Step back in time and discover the real story of island life.

Built over 200 years ago using locally sourced materials, this house was occupied until 1957 and later opened as a museum in 1965 to preserve and interpret traditional Highland life for future generations. Cooking took place over an open fire, and early examples of this house type lacked chimneys and windows, resulting in poor light and smoke-filled interiors—features that led visitors to describe them as “Black Houses.” Light was provided by a crusie, a lamp burning fish oil or animal fat. Designed for practicality rather than comfort, the house was well suited to the harsh landscape and climate of the Highlands. Families lived largely self-sufficient lives; rearing livestock, fishing, growing crops and using locally made furniture often crafted from driftwood. Despite limited possessions, there was a strong sense of community and shared support. Daily life centred on faith, with family worship held morning and evening. Whist long winter nights were spent spinning yarn, making rope, mending nets, singing Gaelic songs and sharing stories—traditions were passed down orally and vital in preserving Gaelic history and culture.

In 1933, the Duke and Duchess, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, visited Skye and expressed an interest in seeing inside the croft house. Despite the family initially declining, the accompanying official arrived with the royal couple. The parents quietly retired to their bedroom and did not emerge. When questioned the following day, the son replied: “If my parents were to go to London, I do not think the Royals would come out to meet them.”

This building was used to house cattle during the winter, typically the family’s milking cow. Keeping the cow warm helped maintain milk production, providing essential dairy products such as milk, butter and cheese. The cow was mainly fed hay, supplemented with oats or potatoes and her manure was used to fertilise the land.

Women were primarily responsible for milking twice daily and for processing the milk. Much of the household and agricultural labour fell to women. A typical day involved domestic work, caring for animals, working the land and producing textiles in the evening.

The Gaelic word “Ceilidh” describes a small, informal gathering of friends. This house was once home to the local tailor, Mr MacKinnon, who owned one of the first wireless radios in the area. Most evenings, local men gathered there to listen to the news.

During long winter nights, these meetings featured traditional singing and storytelling, with tales of Clan battles and heroic warriors passed down through generations, helping preserve local history. Many participants memorised extensive song repertoires.

The decline of the ceilidh is widely attributed to the introduction of the telephone, television and electric lighting which reduced neighbourly visits and altered the relaxed atmosphere once created by dimly lit homes.

This was the blacksmith’s workshop, where iron objects were forged and repaired by hand. Every community relied on a smithy and with horses to shoe and tools to mend, the blacksmith was rarely idle. The rhythmic ring of hammer on anvil accompanied the shaping of red-hot iron, while the smell of burning hoof often announced the workshop before it came into view.

The smithy also served as a social hub, where men gathered to exchange news and stories, occasionally helping by working the bellows. Kept deliberately dim, the workshop allowed the blacksmith to judge the iron’s temperature accurately. Beyond metalwork, the blacksmith frequently acted as a healer providing home remedies and even performing basic dentistry, most often tooth extractions.

Local shops were vital to remote communities. With limited travel options, they were well supported and supplied, often by boat to local ports and onward by horse and cart. Though small, these shops were well stocked with essential goods. Most areas had several shops, each specialising in different products so they remained busy without direct competition. Shopkeepers individual personalities attracted some customers but discouraged others.

This small cottage often functioned as a busy workshop. On the Isle of Skye, flax was grown to produce linen for shirts and bed sheets, while wool was used to make tweed for heavier garments and blankets. Flax and wool were sometimes blended to create cloth for women’s skirts.
Sheep were shorn in summer using hand shears, and the wool was washed in streams, dried, and dyed in iron pots with natural plants. Once dried again, it was combed, spun into yarn, and woven into cloth. The finished cloth was then shrunk and weatherproofed through a process known as waulking, or luadhadh in Gaelic, during which the fabric was soaked and pounded to set the dye and strengthen the weave.

To survive islanders needed to be adaptable, combining farming with life at sea. Until the mid-20th century agricultural work was carried out by hand and with horses using simple tools and implements, many of which are now housed in the Old Barn. Sheep and cattle were the main livestock, native breeds were typically small and hardy, well suited to harsh winters with minimal additional feed.
Peat (a soil rich in organic matter formed in wet conditions) was cut in spring and summer using basic tools, left to dry and used as fuel for cooking and heating. Families with larger holdings sometimes used Highland ponies for heavier tasks such as ploughing, harrowing and transporting crops. Hay was cut by men using scythes, while women cut corn with sickles. Grain was often ground at home using querns - two flat, circular stones. Although watermills were later introduced, landlords who funded them attempted to ban querns and require tenants to pay for milling.
Fishing was essential for both sustenance and income. In 1855, 1,105 men on the island were engaged in fishing with much of the catch salted to provide food during the winter months.

This house is named in honour of Jonathan MacDonald MBE (1932–2021), founder of the museum in 1965. Jonathan was deeply committed to preserving Gaelic, along with the history and culture of his native island.
The house explores themes that shaped Jonathan’s formative years and reflects a generation that witnessed unprecedented change. He experienced life before modern conveniences such as running water and electricity and later saw the arrival of heating, household appliances and digital technology. Despite these advances, Jonathan often observed that people were no less happy when they had fewer possessions and that community bonds were stronger.