View from NW Digital image of RC 1399
SC 793839
Description View from NW Digital image of RC 1399
Date 10/1975
Catalogue Number SC 793839
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of RC 1399
Scope and Content Black house, Skigersta, Lewis, Western Isles, from north-west The black house was once the usual type of housing available on the island of Lewis. The houses could be built in a day by the local people. Usually rectangular in shape, but with rounded corners to withstand the wind, the houses were built from undressed stone. The walls were the same height all around the building (1.5-1.8m) and there were no gables. There was one low entrance door which would have been made from wood, or sometimes from a hide stretched over a frame. Wooden doors were made in two sections so that the top half could be opened to let out smoke and let in light, as there were no windows in a black house. Lewis and Harris are both parts of the same island, collectively known as 'the Long Island', which is the most northerly in the Outer Hebrides. Together they are about 95km in length and around 32km at the widest point. Most of Lewis is quite low-lying, whereas Harris is mountainous. Skigersta is on the north-east coast of Lewis. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
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