What is a Cottage?
A cottage is a modest structure which is typically one to one and a half stories tall. People have been living and working in cottages for centuries, and depending on regional norms, the precise definition of a cottage can vary widely. Many people also have very specific associations with the term “cottage.” Many of these associations relate to the typically small size, quaint architecture, and rural nature of the traditional cottage. The term “cottage” appears to have entered English around the 13th century, and it probably comes from either Old French or a Germanic language. The term may also have been used to describe the dwelling of a cotter, a type of serf in the Middle Ages. By all accounts, the term “cottage” originally encompassed a small dwelling structure, a barn, and an enclosed yard, with the concept of a cottage as a small residence in the country emerging around the 1700s. Early cottages were probably small, dark, and quite unpleasant, and the term carried definite connot
It is probably a good idea that any article that discusses ‘cottages’ should, in the first instance, define just what a cottage is. Immediately there are problems. Some dictionaries suggest ‘a small house of single storey’. Others suggest that the small house has to be in a rural setting to be classified as a cottage. But not all agree. In England, for instance two story houses in the countryside are very often referred to as ‘cottages’. A definition of Irish Cottages can also be problematic but does have more clear-cut criteria. Usually the Irish Cottage is single storey, in a rural setting, and not occuoied by the a farmer and his family. For houses occupied by the farmer are always ‘farm-houses0 no matter what the size. In past times, the Irish-Cottage was built on the land of the farmer and occupied by the farm labourer and his family. Some farmers would have many such cottages on his land, and occupancy of the cottage was part of the wages of the agricultural labourer. A similar s
my understanding of a cottage is………… it is a little property that is usually set outside of a local community, in a rural community, it may be surrounded by water or forest, and it is usually a place to exscape to, when you want to get out of the city and have some time to relax. all in all it is like a little house that may not have all of the ideal/modern ammenities or services that you would have in a home, or apartment…
