Archibald MacLeod of Balevullin
Photograph of Archibald MacLeod thatching an outhouse in Balevullin in the 1940s
Courtesy of Ms Linda M. Gowans
George Holleyman, an archaeologist posted to Tiree during World War II, photographed Archibald MacLeod thatching an outhouse in Balevullin in the early 1940s. Thatching is started down at the tobhta, the ledge at the top of the wall, with the first row of sheaves being put on tips upwards.
After the first row, the sheaves are placed tips downwards until the ridge is reached when they are laid across the top with the tips on alternate sides. The thatch is put on thicker at the back, the windward side, and slightly halfway up the roof to give a more rounded shape.
As new thatch is laid on top of old, the ridge becomes almost flat. At this stage, the thatch has to be partially stripped off before the next layer is applied. Re-thatching is required every two to three years.
Black and white photograph of Archibald MacLeod, Balevullin.
Tiree has the greatest concentration of surviving thatched houses in the Scottish islands. In the photograph, Archibald MacLeod is shown thatching an outhouse in Balevullin. The rafters are first overlain with a layer of thin turf slices carefully cut from the moorland and tapered at the sides so that they lie flush on the roof. The thatching material, usually marram grass, is cut with a scythe between September and March and tied into small sheaves which are then positioned on top of the turf. The completed thatch is secured with wire netting weighted down with heavy beach pebbles. Re-thatching is required every 2-3 years.
Black and white photograph Murdoch and Peggy Cameron and Ian Atkins taken in 1948.
The shop in Balevullin in 1948 where Murdoch Cameron did his butchering. L-R: Peggy and Murdoch Cameron, Ian Atkins.
Black and white photograph of six Tiree craggans.
Six Tiree craggans photographed by George Holleyman between 1941 and 1943, and published in the paper ‘Tiree Craggans’, by G. A. Holleyman, in Antiquity 21, December 1947, pp 205-211. On the original slide, the craggans are captioned individually: 1 from Sandaig, 2 from Balevullin, 3-6 made by Hugh MacNeil in 1942.
Black and white photograph of a horn spoon, a serving mallet and a butter pat.
Horn spoon from Balevullin (left); serving mallet made of whalebone found in a ruined cottage in Caoles (middle); wooden butter pat (right), all photographed by George Holleyman.
Black and white photograph of Hugh MacNeill, Balevullin.
Hugh MacNeill of Balevullin, Tiree demonstrates how his mother, Flora MacNeill, would make small clay pots known as craggans which were believed to have special healing properties. Photographed by George Holleyman.
Black and white photograph of John Brown, Scarinish Hotel, 1946.
John Brown, Scarinish Hotel, 1946.
The Whitehouse MacLeans with a horse-drawn reaper in around 1920.
Photograph of the MacLean family from Whitehouse with a horse-drawn reaper.
Courtesy of Mr Angus MacLean
The MacLean family from Whitehouse, Cornaigbeg are pictured cutting corn with a horse-drawn reaper. This was a tremendous advance on the sickle and scythe. Use of the scythe needed strength and skill and one man could cut only a quarter acre in a day.
Two men sat on the reaper, one to guide the horses which walked beside the standing corn while the other tilted the reaper’s platform when enough corn for a sheaf had gathered. He then pushed it off with an angled rake. The sheaves were tied by people following behind the reaper.
Binders pulled by three horses replaced the reaper. Mechanically operated implements drawn by tractors eventually took over after World War II.
Black and white photograph of cutting corn at Whitehouse.
Cutting corn by reaper at Whitehouse, Cornaig. L-R: Donald MacLean (Big Donald), Charles MacLean (Curly), Tom MacLean, Hector MacLean (Curly’s father), Donald MacLean (father of Tom and Big Donald), unknown, Murdoch MacLean (Curly’s brother).
Cutting corn by a reaper was a tremendous step forward from the sickle and scythe. Sickle work was done mainly by women. Four or five would work together cutting handfuls of corn at a time which were then tied together by the men. The scythe had a blade approx. 2.5 ft long (85 cm) and was handled by the men. A man could cut fully a quarter acre in a day.
The reaper was powered by horses. A cross-member board 4 ins by 2 ins (10 cm x 5 cm) and 4.5 ft long (137 cm) was bolted to the cutting blade of the reaper by hinges, allowing it to operate up and down. Ten strips of wood 4 ins by 1 in (10 cm x 2.5 cm) and 2.5 ft long (75 cm) were placed at 4 inch (10 cm) intervals at right angles to the cross-member. A pedal which was attached to the cross-member was pressed down by the worker’s right foot. This allowed the corn to gather on the platform. He then released the pedal and the platform tilted to the ground. The corn was finally pushed off with the tilting rake. Enough corn to make a whole sheaf then lay on the ground in readiness for the people following behind to tie it. Note the central figure, Hector MacLean, has a tilting rake specially designed to remove corn from the platform.
Binders pulled by 3 horses replaced the reaper. Mechanically operated implements drawn by tractors eventually took over.
Black and white photograph of Peggy MacEachern in 1940.
Peggy MacEachern with a calf outside Creag Mhor in Cornaigbeg in 1940.
Black and white photograph of Leipan, Felag, Mairi and Peggy MacEachern in 1940.
L-R: Leipan (Archie), Felag, Mairi and Peggy MacEachern in 1940.
Black and white photograph of Felag, Mairi and Peggy MacEachern in 1940.
L-R: Felag, Mairi (sister-in-law) and Peggy MacEachern in 1940
