Baleshare

Infobox Scottish island
latitude=57.53
longitude=-7.37
GridReference=NF788619
celtic name=Am Baile Sear
norse name=
meaning of name= Gaelic for 'east farm'.
area=910 ha
area rank=53
highest elevation=12 m
Population=49
population rank=56
main settlement=Samhla
island group= Uists and Barra
local authority=Na h-Eileanan Siar
references= [2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland] Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) "The Scottish Islands". Edinburgh. Canongate.] [ [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Ordnance Survey] ] [cite web| url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/language/gaelic/pdfs/placenamesA-B.pdf| title=Placenames| author=Iain Mac an Tailleir| publisher=Pàrlamaid na h-Alba| accessdate=2007-07-28|format=PDF]

Baleshare ( _gd. Baile Sear) is a flat tidal island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

Baleshare lies to the south-west of North Uist. Its economics and community were boosted by the building of a causeway in 1962. The 350m (382 yard) causeway was built by William Tawse Ltd. [cite web| url=http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst11034.html| title=Baleshare Causeway| publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland| accessdate=2007-08-18] The island is extremely flat by Hebridean standards, rising to only 12 metres above sea level and known for its long sandy beach. It has a population of 49 living in two settlements: Samhla and Teananachar.

The name means 'east farm' or 'east town'. The 'west town' may have been on land that was said to exist to the west of Baleshare, washed away in the sixteenth century, over which it was possible to walk to the Monach Islands at low tide. The Monachs are some 15 kilometres to the west. Another story suggests there was once a land bridge to Kirkibost, 100 metres to the north. [cite web| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/islandblogging/westernisles/baleshare.shtml| publisher=BBC Scotland| title=Western Isles: Baleshire| accessdate=2007-08-18] The basis for this seems to be a reference in the Exchequer Rolls for 1542 that the valued rental had been decreased due to encroachment by the sea at some unspecified (presumably recent) date.

Two prehistoric settlements have been uncovered, which contain the remains of a circular stone house and pieces of pottery, bone and metal. In common with other sites in the area, they are threatened by coastal erosion [cite news| title=History at risk from erosion by the sea| date=2007-05-30| author=Jamie Beatson| url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=840532007| work=The Scotsman| accessdate=2007-08-18] [ [http://www.sair.org.uk/sair3/sair3-contents.pdf Barber, John (2003) "Bronze Age Farms and Iron Age Farm Mounds of the Outer Hebrides". Scottish Archaeological Report 3.] Retrieved 18 August 2007.]

Footnotes

External links

*cite web| url=http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/baleshare/baleshare/| title=Baleshare on Undiscovered Scotland| accessdate=2007-08-26
* [http://www.shorewatch.co.uk/html/bailesear.html A photographic survey of an eroding site at Baile Sear]

See also

Tidal island