North Screapadal, Raasay

NG54SE 2.02 centred on 580 444

(NG 581 443) North and South Screapadal: depopulated by 1877.

OS 6"map, Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1877)

North Screapadal, a depopulated township, comprises some 17 ruined houses. There are 4 small ruined boat-houses on the seashore.

There are lazy-beds in the area especially upon the higher slopes to the west.

These townships were probably depopulated by Mr Rainy of Edinburgh, who bought the island of Raasay in 1846, sending large numbers of the inhabitants abroad, and to Rona (Information from Miss Nicholson, 'Eilean Tigh', Raasay and from Mr Macleod, shoemaker, Clachan, Raasay).

Visited by OS (A S P) 12 June 1961

Fifteen unroofed buildings and a head-dyke are depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Inverness-shire, Isle of Skye 1881, sheet xxiv). Nineteen unroofed buildings and a head-dyke are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1988).

Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 18 October 1996

Site recorded during a survey of the townships of North and South Screapadal plus the surrounding area carried out by the Association of Certificated Field Archaeologists (ACFA) in April 1998 as part of a continuing programme of recording the physical remains of human activity on the island of Raasay (Macdonald and Scott Wood 1997).

Township of North Screapadal:

NG 580 444 Houses (3); house/byres (7); ?houses (7); house/stores (2); stores (3); clearance cairns (2); shieling; corn-drying kilns (2).

NG 5811 4448 (centre) Four clearance cairns.

A full report has been lodged with the NMRS.

Sponsors: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Glasgow Archaeological Society, CBA Challenge Funding.

J Macdonald and J Scott Wood 1998