Mud-walled house

A hearth lobby house close to Lough Neagh, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The gable indicates a mud built house. While there is some archaeological evidence for the use of earth walls in houses in early Christian times, it is not until about 1700 that mud-walled houses are recorded in County Armagh. Gailey (1984 p.55) says "Many mud-walled houses remain occupied today, especially in County Armagh, their real nature successfully concealed behind external rendering and a veneer of modernity"