Building in Balla

Located immediately to E of a holy well (MA090-024001-). The origin of this building, known in local tradition as the ‘Rest House’, is uncertain; it may date to the 17th century. It is recorded in the OS Letters 1838 as follows: 'At the well there is the unroofed walls of a "house" for the sheltering of the lame and the blind that frequent the place on the Patron Day.' Lewis (1837, 102) described it as ‘a chapel’, which was ‘attended by great numbers of the peasantry at patrons held on the 15th of August and 8th of September.’ It is a gable-ended structure, rectangular in plan (int. dims. 5.3m NW−SE; 3.6m NE−SW), built of mortared limestone and sandstone blocks, with larger blocks in the basal courses and quoins. The SE gable has a lintelled doorway (H 1.58m; Wth 1m) above which is a window with a pointed arch. There is another lintelled doorway (H 1.65m; Wth 0.96m) towards the N end of the NW gable, which directly overlooks the well. In the early 2000’s the SE gable still stood to almost its full height (H c. 3.7m), but the NW gable and the SW and NE side walls were in poor condition. Conservation works were undertaken in 2016. Within the interior there is an inscribed stone (MA090-024007-). Attached images: MA090-024003-_01.JPG Building before conservation works, viewed from E MA090-024003-_02.JPG Building before conservation works, viewed from NW Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018