49549: Buth Iain Sheonaidh

The old shop and bakery at No 16 Cromore was owned by John Smith and was known as Buth Iain Sheonaidh. The building, which still stands today, was the centre of many activities in the village with all the old bodachs debating all aspects of village life in and around the shop. In the early evening they would drift home and the youngsters of the village then used to congregate round the shop. The shop used to be the venue for the traditional beer keg at New Year and you could usually find another keg out at Torastay at that time of year.

The bakery oven can still be seen built into the end wall of the inside of the building. The baker here was Skim, Alasdair Kennedy who lived at 16 Cromore. He moved to Ropework Road in Stornoway and worked as a baker for many years at J & E Macleod before retiring.