Black and white photograph of Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin in the early 1940s.

Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin demonstrates how his mother, Flora MacNeill, would make small clay pots known as craggans. Made by hand from local clay without the aid of a potter’s wheel, Tiree craggans were believed to have special curative properties, particularly in the case of consumption.

Black and white photograph of Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin in the early 1940s.

Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin demonstrates how his mother, Flora MacNeill, would make small clay pots known as craggans. Each township had its potter who was always a woman. Flora MacNeill of Balevullin, who died aged eighty in the 1920s, was the last known craggan-maker on Tiree.

Black and white photograph of Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin in the early 1940s.

Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin demonstrates how his mother, Flora MacNeill, would make small clay pots known as craggans. After selecting a large lump of local clay, it was carefully worked by hand into a vessel with a neck and everted rim. The finished pot was allowed to dry then baked in the ashes of the fire. Milk was poured into and over it while still hot to make the surface less porous.

Black and white photograph of Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin in the early 1940s.

Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin demonstrates how his mother, Flora MacNeill, would make small clay pots known as craggans believed to have special curative properties, particularly in the case of consumption. The craggan was heated on the fire until very hot, removed with tongs and taken to the byre where the cow was milked directly into it. This was heated again and administered to the invalid.