Neil's House

In 1746, a soldier called Duncan Munro, returning from serving with the Argyll militia, was awarded a croft at Auchindrain. It is thought that this building, known as Building O or Neil’s House, was that croft house. In the early 18th century, returning soldiers were commonly awarded land rights.

The house has a smaller building, a kind of lean-to, attached to its eastern end. Evidence of metalworking has been found here, and it is thought that the house’s resident was the township’s handyman, making and repairing tools and farm machinery. The house is located in a field known as Dail na Ceardaich, ‘The Workshop Field’, while the neighbouring field was called Dail na Mhuilinn, ‘The Mill Field’. Activities other than farming did take place in townships - small-scale industry would have been a feature of life at Auchindrain and other similar settlements.