Alternative Names The Lewis Blackhouse; The Blackhouse Museum; Arnol, Blackhouses No. 39 And No. 42 And Associated Croft Houses
Site type BLACKHOUSE (19-20TH CENTURY), MUSEUM
Canmore ID 4259
Site Number NB34NW 6
NGR NB 31069 49238
Council WESTERN ISLES
Parish BARVAS
Former Region WESTERN ISLES ISLANDS AREA
Former District WESTERN ISLES
Former County ROSS AND CROMARTY

Canmore Mapping
View this site on a map

Recording Your Heritage Online

Arnol No 42 - Arnol Blackhouse, c.1885 Traditional Lewis dwelling with drystone walled stackyard, preserved as a model of the hundreds whose roofless cells now honeycomb the stony landscape. Last occupied in 1964, it was one of the last of its type to be built and, unlike many, was not modernised, so that it retains the traditional appearance of a longhouse with no windows or chimneys. The sloping timber roof structure, straw thatch roped down and anchored with stones like a trussed-up package, rests on the inner edge of a grassy parapet. This wallhead is capped with blue clay, through which rain percolates to an insulating earthern core, keeping it damp and thus windproof between the two drystone skins that make up the great thickness of the walls. The main range, with one entrance shared by humans and livestock, comprises an ill-lit two-roomed dwelling, partitioned to wall height, and a byre at the lower end with an open central drain running out to a midden. The byre's roof pitch is altered to control smoke penetration and the flow of air/heat to and from the 'uphill' living area. An interconnecting parallel barn range adjoins to the rear, its flailthrashing floor with the through doors alignedto create a draft to aid winnowing. Although primitive, these houses were finely tuned to their environment. Their carefully balanced ecosystem began to fail only as a result of 'improving' alterations, often compulsorily imposed by landlords. Historic Scotland property open to public; guide book available.

Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

Archaeological Notes

NB34NW 6 31069 49238.

See also NB34NW 2.15.

Notes and Activities

Armit, I (1996) The archaeology of Skye and the Western Isles, Edinburgh
Page(s): 213-14 Held at RCAHMS E.2.1.ARM

Breeze, D J (2002) People and places: the men, women and places that made Scottish history, Edinburgh
Page(s): 122-3 Held at RCAHMS C.3.5.BRE

Fenton, A (1978b) The island blackhouse: and a guide to "The Blackhouse", No. 42, Arnol, Edinburgh
Held at RCAHMS D.14.2.LEW.P