Statement of Special Interest
Berneray hostel and annexe are 19th century traditional Hebridean crofthouses. These vernacular buildings were once prolific across Na h-Eileanan Siar, but are now extremely rare. In their renovated state, they continue to show traditional building methods and materials of Na h-Eileanan Siar. They continue to retain a proportion of historic fabric in their thick rubble walls
They are among only 54 buildings or groups of buildings in Na h-Eileanan Siar that are known to retain an intact thatched roof, and among a relatively small number of thatched buildings across Scotland.
The setting of the hostel and annexe as part of Baile, and within the historically large settlement of Ruisgarry, further adds to its interest. This group shows the close-knit nature of a rural crofting community at the eastern tip of Bays Loch. These traditional thatched buildings are an important part of the built heritage and historic character of the Uists.
Age and Rarity
The island of Berneray is one of 15 inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides. The island came into the possession of the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan in the 14th century. The Berneray Macleods descended from this branch of the family. In 1633 Sir Norman Macleod of Berneray, third son of the 15th Macleod Chief was granted a lifetime rent of Berneray (Miers, pp.314-319). By the mid-18th century, Donald Ruadh Macleod improved the land and the kelp industry boomed. The island was sold to the 5th Earl of Dunmore in 1834. Intense cultivation and an influx of people cleared from other islands, meant settlements such as Ruisgarry became very overcrowded.
The decline of the kelp industry, a succession of poor harvests, and the potato famine of 1846-51 led to a reduction in the number of crofts and large scale emigration and forced removal from crofts occurred (Rowe, p.162). As a result, the population of Berneray declined during the later 19th and early 20th centuries and crofting and cottar families turned to earning alternative livings.
It is likely these buildings date from the early to mid-19th century, prior to the collapse of the kelp industry. The hostel and its annexe are first shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1878, published 1880) as part of a group of four cottages at Baile. The overall layout and extent of the settlement has changed little since the late 19th century, from that shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map.
The listed building record, written in 1971, records the hostel building as having a gabled porch in corrugated iron. The porch was added sometime during the 20th century and has now been removed.
Ruisgarry was, historically, the most populated area on Berneray. These two cottages, also known as House No. 3 and No. 5 Ruisgarry, passed to the Gatliff Trust (afterwards the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust) in the 1970s for use as a Youth Hostel (Berneray Historical Society booklet, pp.117-118). Restoration works commenced in 1977 on the main building, and work on the annexe was completed in 1988. The buildings were rethatched around 2009.
The use of thatch as a roofing material has a long tradition in Scotland. Thatched buildings of Na h-Eileanan Siar are often single-storey cottages or crofthouses that are traditionally built, reflecting pre-industrial construction methods and materials.
The survival of this building type into the 21st century is extremely rare. A Survey of Thatched Buildings in Scotland, published in 2016 by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), found that were only around 200 buildings with thatched roofs in Scotland. Those which retain their traditional vernacular character, including plan forms and construction techniques may be of special interest in listing terms. Of the thatched buildings remaining in Scotland 54 of these are located in Na h-Eileanan Siar and 14 are on Berneray (SPAB, pp.500-526).
While crofting remains an important aspect of life in Na h-Eileanan Siar, these once prolific traditional thatched crofthouses are now extremely rare. The number and density that survive within the Ruisgarry Conservation Area is unique in comparison to the rest of the Na h-Eileanan Siar and Scotland as a whole. They are an important part of the Uists built heritage, showing cultural, ethnological and agricultural trends in this part of Scotland.
These hostel cottages, built in the 19th century, are significant because they retain elements of traditional construction methods and materials relevant to Berneray. These include its traditional footprint and its thick rubble walls, deeply recessed windows and marram thatched roofs (See Regional Variations section below).
Architectural or Historic Interest
Interior
The interiors of these vernacular cottages were often simple. Many of them have been refurbished and historic features no longer survive. The interiors of these cottages was fully renovated in the 1980s. The interior walls at the site have been limewashed and concrete slab floors laid (Hebridean Hostellers, p.1).
Plan form
The hostel and annexe buildings have plan forms typical of thatched vernacular buildings of Na h-Eileanan Siar with narrow-bodied, thick-walled rectangular forms. The battered walls are a common feature of this building type in that they sit low to the ground but the corners are squared rather than the more typical curved corners found across Na h-Eileanan Siar. Slight variations in construction was not unusual due to individual's preference, ability to build and the availability of materials. The hostel building was purposely built facing an easterly direction to allow rough weather to hit the back of the house, where there are minimal openings, a common feature on Na h-Eileanan Siar.
A porch extension was added to the main hostel building during the 20th century (as shown on the 1968 Ordnance Survey map). This has been removed and the current footprint of the two buildings corresponds to that shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map. The lack of alteration to the footprint of the building is therefore rare and the survival of its plan form is of interest.
Technological excellence or innovation, material or design quality
The hostel and annexe have been constructed using traditional materials and methods that are characteristic of this part of Scotland. The interest of these vernacular buildings is discussed in the Regional Variations section below.
While authenticity of material can be an important factor in assessing the significance of thatched buildings, buildings which have been repaired over time (perhaps with new roofing material or rethatched) can also be listed. The retention of the overall traditional character of vernacular buildings is therefore important in determining their special architectural or historic interest.
The simple, local nature of these buildings meant that they could be altered to suit changes in building methods, the availability of materials and the needs of those using the buildings. This is reflected in the minor alterations carried out since the construction, in particular the addition and later removal of a porch, which further shows how these buildings were used and developed over time.
From 1977 until 1988 the building were repaired and converted for use as a Youth Hostel. This work included the removal of the roof structure and its replacement following traditional methods, form and materials of thatching. The limewashed rubble walls have been retained, and the deeply recessed window openings with splayed reveals remain.
The marram grass or straw thatch material on both buildings was renewed in 2009 (reference 09/00168/LBC), as is regularly required. It was renewed using traditional techniques and materials.
The overall appearance of Berneray hostel and annexe is that of two 19th century thatched vernacular buildings that have been renovated. Both cottages retain a number of important features which are characteristic of Na h-Eileanan Siar, including a marram thatched roof with weighting stones and netting, and thick rubble walls.
Setting
The Baile area of Ruisgarry is situated at the eastern tip of Bays Loch. Baile translates from Gaelic as village and is characterised by a cluster of cottar's homes dotted around Port Ludaig. The scattered layout of these vernacular buildings at Baile has remained remarkably unchanged since the turn of the 20th century (as shown on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map).
There are a number of other vernacular buildings that have thatched roofs, or remnants of a thatched roof, within the settlement of Baile and the wider Ruisgarry. These include an unoccupied cottage to the southwest of the main hostel building, and a group of three cottages further west (LB46104 and LB46105). 'Macleod's Gunnery' and its associated byre (LB46108), which are understood to be the oldest buildings in the area, sit to the north of the hostel buildings.
The number and density of vernacular buildings that survive within the Ruisgarry Conservation Area is unique in comparison to the rest of the Na h-Eileanan Siar and Scotland as a whole. They are an important part of the Uists built heritage, showing cultural, ethnological and agricultural trends in this part of Scotland.
The hostel and annexe contribute to this landscape. They are part of the history of this area and complement the nearby clusters of traditional thatched cottages at Cnoc an Dudain and Laimhrig Ruadh. They show the regional methods of thatch and the techniques historically used as well as the past prominence of Ruisgarry in terms of industry and settlement.
Regional variations
The design and construction of the building, the method of thatching and the thatching material used was a distinctly localised practice. The best examples of local vernacular buildings will normally be listed because together they illustrate the importance of distinctive local and regional traditions.
Traditional thatched cottages of Na h-Eileanan Siar are usually single-storey, low-profile buildings. In the Uists the cottages typically had a room at each end of the building with a small room in the middle. They also typically had a chimney on each end wall. They were shorter than those on Lewis, because the byre was not part of the property but in a separate outbuilding. The original interior arrangement at the hostel and annexe is hard to determine as the interior has been modernised. However, the little altered footprint of the buildings and the window arrangement suggest they were divided similarly.
The low form, thick battered rubble walls and its rounded thatched roof are typical of this region in protecting against Atlantic storms and sand blasts. The walls of these vernacular buildings would have been constructed with a central earth and rubble core between stone walls that were built from locally sourced stone gathered from the land. Their thickness ensured that they could support the weight of the roof, reducing the need for timber (which was scarce in the area) in the roof structure to a minimum. The rubble walls of these two buildings differ from other cottages nearby in that they have squared corners rather than curved ones. Cottages with squared corners maybe slightly younger than cottages with curved corners (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, 2019).
The thatched roofs appear to have marram grass, likely to be locally sourced from the machair. The use of marram grass, applied in the randomly laid-on style, is typical for this area due to its pliability. The rounded form of the roof is also common in Na h-Eileanan Siar to limit the effects of extreme weather conditions, by allowing wind to pass over the structure and reduce the risk of damage. The thatch material has been netted and weighted down with stones, and the thatch sits on the wallhead leaving a few inches of wallhead exposed.
Close Historical Associations
There are no known associations with a person or event of national importance at present (2018).
Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2019. Previously listed as 'Berneray Thatched Cottage at Baile (Gatliffe Trust)'.