cottage

19th century Cottages in the small hamlet of Crafton, Buckinghamshire

In modern usage, a cottage is a dwelling, typically in a rural, or semi-rural location (although there are cottage-style dwellings in cities). In the UK, the term cottage tends to denote a rurally (sometimes village) located one and a half storey property, where on the second (upstairs floor) one has to walk into the eaves in order to look through the windows. This usually means the eaves timbers intrude into the actual living space, and quite often, especially in recent renovations, the relevant timbers (purlins, rafters, posts, etc) can be exposed enhancing the cottage experience. However, in most other settings, the term cottage denotes a small, often cozy dwelling, and small size is integral to the description, but in other places such as Canada, the term exists with no connotation of size at all (cf. vicarage or hermitage). In Canada, the term cottage usually refers to a vacation/summer home, often located near a body of water. Although this is more commonly called a cabin in Western Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, a chalet in Quebec, and a camp in Northern Ontario.

Origin of the term

Originally in the Middle Ages, cottages housed agricultural workers and their families. The term cottage denoted the dwelling of a cotter. Thus, cottages were smaller peasant units (larger peasant units being called "messuages"). In that early period, a documentary reference to a cottage would most often mean, not a small stand-alone dwelling as today, but a complete farmhouse and yard (albeit a small one). Thus in the Middle-Ages, the word cottage (Lat. "cotagium") seems to have meant not just a dwelling, but have included at least a dwelling (domus) and a barn (grangia), as well as, usually, a fenced yard or piece of land enclosed by a gate (portum)

Examples of this may be found in 15th Century manor court rolls. The house of the cottage bore the Latin name: "domum dicti cotagii", while the barn of the cottage was termed "grangia dicti cotagii".

Later on, a cottage might also have denoted a smallholding comprising houses, outbuildings, and supporting farmland or woods. A cottage, in this sense, would typically include just a few acres of tilled land.

Much later (from around the 18th Century onwards), the development of industry led to the development of weavers' cottages and miners' cottages.

This lakefront cottage located in Muskoka, Ontario is typical of those in Canada

Cottages in North America

In North America, most buildings known as cottages are used for weekend or summer getaways by city dwellers. It is also not uncommon for the owners of cottages to rent their properties to tourists as a source of revenue.

Canadian cottages are generally located near lakes or the ocean in wilderness areas and are utilized as a place to go fishing, hiking, and sailing. There are also many notable summer colonies.

Cottage vacationing is one of the most popular tourist draws in Ontario, Canada, in a region that has come to be known as cottage country. This term typically refers to the area around Muskoka, Ontario, but has also been used to describe several other Canadian regions. The practice of renting cottages has become a major industry in these regions.

Cottages of this type are generally referred to as "cabins" in the United States, particularly in the Midwest and West. While in much of Northern Ontario a summer home near a body of water is known as a camp.

This small cabin faces a mountain in Western Pennsylvania

Cottages in Finland

Statistics Finland defines that a cottage is "a residential building that is used as a holiday or free-time dwelling and is permanently constructed or erected on its site" ^[1] . Traditional Finnish cottages are built of logs and they are situated by water.

There are 474,277 cottages in Finland (2005), the country with 187,888 lakes and 179,584 islands^[2]. Rental holiday cottages of enterprises engaged in the accommodation industry, buildings of holiday villages and buildings on garden allotments are excluded in the statistics. 4,172 new cottages were built in 2005. Most cottages are situated in the municipalities of Kuusamo (6,196 cottages on January 1st, 2006), Kuopio (5,194), Ekenäs (Tammisaari - 5,053), Mikkeli (4,649) and Mäntyharju (4,630).

Cottages in Hong Kong

Cottages are commonly found in the New Territories region of Hong Kong. City dwellers flock to these cottages during holidays and summer months to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. Most are three storey brick structures with balconies on the upper floors. There is often an open roof for users to eat and entertain.

The dwelling have full rooms and kitchens available.

Cottages in Brittany

One type of cottage is a called a penty. The term is used to refer to a labourer's or fisherman's one-roomed house, often attached to a larger property. It is typically in cubed proportions.

Notable cottages

• Oakhurst Cottage
• Bishop Asbury Cottage
• La Trobe's Cottage
• Cloisters, 1 Sheppey Corner, Stanton, Gloucestershire/ Worcestershire
• Chantilly's Cottage Blu

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cottage

• Cottage industry
• Bothy
• Dacha
• Garden real estate
• Alpine hut
• Bungalow
• Pied a terre
• Mobile home

References

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