Skye Museum of Island Life

The Skye Museum of Island Life at Kilmuir, Isle of Skye was opened in 1965. The aim was to preserve a township of thatched cottages, each one depicting, as closely as possible, the conditions prevailing on the island at the close of the nineteenth century.

The first cottage to be opened to the public, in 1965 was the dwelling house which dates back to the mid-ninetenth century. This cottage is a good example of the typical Skye house of that era, when houses on the island with very few exceptions, were of this standard and type. By present-day standards the old Highland house was basic and crude but nevertheless, it was adequate in its own day and gave shelter and warmth to men and women who spent most of their time out of doors and cared little about worldly possessions or domestic luxury.