Two men building a corn stack
Photograph of two men building a corn stack.
Courtesy of Mrs Mairi Campbell
The two men are building a corn stack or ‘mulan’ which will provide winter feeding for horses, cattle and hens and seed for spring sowing. In the background is a row of haystacks. Corn stacks were built with the heads of the sheaves to the centre so the finished stack contained a column of seed.
Four sheaves were placed upright in the centre with further sheaves added around the centre, working clockwise. The sheaves were always kept with the seed uppermost so any moisture would run away from it down the straw.
The diameter of the stack was carefully measured using a special rope, either six or seven fathoms long, marked with a knot at one end and a block at the other. The stack was re-measured every two rows to keep it straight. These traditional methods are still in use today by a few crofters on the island.
Black and white photograph of building a cornstack at Whitehouse.
The two men are building a corn stack which will provide winter feeding for horses, cattle and hens and seed for spring sowing. In the background is a row of haystacks. At harvest time, the cut corn would be bundled by hand into sheaves, six of which would be stood together to form stooks. When sufficiently dry, the stooks would be transported by horse and cart to the stackyard. Corn stacks were built with the heads of the sheaves to the centre so the finished stack contained a column of seed. These traditional methods are still in use today by a few crofters on the island.
Black and white photograph of building Gott Bay pier.
Building the new pier at Gott Bay, c. 1910.
John and Christina MacPhail of Balinoe
Photograph of John and Christina MacPhail of Balinoe.
Courtesy of Mrs Mairi Campbell
John MacPhail (Iain Eacha’ Ruaidh) and his wife, Christina (Hutty Nèill an Tuathanaich), of Balinoe are pictured with a standard plough used for preparing the ground for sowing corn and potatoes.
Out of his working clothes, the crofter is celebrating the end of his spring ploughing. The polished ploughshare is oiled and ready to be returned to the implement shed until the autumn when it will be used for opening potato drills.
The plough is hitched to two exceptionally well-bred Clydesdales of the Tiree type. Introduced in the 1870s, Clydesdales were crossed with local ponies to produce lighter and faster draught animals for which Tiree was famous in the early 20th century.
Black and white photograph of John and Christina MacPhail of Balinoe.
L-R: John MacPhail (Iain Eacha` Ruaidh) of Balinoe and his wife Christina (Hutty Neill an Tuathanaich) with a plough drawn by two exceptionally well-bred Clydesdales of the Tiree type. Out of his working clothes, the crofter celebrates the end of his spring work. Note the polished ploughshare is oiled and ready to be returned to the implement shed till next spring. (Crofting details supplied by Donald MacIntyre, Gott)
Black and white photograph of the hull of the `Mary Stewart`.
The hull of the `Mary Stewart` viewed from the prow.
Colour photograph of a cross carved on a rock.
Cross carved on a rock near the Kirkapol chapels photographed in 2001.
Black and white photograph of excavated human remains in one of the Kirkapol chapels.
Excavated human bones in the larger of the Kirkapol chapels, St Columba`s, taken in 2001.
Colour photograph of Rev. Bob Higham at the Kirkapol chapel.
The smaller of the two Kirkapol chapels, possibly called St Brendan`s, in 2001, with contractor Sara Carruthers on the left and Rev. Bob Higham on the right.
Black and white photograph of the interior of one of the Kirkapol chapels.
Interior of the larger of the Kirkapol chapels, St Columba`s, showing excavated human bones to the right, taken in 2001.
Black and white photograph from the interior of one of the Kirkapol chapels.
View of the old graveyard from the interior of the larger of the Kirkapol chapels, St Columba`s, taken in 2001.
The chapel at Kilkenneth
Photograph of the ruins of the chapel at Kilkenneth in 2001
Courtesy of Rev. Robert Higham
The ruins of a small chapel dedicated to St Cainnech lie in the sand-dunes at Kilkenneth. Like the other remaining medieval chapels on Tiree, it was built from lime-mortared local rubble. Oblong in plan, it measures 8.7 by 3.1 metres within walls three-quarters of a metre thick.
The entrance is situated in the west gable-wall, of which a large part has collapsed. The chapel was lit by two slit-windows opposite each other in the side walls near the east end of the building.
The Statistical Account of 1794 records that at the chapel was ‘a burying ground so sandy, that, by blowing, heaps of human bones are seen, and coffins often exposed, before half consumed. It is now surrounded by sand banks higher than the side walls; they no longer bury there.’
Colour photograph of the Kilkenneth chapel in 2001.
The chapel at Kilkenneth, photographed in 2001.
