irish evidence, to examine the extent to which one tradition may shed light on the other. In particular, it is suggested that the relationship between recesses and outshots is key to understanding the form, function and development of the bed-alcove in Ireland and further afield. Introduction A notable feature in some traditional houses, the bed-alcove provided a clearly delineated sleeping space within the house that was bounded by one or more external walls. Two different forms of bed-alcove have been identified: it exists as both a projecting outshot, whose depth varies from accommodating the full depth of the bed to accommodating only part of it, and as a recess within the thickness of the wall itself (Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3). Such recesses are also of varying depth, depending partly on the thickness of the wall. Projecting bedoutshots were formed by stepping out the main wall, usually at the back of the house, and were often roofed by a continuation of the main roof of the house. From the outside, the outshot looked like a small lean-to. Both bed-recesses and bed-outshots have been presumed to be part of the same building tradition and the term 'bed-alcove' is used when referring to this tradition in general (combining both bed-outshots and bed-recesses). The term 'bed-recess' is used where the bed-alcove is accommodated within the wall and does not project * Author's e-mail: c.mackie@liverpool.ac.uk doi: 10.3318/PRIAC.2013. 113.07 1 The author would like to thank Professor William Gillies, University of Edinburgh, for his comments on an earlier version of this paper. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol. 113C, 309-340 © 2013 Royal Irish Academy This content downloaded from 207.46.13.21 on Tue, 27 Sep 2016 04:04:22 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms