Colony of Avalon Walking Tour - Pool Plantation Waterfront

Pool Plantation, 1638 - 1696
Pool Plantation, 1638 – 1696
Reproduced by permission of the Colony of Avalon Foundation, Ferryland, NL, © 2001.

Sometime after mid-century, perhaps following the Dutch raid of 1673, the waterfront warehouse was dismantled and replaced by a large stone barn or byre. The south wall of the warehouse was incorporated into this feature and the floor level raised by about 60cm (two feet).

Large Stone Barn or Byre
Large Stone Barn or Byre
Reproduced by permission of the Colony of Avalon Foundation, Ferryland, NL, © 2001.

The cobble floor of the byre is pitched toward the center to collect waste that was channeled through the stone wall and into a drain that ended in the privy.

The Cobble Floor of the Byre
The Cobble Floor of the Byre
Reproduced by permission of the Colony of Avalon Foundation, Ferryland, NL, © 2001.

The next photograph shows the south end of the privy rebuilt to accommodate the drain from the cow-house.

Drain at the South End of the Privy
Drain at the South End of the Privy
Reproduced by permission of the Colony of Avalon Foundation, Ferryland, NL, © 2001.

Just outside the cow house was a dump that contained many milk pans, suggesting that dairying might have taken place nearby.

Milk Pans from the Byre Midden
Milk Pans from the Byre Midden
A midden is an old dump for domestic waste.
Reproduced by permission of the Colony of Avalon Foundation, Ferryland, NL, © 2001.

On the floor of the cow-house was a tobacco pipe of West African origin, nearly identical to one from the HMS Saphire, a ship burned by her crew at Bay Bulls in 1696.

West African Tobacco Pipe
West African Tobacco Pipe
Reproduced by permission of the Colony of Avalon Foundation, Ferryland, NL, © 2001.
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Also follow the Audio Visual Version of this text and image-based tour at the Colony of Avalon Foundation website.