Arnol Blackhouse

About the museum

Number 42 Arnol is a thatched Hebridean blackhouse, or taigh-dubh in Gaelic, built between 1852 and 1895. For hundreds of years it was normal in rural Scotland for people and animals to live under the same roof. The house has a central door, a living room with a peat fire in the middle, a cattle byre and a parallel barn. The fire was never allowed to go out, and the smoke-laden thatch was renewed from time to time and spread on the fields as fertiliser. A crofting family left the house in 1965, and it is preserved almost as they left it.

Arnol has been a settlement for over 2,000 years, but the present township was moved inland in stages after 1795, reaching its current ridge in 1853. All homes built there up to 1900 were blackhouses. New health rules later required a wall between byre and dwelling, giving rise to the single-walled white houses. Number 39 next door, a white house built in the 1920s and lived in until 1976, is also in care and has been furnished as in the late 1950s and early 1960s, beside the ruin of the blackhouse once on that plot.

Historic Environment Scotland looks after the site. Visitors can smell the peat smoke, look into the box beds with their original fabrics and see the byre as it was left in 1966. Gaelic-speaking staff are usually on hand to talk about crofting life on Lewis, and the surrounding machair is rich in wild flowers in early summer.

Highlights

• Fully furnished thatched blackhouse where people and animals shared a roof
• Peat fire that is never allowed to go out
• Box beds with original fabrics
• Byre as it was left in 1966
• Neighbouring 1920s white house at number 39
• Gaelic-speaking staff

Permanent exhibitions

• No. 42 Arnol blackhouse – A furnished thatched blackhouse with a central peat fire, box beds and a byre, preserved as it was left by its last occupants.
• No. 39 white house – A 1920s white house, furnished as in the late 1950s and early 1960s, shows how island homes changed.

Operated by

Historic Environment Scotland

Admission & discounts

The prices shown are the online prices; paying on arrival costs more (adult £8.50, concession £6.80, child £4). Historic Environment Scotland members enter free, and Explorer Pass holders can book a free visit. Members of English Heritage, Cadw and Manx National Heritage receive free or discounted entry. Booking online with the code GOOD25 gives 25% off the standard price to visitors who arrive by bus, train or bike.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: not available
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The level tarmac car park has no marked accessible bays. The site is about 25 metres from the car park across a fairly level surface, and the shop and exhibition have ramped access. The blackhouse is all on one level but has very low doorways and ceilings, some narrow passages and uneven floors, and it can be very dark and smoky because of the open fire. The white house is reached over a large rough stone drain cover and has a small threshold, and the ruined blackhouses are reached over uneven grass. An adapted toilet is in the visitor centre. Visitors' dogs are allowed at the site but not inside roofed areas, and must be kept on a lead.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The Hebridean Way cycle route passes through Arnol, and there is bicycle parking on site.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The visitor centre has a shop and self-service tea and coffee, and a water bottle refill point.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit