History of O Lar do Carpinteiro: from the priest to carpenter Manuel

On Rua Maial in Oza dos Ríos there is a house the village knows by many names: Casa Rural Oza Dos Ríos on OTAs, O Lar do Carpinteiro in Galician, La Casa del Carpintero in Spanish. But before all that, the dwelling was the parish priest’s home.

The small granite chapel still beside the garden is not a landscape ornament: it is the visible remnant of that period. In rural Galicia it was not unusual for the priest to live near the church or a dependent chapel; here the proximity between house and chapel explains the layout of the ensemble and the close tie between home and parish.

From 1920 the house became the home of the village carpenter, Manuel. In Oza dos Ríos —as in so many villages in the Betanzos region— the carpenter was not just a trade: he made doors, cupboards, beams and tools for neighbouring houses.

Manuel set up his workshop on part of the ground floor. The smell of freshly planed wood mixed with smoke from the fireplace, where timber was sometimes dried before delivery. That double life —home and workshop— gives meaning to the name the village always used: O Lar do Carpinteiro, the carpenter’s home.

What surprises visitors most in the restored house today is the consistency of the wood: stairs with handcrafted railings, exposed chestnut and oak beams, cupboards and structures that do not look mass-produced but made for this specific building.

Because they were. Manuel worked the house’s wood for his family and left pieces still in use. Among them, the crib still kept in the house: it was Maryluz’s cradle as a child, carved by the carpenter for the family. It is not a museum piece in a display case; it is a living part of the home’s memory.

The restoration that opened the house as rural accommodation kept beams, floors and structure of the old farmhouse. Modern comforts were added —equipped kitchen, full bathrooms, heating, wifi— without turning the dwelling into a new chalet with an old façade.

Maryluz manages the property with direct contact. Google and Amimir reviews often mention her hospitality and the charm of the house; several cite Manuel, master carpenter, as part of the experience. That continuity between past and present is what sets O Lar do Carpinteiro apart from many rural houses with no story to tell.

If you search for «carpenter’s house Galicia» or «rural house with history A Coruña», this is a verifiable option: address 19 Rua Maial, licence VUT CO 0008080, four bedrooms and private outdoor space.

You can see the interior and chapel in the website gallery and check availability to live the whole house — fireplace, garden, barbecue and valley silence included.