Archaeology Notes

Event ID 657176

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/657176

NF88NE 6 centred on 8870 8681

(Centred NF 886867) Bailenacille - 'Kirktown' - a hamlet which was deserted between 1850 and 1877, except for one house still occupied. Ordnance Survey Name Book 1877

This depopulated village comprises the extant remains of 17 buildings ranging in size from 16.5 x 4.5m to 6.6 x 3.0m internally, with walls 1.5m wide and 1.0m high. Also associated with these buildings, and in some cases attached to them, are the remains of 7 dry-stone enclosures. In two of the buildings a corn-drying kiln has been built at one end - these kiln buildings were among the smallest in the settlement, measuring 8.2 x 3.5m internally. All the buildings are of 'blackhouse' type with rounded angles.

Visited by OS (R B) 29 June 1965

A township and a farmstead are depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Inverness-shire, Island of Harris 1881, sheet xxi). The township comprises twelve unroofed buildings, two enclosures and two phases of head-dyke. The farmstead comprises two roofed buildings, one partially roofed building and a sheepfold.

One roofed, thirty-six unroofed buildings, eight enclosures, some sheep pens and two phases of head-dyke are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1971).

Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 20 March 1997