Croft house with primitive chimney, Fort Augustus

Croft house with primitive chimney, Fort Augustus

ID: QZP99_94157_07_03 DESCRIPTION: Most croft houses were thatched. Thatching was a common way to roof houses as the material was light and did not put unnecessary weight on the walls. Older cottages did not have gable ends or chimneys because the fire inside was in the middle of the floor. As central fires moved closer to the walls chimneys were constructed. Early chimneys were canopies extending from the wall inside the house and led the smoke up through the roof. They were often made with wattle and sods. Later, stone flues were built into the wall of a house. This image comes from a collection gifted to Edinburgh Central Library by Dr Isabel F. Grant. The collection includes photographs taken by a number of different photographers. PLACENAME: Fort Augustus DISTRICT: Aird OLD COUNTY/PARISH: INVERNESS: Boleskine and Abertarff SOURCE: Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh Central Library COLLECTION: I F Grant Photographic Archive Asset ID: 38789 KEYWORDS: