North Uist Lost Townships

NF 8400 6800 (centre) Ten 18th-century ‘lost’ nucleated baile type townships were recorded during field survey between 2015 and 2020 on the island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Six are now uninhabited, and in one example Penmore, even the place-name and location has almost disappeared from living memory. Two others – Sheabie on Berneray and Auratote on South Uist were also visited for comparative purposes. In each settlement, the existing building remains from the period were surveyed, planned, and recorded. Three, Illeray, Clachan Sands, and Griminish are both well preserved and have long settlement histories, in some cases extending back to at least the 16th century, possibly earlier.

Despite their location on a single Hebridean island, the survey discovered that the planning of their 18th-century farmsteads shows significant consistency within townships, but significant variation between. This suggests that building traditions were strongly adhered to within communities, but not necessarily shared with neighbouring ones, and this may indicate a more compartmentalised society than generally believed. These North Uist townships represent a valuable physical record of both rare 18th century nucleated bailtean and the later, more dispersed kelp plantation settlements, and all are worthy of further study and conservation.

The full report can be accessed on https://drive.google.com/ file/d/13-lPN3Bzj9OuA7ls12-ipv8ityTSVxTo/view?usp=sharing Archive: NRHE (intended)

David Newman and Roger Auger

(Source: DES Vol 22)