Arnol

The township of Arnol has been moved at least three times in the last two hundred years with materials for buildings being robbed and re-used from earlier structures. The early 19th century settlement was actually on the coast but later it was moved inland, closer to the main road. Few of the surviving buildings were lived in for more than 50 years and during that time many were considerably modified, extended and partially rebuilt.

Through the village the ruins of blackhouses can be seen everywhere. Very few are still roofed but their massive stone walls and ‘organic’ lines are very characteristic. The older ones have rounded ends and appear as a series of conjoined cells typically with a central living area/byre with a porch and barn on either side. The later ones can be identified by their gabled end walls and the presence of a stone dividing wall between living area and byre. The museum at No. 42 is probably the best example of a blackhouse on Lewis having been in state care since the occupants moved out in the 1960s. The building, complete with internal fittings, gives a very good impression of what it would have…