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War Memorial, West Auckland

West Auckland is a village in County Durham through which the A 68 road passes north/south. Its War Memorial is a repurposed water fountain (originally known as ‘The Pant,’ built in 1848 and redicated for Queen victoria’s 60th Jubilee) and is situated on West Auckland’s West Green. A War Memorial bench  is to the left below and the structure is flanked by two ‘ghost soldiers’:-

West Auckland War Memorial

War Memorial, West Auckland, County Durham

Wording on plaque on ‘The Pant’:-

War Memorial dedication:-

Dedication, West Auckland  War Memorial

Name plaques. Northern Ireland commemoration on right hand one:-

Name Plaques, West Auckland  War Memorial

Jelle Dam’s House, De Spitkeet

Jelle Dam was a socialist activist who helped illuminate the living conditions of agricultural workers in rural Friesland.

This replica of his last house is the final exhibit as you go round De Spitkeet anti-clockwise:-

Jelle Dam's House, De Spitkeet

Jelle Dam fared reasonably out of his writing. The interior is well appointed:-

Interior, Jelle Dam's House, De Spitkeet

Interior, Jelle Dam's House, De Spitkeet

Interior Jelle Dam's House, De Spitkeet

Like many such houses one of the rooms was given over to being a shop selling produce grown on the land (plus some other.) These shops were usually tended to by the wife:-

Shop in Jelle Dam's House, De Spitkeet

Chicken Coop House, De Spitkeet

After the Second World War housing was so scarce in the Friesland area that chicken coops were converted to housing. De Spitkeet contains an example of this. It looked fairly substantial to me and homely enough:-

De Spitkeet, Chicken Coop House

Chicken Coop House, De Spitkeet

Goats at De Spitkeet. This type of goat is particular to the area:-

Goats at De Spitkeet

Jehannes-Hinke Hus, De Spitkeet

Another building at De Spitkeet (see previous posts) was called the Jehannes-Hinke Hus:-

Jehannes-Hinke Hus, De Spitkeet

Side view:-

De Spitkeet, Jehannes-Hinke Hus

Entrance (and bikes):-

Jehannes-Hinke Hus, De Spitkeet

Entrance from inside:-

Jehannes-Hinke Hus, De Spitkeet

View from entrance:-

Jehannes-Hinke Hus, Living Room

Looking back:-

Kitchen, Jehannes-Hinke Hus

Living room:-

Interior Jehannes-Hinke Hus, De Spitkeet

Oven/cooker:-

Oven/Cooker, Jehannes-Hinke Hus, De Spitkeet

Box bed:-

Box Bed, Jehannes-Hinke Hus, De Spitkeet

Another doll’s hosue:-

Doll's House, De Spitkeet

Thatched roof and tools:-

Thatch and Tools, Jehannes-Hinke Hus, De Spitkeet

 

Swa Hus, De Spitkeet

The Swa Hus type was an attempt to improve the living conditions in rural Friesland.

Swa Hus Information Board, De Spitkeet

Swa Hus at De Spitkeet:-

SWA House, De Spitkeet

Interiors:-

Room in Swa Hus, De Spitkeet

Swa-Hus Living/Dining Room, De Spitkeet

 

Swa-Hus Room, De Spitkeet

Doll’s House in Swa Hus:-

Doll's House in SWA House, De Spitkeet

Tool room:-

Swa Hus Tool Room, De Spitkeet

Cave House at De Spitkeet

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.

Cave House at De Spitkeet

Cave House at De Spitkeet

Interior:-

Bed in Earth House, De Spitkeet

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:-

Underground Bolthole

Belfry and Cemetery at De Spitkeet

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.

Spitkeet Cemetery and Belfry

Part of cemetery with spitkeet earth house:-

Cemetery and Spitkeet

Belfry and spitkeet house:-

Belfry at De Spitkeet

 

A Spitkeet House

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:-

A Spitkeet House

Reverse view:-

A Spitkeet, Reverse View

Entrance:-

Spitkeet Entrance

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

Spitkeet Information

Interior:-

Interior of Spitkeet

Clogs:-

Clogs Inside Spitkeet

Fire layout and cooking pot:-

Spitkeet Interior

Parents’ bed:-

Bed in Spitkeet

Pingo

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:-

De Spitkeet, Pingo + Bridge

The bridge:-

Pingo + Bridge, De Spitkeet

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

Pingo from Bridge, De Spitkeet

 

 

De Spitkeet

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:-

First House at De Spitkeet

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:-

Information about the Mallemolen, De Spitkeet,

The rooms look not too bad though:-

Interior of Mallemolen at De Spitkeet

Room in Mallemolen, De Spitkeet,

Box beds:-

Box beds, Mallemolen, De Spitkeet

Bed,  Mallemolen, De Spitkeet,

Near the Mallemolen was a stork’s nest:-

Stork's Nest from  Mallemolen, De Spitkeet

Stork's Nest,  De Spitkeet

Stork at De Spitkeet

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