Ross of Mull, thatched house

Ross of Mull, thatched house

ID: QZP99_94157_08_06 DESCRIPTION: The Ross of Mull is the peninsula which stretches from the southern foot of Benmore and Loch Sridain to Fionnphort. It is approximately 20 miles long. Several villages lie along the Ross of Mull, starting at the eastern end are Kinloch and Pennyghael. Nine miles further is Bunessan, the inspiration for the Mary MacDonald's hymn "Morning Has Broken". Other settlements include Uisken, Aldalnish, Ardfenaig, and Kintra. The final village is Fionnpfort, the departure point for the ferry to Iona. Houses in this part of Argyll were quite distinct from elsewhere in the Highlands. The ends of cottages were more likely to be squared, the gables carried up as high as the ridge of the roof and the roof timbers resting on the sloping walls of the gable end. The chief difference in the design of this cottage and earlier examples is that it has chimney flues in the gable ends. Above the framework of the house was placed a layer of sods and then of thatch. In more exposed areas, and where cottages had rounded ends, the thatch was secured by rods, usually of hazel, held down loops of split and twisted hazel twig. On houses with gable ends the thatching was completed by a row of divots laid along the edge of the gable over the thatch. In the windiest areas the thatch was secured by ropes 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 photographers. PLACENAME: Ross of Mull DISTRICT: Mull OLD COUNTY/PARISH: ARGYLL: Kilfinchen and Kilvickeon SOURCE: Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh Central Library COLLECTION: I F Grant Photographic Archive Asset ID: 38800 KEYWORDS: