Barra, Castlebay, Castlebay Primary School And Boundary Wall

NL69NE 67.00 66436 98382

NL69NE 67.01 NL 66444 98361 Schoolhouse

Not to be confused with Castlebay, Primary School (NL 66207 98419), for which see NL69NE 78.

ARCHITECT: Alexander Ross (I.C. July 24, 1879).

(Undated) information in NMRS.

Single storey and attic, 4-bay former primary school and schoolhouse, with later additions and alterations. Squared and snecked rubble sandstone with long and short sandstone dressings. Long and short quoins; overhanging eaves; timber bargeboards.

According to the New Statistical Account in 1840 "few of the natives (on Barra) can either read or write" (p216), and three schools, rather than the existing one, would be required to improve the state of education. It seems likely that this improvement, and the building of Castlebay Primary School, did not come until some 30 years later, following the Elementary Education Act, 1870, where public, rather than private, money was used to provide schools and a basic level of education throughout the country. Dr Alexander Ross (1834-1925) an architect practising in Inverness and the surrounding area produced model designs and plans for schools which were then carried out, under his supervision, by the Education Department. One of the most interesting features of Castlebay School is its boundary wall, said to have been laid out in the early 19th century to enclose exactly one acre of land. The reason for this was that records of the size of local crofts were being made, so the residents needed to know what an acre looked like. (Historic Scotland)