Barra. Inhabited house at Brevig
This house is of the blackhouse type built of rubble with double walls. This means there is an outer wall and an inner wall with a channel in between, which is filled with peat and earth. The doors and windows are small and the roofs are thatched, with ledges around the wall-heads so that the thatches can be put on, or repaired, easily. In this image the roof has not been re thatched for some time, and the boards used to lay the thatch on and the ropes used to secure the thatch are revealed. Although the house is described as occupied the door is firmly wedged shut. Houses such as these were occupied until 1970s.
