Castlebay On Visit To Island of Barra Outer Hebrides Scotland

Tour Scotland travel video, with Scottish music, of Castlebay on visit to Island of Barra, Outer Hebrides. Barra is the second southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides. Alexander, Lord of the Isles granted the island to the MacNeil clan in 1427. The clan held the island until 1838, when Roderick MacNeil, the 40th Chief of the Clan, sold the island to Colonel Gordon of Cluny. Gordon expelled most of the inhabitants in order to make way for sheep farming. The displaced islanders variously went to the Scottish mainland, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada. Barra was restored to MacNeil ownership in 1937 when the Barra estate, which encompassed most of the island, was bought by Robert MacNeil, a U.S. architect, and 45th chief of the clan. Kisimul Castle, Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Chiosmuil, also known as Kiessimul Castle, is a medieval castle located on a small island off Castlebay. It gets its name from the Gaelic ciosamul meaning " castle island. " Kisimul was the seat of the chief of the Macneils of Barra. According to tradition, the first Macneils came to Barra in the 11th century, but the first historical record of a clan chief here comes from 1427, when Gilleonan Macneil was granted the island by Lord Alexander MacDonald, Lord of the Isles. It was probably he who built Kisimul on the rocky island, with a small crew house beside the castle for his personal crew and galley. The Macneils retained Barra until 1838 when they were forced to sell the lordship to repay heavy debts. In 1937 a descendant of the Macneils of Barra, Robert Lister Macneil, the 45th Chief, purchased the estates once more and set to work restoring the castle. Most of the castle dates to the 15th century. It is built as a three storey tower house surrounded by a curtain wall. Within the wall is a courtyard enclosing secondary buildings including a chapel, feasting hall, watchman's house, and heir's house. All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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