Bragar

Human settlement in Scotland

Bragar

Location within the Outer Hebrides

LanguageScottish Gaelic
EnglishOS grid referenceNB288478Civil parish

Barvas

Council area

Na h-Eileanan Siar

Lieutenancy area

Western Isles

CountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townISLE OF LEWISPostcode districtHS2Dialling code01851PoliceScotlandFire Scottish Ambulance Scottish UK Parliament

Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Scottish Parliament

Na h-Eileanan an Iar

List of places: UK; Scotland

58°20′06″N 6°38′02″W / 58.335°N 6.634°W / 58.335; -6.634

Bragar (Scottish Gaelic: Bràgar, pronounced [braːgər]) is a village on the west side of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, 14 miles (23 kilometres) from the island's only town, Stornoway. Bragar is within the parish of Barvas,^[1] and is situated on the A858 between Carloway and Barvas.^[2]

Residents are mainly Gaelic speaking, and many work as crofters.

The village's best-known landmark is a whalebone arch, made in 1921 from the jawbone of an 80-foot-long (24-metre) blue whale which was beached on the shore the year before. The arch is located at the Lakeview residence, the home of Murdo Morrison (1867–1950). Bragar also has a post office, a war memorial, and a school.

History

A ruined Iron Age broch, Dun Bragar, stands in Loch an Dùin in South Bragar,^[3] 80 metres from the road and connected to the lochside by a causeway. In the mid-20th century local people took away many of its stones, and the structure is no longer safe.

The remains of a chapel, Teampall Eòin (the Temple of John the Baptist), built in the 15th century or earlier,^[4] lie inside a walled compound. This also contains a cemetery, now known as Cill Sgàire (Zechariah's cemetery) after Zechariah MacAulay who fell in a skirmish between the MacAulays of Uig and the Morrisons of Ness.

It is estimated that 2000 people are buried within the graveyard.^[5]

Notable people

Roderick Morison, the retained harper to Clan MacLeod at Dunvegan Castle, was born in Bragar in 1656.^[6] He wrote Òran Mòr MhicLeòid.

References

^ "Details of Bragar". Scottish Places. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
^ "A858". Sabre. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
^ "Lewis, Bragar, Loch An Duna". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
^ "Lewis, Teampull Eoin". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
^ Barrowman, Rachel C.; Francoz, Charlotte; Hooper, Janet; Rennie, Christine; Tompsett, Gary (17 February 2020). "Chapel-sites on the Isle of Lewis: Results of the Lewis Coastal Chapel-sites Survey". Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports. 88: 1–134. doi:10.9750/issn.2056-7421.2020.88. ISSN 2056-7421.
^ Chadwick, Simon Rory Dall. Early Gaelic Harp Info. Retrieved 22 April 2018