Kate MacDonald of Balephuil
Photograph of Kate MacDonald standing on the ‘tobhta’ of her house in Balephuil in the 1940s.
Courtesy of Ms Katina MacDonald
Tiree’s thatched houses are built with double walls, between five feet thick and six or seven feet high, filled with sand and rubble known as the hearting. Since the roof rests on the inner wall, the top of the hearting and outer wall form a wide ledge known as ‘an tobhta’.
When the walls are un-mortared this can be left open and grass and sometimes flowers grow there. In summer the dogs would often lie there in the sun and sometimes sheep would climb up to graze.
Nowadays the spaces between the stones are usually filled with mortar so that the walls can no longer ‘breathe’ and the tobhta is sealed with concrete.
Black and white photograph of Kate MacDonald of Balephuil taken in the 1940s.
Kate MacDonald of Balephuil standing on the tobhta of her house, taken in the 1940s.
Colour photograph of Alasdair MacDonald`s house in Kilmoluaig in the early 1980s.
Alasdair MacDonald`s house in Kilmoluaig during renovation work in the early 1980s. Note the overlapping turves or sgrothan laid on top of the rafters.
Alasdair MacDonald of Kilmoluaig
Photograph of Alasdair MacDonald outside his house in Kilmoluaig in the early1980s.
Courtesy of Mrs Rena MacPhail
Alasdair MacDonald of Kilmoluaig is pictured outside his house during its renovation in the early 1980s. Starting at the wall-head, the turfs are laid upside down on the roof timbers and slightly overlapping. They are held in place by small wooden pins.
The turfs are cut from the moor or ‘sliabh’ during May to August when the ground is fairly dry. A well-developed root system is needed in the turf to hold the soil together during handling. It would take an experienced cutter five days to cut the 1,000 turfs need for an average roof.
If the turfing is done properly, the roof should be watertight without any thatch. If the thatch is kept renewed, the turfs should last for more than a hundred years.
Colour photograph of Alasdair MacDonald of Kilmoluaig in the early 1980s.
Alasdair MacDonald outside his house in Kilmoluaig in 1980 or 1981 during renovation work. Note the turves or `sgrothan` laid on top of the rafters.
Scots magazine with article about Tiree thatched houses.
Article with photographs about Tiree thatched houses.
Colour postcard of a thatched house at Milton.
Postcard of a thatched house at Milton with the mountains of Mull in the distance.
English translation of `Seann Taighean Tirisdeach` by Ailean Boyd.
English translation of `Seann Taighean Tirisdeach` by Ailean Boyd.
Book `Seann Taighean Tirisdeach` by Ailean Boyd, 1986
Descriptions and photographs of Tiree thatched houses. In Gaelic.
Book `Seann Taighean Tirisdeach` by Ailean Boyd, 1986.
Descriptions and photographs of Tiree thatched houses in Gaelic. Title page autographed by the author.
Black and white photograph of thatched houses at Cornaig in the mid-1930s.
Thatched houses at Cornaig in the mid-1930s.
Four postcards of Tiree by Sue Anderson.
Four postcards of Tiree by Sue Anderson – the Ringing Stone; Sandaig Museum; Hynish and the Signalling Tower; thatched house in Balevullin.
