In the early part of the 18th century around Ayrshire most people lived a farming exhistence, living in farmhouse hovels. The farmhouses were typically a 2 room "cottage". Each room was approximately 14ft x 14 ft and the animals lived in one with the humans in the other and a small anti room used as a kitchen. If you were really posh you may have had 1 further room where you stored your bedding spinning wheel and personal possessions. There were no toilets and the animal and human waste congregated outside the walls of the house. It was not uncommon for a traveller seeking a farm to smell it first and if you came at night you had to be careful not to sink in to the bog which was outside before you could enter safely. The outside of these houses consisted of a turf roof and clay outer walls mixed with straw. Clay biggin was its name. Doors were no higher than 5 ft and windows were 18" square, either boarded up or paned with glass. An open hearth adorned the middle of the living quarters and food was cooked here as well as being used to heat the dwelling. Many houses didn’t have a chimney so were very Smokey to live in. Farmers were just managing to survive and they were unable to cultivate much because they didn't have decent tools. Ploughs were so heavy that it took 4 men to plough a small stretch and was back breaking work. The only thing that grew plentiful was kail and people lived on kail and gruel type porridge only eating salted meat in the winter. There was a high death rate and famine and pestilence were rife. Once change came with the industrial revolution, new farming methods were introduced. Better ploughs were used; more seed was available and people had more money by selling their crops to use to upgrade their farms.

To think we sometimes complain!