Ballacharia

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Ballacharie , also Balyharsch , is a derelict town in the northwest of the Scottish Hebridean island of Islay . It is not to be confused with the similar-sounding and nearby desert Ballochray . Ballacharie was located in the northeast of the island about seven kilometers west of Port Askaig and nine kilometers northeast of Bowmore , the main town on the island. The closest localities were Duisker, a few hundred meters south-west, and Shinghart, 1.5 km to the east . Ballacharie was connected to the island's road network via a path that branches off from today's A846 at Ballymartin , the course of which roughly corresponds to one of the main roads on the island at that time. At the census in 1841, 93 people were still living in Ballacharie. Ten years later the population had already dropped to 33 people. Today only the foundations of various buildings remain in the Ballacharie area.

Surroundings

In the area around Ballacharie there are various remains of earlier settlements. A menhir can be found on a hill in the northeast . This protrudes 1.60 m in height from a base area of ​​120 cm × 50 cm. To the northwest of Ballacharie on a hilltop are the remains of a poorly preserved dun . This was approximately oval in shape and fortified by about 2.5 m thick walls, which are now largely covered by earth. A much larger dun might have been to the west. However, its existence is not definitively assured. It is also not clear whether there was once a Shieling hut northwest of Ballacharie . The ruins of a former chapel can be found in the south-west of Duisker. The interior of the relatively small building measured 3.6 m × 2.8 m and was surrounded by walls about one meter thick, which today are still up to a maximum height of 90 cm. The building stood in the middle of an almost round cemetery that was about 13 m across.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Scotland Census 1841
  2. ↑ Scotland Census 1851
  3. ↑ Entry on Baile Tharbhach  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  4. ↑ Entry on Dun Chollapus  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  5. ↑ Entry on Conc na Buaile Faide  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  6. ↑ Entry on Maol nan Caorach  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  7. ↑ Entry on Duisker  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)

Coordinates: 55 ° 49 ′ 42 "  N , 6 ° 12 ′ 43"  W.