Tiree, Scarinish, general. General view of houses - Taigh a' Charabhanaich (NL044 043)

Description Tiree, Scarinish, general. General view of houses - Taigh a' Charabhanaich (NL044 043)

Date c. 1898

Collection Papers of Erskine Beveridge, antiquarian, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 743245

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of AG 1748

Scope and Content Croft House and Outbuildings, Scarinish, Tiree, Argyll & Bute Scarinish, a small village and harbour on the east coast of Tiree, has a number of croft houses, built in the traditional manner, that are unique to the Hebrides. The Victorian photographer, Erskine Beveridge, made a detailed photographic record of many of the croft houses on a visit to the island c.1898. These thatched and hip-roofed buildings, dating from the early 19th century, are grouped on a linear plan comprising house (right), barn and store. The small building on the far right is probably a store shed. The walls are of drystone construction, constructed from local granitic boulders, and are enormously thick. They have openings for doors (no windows) and their rounded corners were designed to withstand the wind. The roofs are thatched, probably with local 'bents' or sea grass, and secured by a network of ropes. The end walls of the house have chimneys. In the early 19th century most of the island was occupied by small farms or crofts, and in 1830, arable farming and cattle grazing sustained a population of almost 4,500. By the end of the century, although this population was halved, crofting survived as the main island industry. The flat machair, the rich calcareous plain of grass and wild flowers that covers most of Tiree, provided good pasture for cattle and sheep while the heavier soils on the margins tended to provide the best land for arable cultivation (mainly for winter feed). Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap