One of the largest of them all was the Corral del Conde which had 107 rooms and whose existence is documented since 1561.
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The following is a description of a communal corral by Francisco Morales Padrón: "It is a large courtyard surrounded by rooms on one, two, or three levels looking onto it. Latrines and washing rooms are shared while cooking stoves are at the entrance of every room, either in a stone surface or a larder". The precursor of communal corrales were the Muslim adarves, houses at the end of alleyways which could be closed at night. With the rise in population in the 16th century, the corrales provided lower income families with a solution to their housing problems. They gave shelter to the city's working class until the second half of the 20th century. |
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The structure of corrales created a small society with its own peculiarities and customs in which the lack of space and hygienic facilities were compensated by neighbourliness. Baptisms, weddings, festivities, funerals, and everyday life were a communal experience in the corrales.One of the largest of them all was the Corral del Conde which had 107 rooms and whose existence is documented since 1561. J.M. Martínez Escribano reformed the corral to transform it into an apartment building between 1981-1984. It has an irregular L-shaped layout and three storeys with lintelled galleries. In the centre of the courtyard is the washing room, while in the small wing stands a chapel. Other corrales which have also survived to this day include: El Coliseo, Jimios, 22, and El Cristo de Buen Viaje, 19. |