A cleit is a stone storage hut or

bothy A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...

, uniquely found on the isles and stacks of St Kilda; whilst many are still to be found, they are slowly falling into disrepair. There are known to be 1,260 cleitean on Hirta and a further 170 on the other St Kilda-group islands. The outlying island of Boreray has the ''Cleitean MacPhàidein'', a "cleit village" of three small bothies, which were used on a regular basis during fowling expeditions from Hirta.Maclean (1977) page 28. As a result of a smallpox outbreak on Hirta in 1727, three men and eight boys were marooned on Stac an Armin, near to Boreray, until the following May. On St Kilda, which is treeless, the islanders used the wind passing through the cleits to preserve some of their food instead of using salt or smoking.St Kilda Rangers tweet 28 July 2018 The Cleitean were used to dry and to store a wide variety of foodstuffs. These included:Pierreseche. Com
/ref> *cured fish *bird eggs (The eggs were collected from the spring-time nests of

Guillemot Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family, part of the order Charadriiformes. In Europe, the term covers two genera, '' Uria'' and '' Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are called mu ...

Razorbill The razorbill (''Alca torda'') is a North Atlantic colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus ''Alca (bird), Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinus impennis' ...

, and

Fulmar The fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds in the family Procellariidae. The family includes two extant species, and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on s ...

birds by St Kilda men scaling the cliffs. The eggs were buried in St Kilda peat ash.) *feathers *fishing gear *grains such as wheat, barley and oats *hay *lamb *manure *peat *potatoes *ropes *seabird carcasses

Construction

Typically the cleitean are found on hilly ground and therefore are typically laid out along the direction of the slope, with their front ends looking uphill and their rounded rear ends looking downhill. On St Kilda, the drystone walls are distinctive for their lack of coursing and seemingly random stone placement - this was deliberate, to ensure that the wind could pass through and thus help to preserve food stores kept there. Occasionally the entrance is found in a side wall. Examples also exist of cleitean built perpendicularly to the direction of the slope, with the entrance in one of the narrower ends. In order to be able to withstand any downward thrust, the end facing downhill is normally built in the shape of an

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

with a strong support. Entrances are very rarely placed in the apsidal end, in order not to compromise its strength. In his book on St Kilda, David Quine says of the cleitean, "They come in many shapes and sizes, but all have dry stone walls to allow the wind to whistle through, and great stone slabs for roofs, capped with turf to absorb the water."

In history

Whilst she was kidnapped by her husband

James Erskine, Lord Grange James Erskine, Lord Grange (1679 – 20 January 1754) was a Scottish advocate, judge and politician. He served as Lord Justice Clerk and a Lord of Justiciary. Life The son of Charles Erskine, Earl of Mar, by his spouse Lady Mary, eldest daught ...

in the 1730s,

Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange Rachel Chiesley (baptised 4 February 1679 – 12 May 1745), usually known as Lady Grange, was the wife of James Erskine, Lord Grange, Lord Grange, a Scottish lawyer with Jacobitism, Jacobite sympathies. After 25 years of marriage and ...

was forced for some time to live in a cleit at Hirta, on St Kilda. The cleit in the Village meadows is said to resemble "a giant Christmas pudding".Fleming (2005) p. 135 Some authorities believe that it was rebuilt on the site of a larger

blackhouse A blackhouse ( ; ) is a traditional type of house which used to be common in Ireland, the Hebrides, and the Scottish Highlands. Origin of the name The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. On the Isle of Lewis, in particular, it ...

where she also lived during her incarceration."St Kilda, Hirta, Village Bay, Cleit 85"
Canmore. Retrieved 8 May 2010. In 1838, the grandson of a St Kildan who had assisted her quoted the dimensions as being , which is a common size for a cleit.

Pictures

Village Bay St Kilda10.jpg, A cleit on Hirta St Kilda Cleit.jpg, A cleit in 1898 Cleits seen from Mullach Bi - geograph.org.uk - 1291651.jpg, Cleits seen from Mullach Bi St Kilda cleit - geograph.org.uk - 229590.jpg, Cleit overlooking the harbour

References

{{Huts St Kilda, Scotland Buildings and structures in the Outer Hebrides Stone houses