ID:QZP99_94052_07_06DESCRIPTION:This image is from the collection of historian and folklorist Isabel F Grant and shows a dilapidated thatched cottage in Barra.
The house in this image displays features characteristic of what I F Grant calls the 'Long Island' or Outer Hebrides style, and the Eastern and Central Highlands style. These styles often merged together in Highland houses. Like the 'Long Island' type, this cottage has walls with rounded corners that were streamlined against the wind. Like the Eastern and Central Highlands type, the thatched roof slightly projects over the walls of the house. The classic 'Long Island' type house had a double wall, with a core of sand or earth in between the two walls, and the roof structure resting on the inner wall.
The thatching on the house is fairly typical of the 'Long Island' style. In the Outer Hebrides, straw or bent grass were the principal materials used for thatching. The thatching material was secured using ropes weighted by stones. Two sticks can be seen projecting out of the thatch at either end of the roof. Such a stick was known in Gaelic as a 'Maide Feannaig', or 'raven's stick'. The ropes that secured the thatch around the rounded ends of the house were first twisted round the stick and then weighted with stones.
This image comes from a collection gifted to Edinburgh Central Library by Dr Isabel F. Grant. The collection includes photographs taken by a number of different photographersPLACENAME:BarraDISTRICT:BarraOLD COUNTY/PARISH:INVERNESS: BarraCREATOR (AV):I F GrantSOURCE:Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh Central LibraryCOLLECTION:I F Grant Photographic ArchiveAsset ID:38645KEYWORDS:
Your download will start shortly, please do not navigate away from this page until the download prompt has appeared. Doing so may cause your download to be interrupted.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok