The Hebridean Blackhouse on the Isle of Barra

The Hebridean blackhouse is a well-known part of the eighteenth and nineteenth century landscape of the Western Isles, described by numerous early travellers and preserved for posterity at Arnol in Lewis. Survey and excavation of blackhouses on the Isle of Barra, however, suggests that here at least, the majority of blackhouses did not conform to the 'norm' of a long building with accommodation shared by animals and humans. Despite the large families of the Catholic population of Barra, the houses are shorter and provide less internal space than blackhouses further north in the island chain. Animals were more often housed in separate byres. Similarly, the human use of space in the Barra blackhouses shows some variations from the pattern described by nineteenth century sources. As to the origins of the blackhouse, unexcavated sites on Barra suggest two possible future routes of enquiry.