Shiaba

(Ros-y)]] The township first appears by the name Shiaba in written records in 1779, though it is thought likely that its existence predates this. It is likely that this change was at least partially driven by a policy of 'Modernisation' carried out by the landowner the Duke of Argyll, as it was believed this system would generate greater incomes for the inhabitants allowing for greater rents to be charged. At its height the settlement included a School, two corn-drying kilns, one if not two horizontal watermills, around 12 dwellings built in the typical local-fashion with rounded-corners, as well as other agricultural structures including byres, peat-drying stacks, and possibly a small…

The remains of the settlement were given Scheduled Monument designation by Historic Scotland on 5 March 1993. The decision was made on the grounds that it was of national importance as a well-preserved and documented settlement showing the evolution from a pre-crofting to a crofting economy, and which therefore has the potential to provide information about the Scottish rural economy and society in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.