6. Roslagsgården – house and farmyard
Moving houses and entire farms was common during the 18th and 19th centuries. This was due to overcrowding in the villages and on the parcels. The parcels were several land reforms during the 18th and 19th centuries that aimed to create larger, contiguous areas of land. The consequence was that the villages were more or less divided. This farm was moved out in 1815-20 from Västerkulla village. The little cottage and outbuildings came with the move. The little cottage is an old log cabin from the 18th century. The cabin previously had an old window grille. Who knows what secrets have been hidden behind the grille?
The dwelling house was built on the site in 1875. It is a typical single-family house with an asymmetrical plan; on the left is a front door to a hall with stairs to the attic, on the right is a large house with a fireplace and behind it a small chamber. The single-family house has existed since the Middle Ages and became a common house type for smaller farms from the mid-18th century.
The enclosed farm is the most common farm form during the 19th century. In Roslagen, the farm usually has a rectangular basic shape with the main house along one short side, an ”undantagsstuga” (a small cottage intended for the older generation when the younger took over the responsibility of running the farm) followed by a barn, stables and sheds along the long side and on the opposite short side. There was often a fence right across the yard to separate the livestock from the residential buildings. This farm form is found on several farms in the area. Unfortunately, the stables and barn on this Roslagsgård were in such poor condition that they were demolished in the late 1980s. However, the old rectangular shape with an enclosed farm can still be seen. The last users of the farm were the Sjöblom family. The son Torsten was well known in the area and he lived alone on the farm until his death in 1985. The farm is popularly known as ’Sjöbloms’. The farm is a good example of how farms and houses in Roslagen were moved and shaped in the 19th century.
NOTE: Please respect the privacy of the home and do not enter the property!