Arnol Blackhouse

The Arnol Blackhouse Museum at No 42 Arnol is found on the north west side of Lewis. The blackhouse that is used as the museum was built around 1875 and its last occupants moved out in the 1960s.<br /> <br /> A blackhouse is typically a long narrow building and often had parallel buildings sharing a wall. It had a double wall structure with the space between filled with peat and earth. The roof was thatched over a wooden frame which rested on the inner wall. The thatch was held down with old fishing net or twine, weighted by stones. The roof had no chimney and the smoke from the peat fire, which was rarely allowed to go out, was left to escape wherever it could. The smoked thatch was considered an excellent fertiliser and roofs were often re-thatched each year. By the end of the 1800s more modern housing was introduced and these were known as whitehouses, due to their colour. The name blackhouse became common as a way to distinguish between the two types of houses.