"Lakefield" Whale Bone Arch. Bragar, The Isle of Harris & Lewis, The Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
In September 1920 a corpse of an 80 foot-long whale drifted into Bragar Bay. It had a harpoon in its head, trailed by 50 feet of rope. The beached whale attracted a great deal of attention due to its size, but the issue of what to do with it soon took centre stage. Village officials contacted a whaling company to come and retrieve the body but no one came. The corpse began to rot and the stench was awful so with no one interested the villagers rolled up their sleeves and dealt with it themselves. The blubber was used for oil, disinfectant, tar and medicine. It was harvested by tapping into the whales body and filling bottles and barrels with the gloopy fat. The village postmaster and general merchant, Murdo Morrison, had taken a great deal of interest in the whale, and had been a spokesperson on behalf of his co-villagers in the matter of its disposal. He decided that he would take a memento and the lower jawbone would make a an ideal arch over the entrance to his home "Lakefield". In the autumn of 1921 a procession of two horses and many villagers pulled the gigantic bones on a makeshift sledge over the rough tracks from the shore to "Lakefield". The bones at the centre were too soft, so part of it was removed until the harder bone was reached and the arch seen today was shortened considerably. The jawbone stands today at 25 feet tall and 4 tons heavy. The harpoon is suspended at the apex with a decorative droplet on top. Through the middle of each of the two pillars passes a hair-pin band of iron, which keeps the bones in position. The bones at the apex have supporting iron studs down both sides. No one knows where the whale was harpooned. or by whom, but its arrival in Bragar is now the stuff of local lore and, of course, pride. The arch which has more recently been coated in fibreglass/resin for preservation purposes, has been bid upon numerous times over the century since it was raised, but it will not and never will be for sale.
"Lakefield" Whale Bone Arch. Bragar, The Isle of Harris & Lewis, The Outer Hebrides, Scotland.
In September 1920 a corpse of an 80 foot-long whale drifted into Bragar Bay. It had a harpoon in its head, trailed by 50 feet of rope. The beached whale attracted a great deal of attention due to its size, but the issue of what to do with it soon took centre stage. Village officials contacted a whaling company to come and retrieve the body but no one came. The corpse began to rot and the stench was awful so with no one interested the villagers rolled up their sleeves and dealt with it themselves. The blubber was used for oil, disinfectant, tar and medicine. It was harvested by tapping into the whales body and filling bottles and barrels with the gloopy fat. The village postmaster and general merchant, Murdo Morrison, had taken a great deal of interest in the whale, and had been a spokesperson on behalf of his co-villagers in the matter of its disposal. He decided that he would take a memento and the lower jawbone would make a an ideal arch over the entrance to his home "Lakefield". In the autumn of 1921 a procession of two horses and many villagers pulled the gigantic bones on a makeshift sledge over the rough tracks from the shore to "Lakefield". The bones at the centre were too soft, so part of it was removed until the harder bone was reached and the arch seen today was shortened considerably. The jawbone stands today at 25 feet tall and 4 tons heavy. The harpoon is suspended at the apex with a decorative droplet on top. Through the middle of each of the two pillars passes a hair-pin band of iron, which keeps the bones in position. The bones at the apex have supporting iron studs down both sides. No one knows where the whale was harpooned. or by whom, but its arrival in Bragar is now the stuff of local lore and, of course, pride. The arch which has more recently been coated in fibreglass/resin for preservation purposes, has been bid upon numerous times over the century since it was raised, but it will not and never will be for sale.