South Uist, 472b South Lochboisdale
Thatched Cottage (19th Century)
Site Name South Uist, 472b South Lochboisdale
Classification Thatched Cottage (19th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Bards House
Canmore ID 172178
Site Number NF71NE 7.02
NGR NF 78587 17401
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/172178
- Council Western Isles
- Parish South Uist
- Former Region Western Isles Islands Area
- Former District Western Isles
- Former County Inverness-shire
No 472b, c.1920 Thatched cottage, remarkable for its date and intact state, and for being the home, until his death in February 2000, of bard Donald Macdonald (Domhnall Aonghais Bhan). Thickly set, it hugs the ground like a creature, with earlike stacks and button-eye windows peeping out from beneath a fringe of thatch. In the kitchen, a livestock tethering ring hangs from the wall. Originally thatched with heather, it forms a good pair with A-listed No 472a, which was last occupied in the late 1980s and subsequently gutted, but renovated as a holiday let, 2005.
Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk
No 472b, c.1920 Thatched cottage, remarkable for its date and intact state, and for being the home, until his death in February 2000, of bard Donald Macdonald (Domhnall Aonghais Bhan). Thickly set, it hugs the ground like a creature, with earlike stacks and button-eye windows peeping out from beneath a fringe of thatch. In the kitchen, a livestock tethering ring hangs from the wall. Originally thatched with heather, it forms a good pair with A-listed No 472a, which was last occupied in the late 1980s and subsequently gutted, but renovated as a holiday let, 2005.
Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk
Skye-type thatched cottage. Single storey; 3-bay north east front with central door, one window with modern glazing. Battered, rubble-built walls with curved angles; all painted, with contrasting reveals. End stacks; muran thatch roof, secured with ropes, netting and stone weights. (Historic Environment Scotland List Entry)
Until circa 2000 the home of Bard, Domhnull Macdonald.
Field Visit (11 June 2015)
NF 78593 17392 Probably 19th century cottage is listed as having a ‘muran thatch roof, secured with ropes, netting and stone weights’. Large sections of marram thatch are still in place on the building, however, the building is derelict and much of the roofing material has been lost, leaving the interior of the building exposed. The site could not be accessed when visited, yet photographs taken from nearby show visible signs of netting still in place and a few weighting stones left intact around the chimney stacks only. A small section of thatch remaining along the ridge suggests it was thatched continously across, however, this can not be determined for certain. The roof appears close to collapse as many of the timber beams can be seen to be damaged. There are large areas of grassy vegetation growth on the surface of the remaining thatch.
Visited by Zoe Herbert (SPAB) 11 June 2015, survey no.304
