The Highland Clearances resulted in terrible suffering. Those not forced to emigrate from the good land on the west of the island were forced to resettle on this rocky eastern shore where they complained there was not even enough soil to bury their dead. It is too rocky and bodies has to be carried to cemeteries on the west coast. This landscape was used for Jupiter in 2001 A Space Odyssey. The road here, single track is called The Golden Road due to the expense of construction. I think this is Loch Stockinish.
This is Rodal at the SE tip of Harris. The tower is St Clements Church
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaSt Clement's Church (Scottish Gaelic: Tur Chliamainn) is a fifteenth century church in Rodel, Harris, Scotland, built for the Chiefs of the MacLeods of Harris, who lived in Dunvegan Castle in Skye. It is dedicated to Pope Clement I and was a Catholic church before falling into disuse in the eighteenth century. The church was built using local Lewisian gneiss rock. It is sometimes known as Eaglais Rodal or Rodal Church
In 1528 Alasdair Crotach Macleod, 8th Chief, prepared for himself a magnificent wall tomb - possibly the finest medieval wall tomb in Scotland.
The church was restored as a Protestant church in 1784. It burned down and in the 19th century it was used as a cow byre before being restored by Catherine Herbert Countess of Dunmore in 1873.
The church is currently under the responsibility of Historic Scotland.
End of quote.
No-one has been able to tell me why it was not used for centuries after the Reformation. In England, the established church took over all the parish churches. The Hebrides appear to be different.
The church has a naughty carving on the south of the tower. I shall not go into details :-)
Harris is synonymous with tweed and this is still very much a cottage industry. Here is a lady at her 100 year old loom made in Yorkshire.
No comments:
Post a Comment