The heather cage

Comes from: Gården Lyng near Stiklestad.
Age: From the 1850s
To the museum: 1968

This two-storey cage comes from one of the larger farms in the village, and is typical of fairly large cages. The construction method is lath timber with spruce panelling, and the house is placed on wooden stilts. There is a small opening between the stairs and the doorstep. Both the wooden stakes and this opening should make it difficult for mice to get to the grain bins. The roof is covered with turf. The bell tower with the supan bell (food bell) also belonged on large farms. The bell was used, among other things, to call in people who worked outside for meals.

The cage was used to store food before we had grain silos, freezers and refrigerators. On large farms there were often two cages, a grain cage and a food cage. This was a granary where the grain was stored on the first floor, while clothes and other lighter equipment had their place on the second floor.