Thursday 21 November 2019
The preserved village
Harris, day five
On our trip to Lewis, we also paid a short visit to Geàrrannan blackhouse village. These traditional blackhouses were abandoned in 1974, when the residents were moved to more modern social housing nearby. They are only about 150 years old, but built in a very traditional croft style that was once common in the Scottish Highlands, Hebrides and Ireland. Since these at Geàrrannan were the last blackhouses in Lewis to be vacated and they sit in such an attractive setting overlooking a stony beach, the decision was taken to make this a conservation area. In 1991 a programme of restoration was undertaken. Now, there is a museum and some holiday accommodation within the carefully restored village, where modern amenities have been discreetly integrated.
The buildings have double-skinned drystone walls with earth packed between them, and roofs made of straw thatch and turf, anchored with ropes and stones to withstand the harsh Atlantic gales. Fires would have burned peat and originally the smoke was left to find its way out through the thatch. The houses are long and would have accommodated families at one end and animals at the other, separated by a thin partition.
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Great that this has been preserved (and probably even better that the inhabitants have been re-housed into something a little more modern).
ReplyDeleteThey must have been so dark & dank inside!
ReplyDeleteWhat great old ways...though probably not that comfortable compared to modern ones...but then again, if there's now some indoor plumbing! But these earthen walls would certainly keep the occupants warm. Glad you got to see them.
ReplyDeleteFascinating structures.
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