Field Visit

Date 29 June 2012

Event ID 927956

Category Recording

Type Field Visit

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/927956

This remote township occupies the slopes surrounding the bay of Hairteabhagh on the SE peninsula of South Uist, over 4km from the nearest settlement. There are remains of extensive and varied lazy bed (feannagan) cultivation covering an area of almost 150 acres, interspersed with areas of peat cutting, and contained within an intermittent head dyke. Of further interest are a series of fish traps around Eilean Dubh.

The settlement consists of houses spread around the fringe of the bay connected by a well-constructed track way from North Glendale, which has been constructed from quarried pits along the route. The earliest buildings appear to be well-constructed rectangular blackhouses of c1800, some of which are constructed across the slope and others in line with it. In both cases, they have been set into the slope and a basic drain or soak away runs along the back walls. Each has a single entrance in the most convenient side wall, and most have an internal partition which is probably an addition. There are two later buildings which are considerably shorter, perhaps precluding the use of the building as a byre house, and have a central doorway. In addition, the most recent buildings are cottages of 3-bays about 8m by 4m internally, each of which has two windows facing the bay, fireplaces in each gable with wall head stacks, and mortared walls.

The township was probably founded in the late 18th or early 19th century by crofters that had been displaced from the more fertile machair lands on the west coast. Though largely abandoned by the middle of the 19th century (OS 6 inch Inverness (Hebrides) 1880, Sheet lviii), it appears to have been resettled in the early part of the 20th century, and at least one building was still roofed in 1971 (OS 1:10000).

Visited by RCAHMS (GFG) 29 June 2012