Peasant Houses in Leitrim During the 1900s

Landlords and Tenants

Poor people in rural Leitrim during the nineteenth century lived in terrible housing conditions. The only assistance available to the poor at that time was from the Poor Law Unions. These were parish-based organisations set up for the running of the workhouses.

People had to work the land for a landlord, who in exchange would rent them a small piece of land with a house. The rent was too high for many tenants, so they were permanently in debt to the landlord. This meant it was difficult for most tenants to improve their lot, and they were often vulnerable to eviction. The way in which landlords set the rent so high that it was impossible for tenants to pay was very common, and was called rackrenting.

Changes in land ownership practices would come later in the form of a series of land acts, which gradually allowed tenants to purchase the land they farmed. However, it was the early twentieth century before these reforms made significant and widespread differences to the lives of Irish peasants.

A Typical House

Tenement in Leitrim

This is the thatched house of a peasant in rural Leitrim around 1840. Notice the basket used for a chimney.

Tenement in Leitrim

Tenement in Leitrim

This is the thatched house of a peasant in rural Leitrim around 1840. Notice the basket used for a chimney.

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Home-Made Chair

This is a type of hand-made chair used in poor rural houses in Leitrim in the 1840s.

Home-Made Chair

Home-Made Chair

This is a type of hand-made chair used in poor rural houses in Leitrim in the 1840s.

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The living area of a typical rural tenant's house was usually about 18 by 14 feet or less. The house was generally built of sod (mud) or rough stone, sometimes with a window or just an opening. Due to the expensiveness of glass, there was a government tax on windows until 1851, so they were seen as a luxury. The roof was thatched with sods and hay and a wicker basket was used as the chimney.

There was usually a hole in the ground outside the front door that was used for dumping rubbish, slops, manure and human waste. This might sound horrible today, but this slop hole was important because it provided food for the pig and was used as fertilizer for the potatoes. Despite this, the slop hole was also a source of illness and disease for the family.

There was only one room in these houses where everyone slept, ate and lived. In this one room, several generations of the family often lived together with the animals. Mostly, people slept on the floor on piles of straw or dried turf, as blankets and bedclothes were a luxury.