Barvas (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: ''Barabhas'' or ''Barbhas'', ) is a settlement,

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It developed around a road junction. The A857 and A858 meet at the southern end of Barvas. North is the road to Ness; west takes the traveller to Carloway and the West Side; south runs the road to

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

. According to the 2011 Census it still had the highest concentration of

speakers in

(64% of the population) with 2,037. This fell to 55% in 2022.

Prehistory and Archaeology

Investigations since 1978 have found archaeological sites in the area that date from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Modern. Notable discoveries and projects: * In 1986–7, there was the excavation of a small Bronze Age cemetery, which was inserted into the remains of an earlier Bronze Age building. * In 1993, Richard Langhorne, curator of Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway, carried out an emergency excavation of a burial, dated to the late Iron Age. * In the early summer of 1996, GUARD Archaeology excavated a further burial at Rudh a’Bhiogair, again en emergency excavation. * Detailed surveys in both 1978 and 1999. * Community excavations between 2000 and 2001 as part of the Barabhas Machair project - found a group of Iron Age ritual structures, including a long cist burial. * 2001–13 Mark Elliott, conservator at Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway, with help from friends and family, carried out walkover surveys.

History

Rev Allan MacArthur was minister of the Free Church in Barvas 1857 to 1887. In the early 2000s, one of Europe's largest windfarms was planned for Barvas Moor. The

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

rejected the proposals in early 2008.

Teampall Mhuire

In Barvas is the ruins of Teampall Mhuire (St Mary's Church), currently buried next to the Cladh Mhuire. The exact location is currently unknown as it has been buried by sand. It was last visited by RCAHMS in the 1920s but by the 1960s the OS survey could not locate it. In the 1500s it was one of the four parish churches on Lewis and a letter from the Pope in 1403 mentioned the church so it is at least that old.

References

External links

Panorama of Barvas Bay
(QuickTime required)
Canmore - Lewis, Barvas site recordCanmore - Lewis, Barvas, Cladh Mhuire site recordCanmore - Barvas, Prehistoric House site recordCanmore - Barvas, Prehistoric Cairn site record
Villages in the Isle of Lewis Parishes in Western Isles {{WesternIsles-geo-stub