When I first visited Mingulay in 2003 I was surprised to see that the priest's house had lost its roof. The house, built in 1898, had living quarters on the ground floor with a chapel on the upper floor, and I was expecting it to look as it did in some old photos I'd seen. But I would learn that the roof was lifted off by storms in the winter of 1996-97, which started the inevitable total collapse of the building.
The first three photos show how the house looked in 2003. Both gables stood complete, but the roof had collapsed, as had the front wall (facing the bay). The third photo was taken from atop the outer stairs looking into the chapel. As you can see, it was a sad mess.
The fourth photo was taken 10 years later in the summer of 2013. You can see that the gable shown in the third photo has completely fallen. A few more winters and there will be nothing left.
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| Back of the Priest's House and Mingulay Bay (2003) |
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View showing the fallen front wall and the steps to the chapel (2003)
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| Looking into the upper floor chapel (2003) |
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| The Priest's House as it is - 10 years later in 2013 |
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