This is an even more primitive house than the Earth House at De Spitkeet. The people dug a hole and strengthened it with wooden beams and poles. They further built up the walls and ceilings with grass or heather sods.

Interior:-

A bit further round the grounds of De Spitkeet there was this opening where during World War 2 young men hid from patrols to avoid being taken to Germany to work in factories etc. It must have been better disguised in those days or the bare earth leading to it would have been a giveaway:-

The cemetery at De Spitkeet has a wooden belfry. This was because it was believed bells frightened away evil spirits. No-one was buried there for nine years until the belfry was erected.

Part of cemetery with spitkeet earth house:-

Belfry and spitkeet house:-

This week I visited Dundee’s McManus Art Gallery and Museum to see the exhibition A Weather Eye. I got to it late. It finishes on Sunday 11/5/25: tomorrow!

Each painting was accompanied on its information board by a Scots word to do with weather or the image depicted.

The quality and interest of course varied.

My highlights were:-

Island by James Howie; accompanied by the word ‘loom’.

Alec Grieve’s Sunset on the Tay; ‘gloamin’.

Storm at Sea Remembered by Jon Schueler; ‘doister’.

The Tay Road Bridge by James McIntosh Patrick; ‘braw’.

Stanley Cursiter’s Rain on Princes Street; ‘evendoon’.

The above were all available to look at on the website Art UK.

The one below wasn’t; so here’s my photo of it.

William Cadenhead’s New Snow, Catlaw; ‘owerblaw’.

There are several examples at De Spitkeet of the types of houses people lived in in the area in times gone by.

Below is a typical Spitkeet turf house:-

Reverse view:-

Entrance:-

Information about. In the Mallemolen museum part there was a photograph from the 1930 with children sleeping on the floor:-

Interior:-

Clogs:-

Fire layout and cooking pot:-

Parents’ bed:-

The Spitkeet (see previous post) acreage is centred round a collapsed pingo, a depression formed after ice age permafrost melted. They are usually filled with water. The landscape of Friesland and parts of Groningen Province contains quite a few pingos.

Pingo and bridge:-

The bridge:-

The pingo from the bridge. The Mallemolen (see previous post, is to the left in the middle distance):-

De Spitkeet is an open air rural museum near Harkema, Friesland, The Netherlands. A spitkeet was  akind of Earth-house.

The first exhibit you come to is a building called the Mallemolen:-

The Mallemolen acted as a poorhouse. The coldest room, on the northeast, was given to the latest arrivals and when others became available they would move into those:-

The rooms look not too bad though:-

Box beds:-

Near the Mallemolen was a stork’s nest:-

Iwema Steenhuis (see previous posts) has several exhibits relating to childhood.

Model of schoolroom:-

Vintage children’s books:-

Toy vehicles:-

I just loved those dinky caravans on the second top shelf above so here’s a close-up:-

There was also domestic memorabilia.

Inkwells and desktop paraphernalia:-

Inkwell partly in the shape of a Great War tank (a French Renault, I think):-

Old style shop:-

The museum part of Iwema Steenhuis has some industrial relics. A roller press:-

Machine for moulding speculaas biscuits:-

Speculaas and jelly moulds + wicker basket and rolling pins:-

A speculaas pressing machine:-

Stained glass and enamels:-

Colourings:-

Tiles and enamel signs:-

The name literally means Iwema stonehouse. Perhaps stone houses were rare in Groningen Province back in the day. It’s located not far away from Niebert Windmill.

Inside is a kind of museum of local life and community gathering place.

Interior and roof:-

Box bed and cupboard:-

Steps to box bed:-

A cooking range:-

The above is set within a dining room:-

Anlother dining room had a table covered with a rug:-

A fireplace:-

Kitchen stuff:-

Room with old sewing machine and radio:-

Like similar country houses in the UK there wereexhibits of domestic life in Coendersborg.

Box bed + nightshirt:-

and bed pan:-

Wall tiles:-

Coendersborg basement:-

There was a museumy bit at the back of the house with exposed wooden beams:-

Poster of Squirrel. In Dutch a squirrel is an eekhorn. We spotted a red one from the house’s front window:-

Poster of flowers to be found in Coendersborg’s garden:-

Back of house:-