Breanish
Breanish is a large village near the end of the Uig road – since the clearance of Mealista in 1838, it has been the last inhabited village in the district.
It was never cleared, and in fact absorbed some of the population of Mealista when that township became a farm. It suffered terribly from overcrowding and was described by a witness to the Napier Commission (1883) as being “like an anthill”. Subsequently the Mealista ground was made available to Brenish crofters for grazing.
Breanish features a substantial collection of fish-curing and -drying houses on the shore (some rebuilt as fanks), as well as a number of nausts and boat sheds.
The boatbuilder, John Macaulay, lived at 19 Breanish, but travelled about the district to build the boat where it was required.
We will be digitaising all of our archives soon…
The archives we have are currently in the Museum. Most of the known genealogy of Breanish has been documented on Hebridean Connections.
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