"Å i Lofoten" (4 of 7)
Description
The storehouse is situated behind Øvergården. This was built of cog-jointed timbers during the nineteenth century (before 1886) and was used to preserve salted and dried food for household use. The food bell, used to call people in at mealtimes, still hangs in the bell-tower. The storehouse is clad with vertical, red-painted panelling. In the photograph you can see that the rear walls of Øvergården and Gammelgården are also painted red. This is a tradition dating from the nineteenth century that is still maintained in many trading places in North Norway. During the nineteenth century white paint was expensive, whereas red and ochre were cheaper forms of paint. So the most important houses, particularly the façade towards the sea, were painted white, while the outer houses and perhaps the rear façades of the inner houses were painted red or ochre.