This exhibition reminds us of the warmness and community spirit peculiar to Lewis. No.42 was a family home for around 80 years during which many modest changes were made. Some of the items displayed from the period have been artistically represented by Ness Art Club Community Group who have put together a memorable insight into the Blackhouse and its precious way of life.
For hundreds of years it was custom in Lewis for man and beast to be housed together under one roof. When No.42 Arnol was vacated in the 1960s the property was entrusted into state care. The Arnol Blackhouse is now the last tangible link with that tradition and evokes a form of living and working now beyond the memory of most individuals
Tha cuimhne agam o chionn bliadhna no dhà air ais an uair a bha bràthair m’athar aig an taigh à Canada, b’àbhaist daoine a bhith a’tigheann a- steach a h-uile oidhche. Abair toileachas, a’seinn agus ri iomadh cur-seachad eile.
(cuimhneachan òganach à sgoil Shiaboist, 1964)
I remember a few years ago when my uncle was at home from Canada, people used to come in every night. What times we had, singing and many other sources of entertainment
(a youngster’s reminiscences from Shawbost School, 1964)