The smoke escaped through the porous roof, slowly blackening the turf or straw in the process.
The smoke killed bugs living in the roof.
Smoked thatch was also considered an excellent fertilizer.
Blackhouses in Gearrannan, Isle of Lewis.
Photo credit:Inaki Barrutiabengoa/Panoramio
Smoke wasnt the only thing these people lived with.
They also shared their living space with animals.
People lived at one end and the animals lived at the other with a partition between them.
Both animals and the human occupants shared the same door.
Part of the blackhouse was also used as barn for storage and processing of grain and other products.
The term black house was then applied to the old houses.
One of the best places to see blackhouses is at the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides.
In the village of Gearrannan, there are several restored blackhouses as well as a museum.
In the village of Arnol too, there are ruins of blackhouses everywhere.
Few of them are still roofed.
Photo credit:Colin Campbell/Flickr
A white house at Isle of Lewis.
Photo credit:marcus_jb1973/Flickr
The interior of a restored blackhouse in Arnol.
Photo credit:Neil Wilkie/Flickr
An old Gearranan blackhouse loom shed.
Photo credit:Colin Campbell/Flickr
Ruins of an old blackhouse in Arnol.
Photo credit:Tdecember/Wikimedia
Photo credit:IrenicRhonda/Flickr
Photo credit:Mark Stainton/Flickr
Sources:Historic Scotland/Undiscovered Scotland/Wikipedia/www.isle-of-lewis.com
