Breasclete ( gd, Brèascleit) is a village and
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
on the west side of the
Isle of Lewis
The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...
, in the
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
, Scotland. Breasclete is within the parish of
Uig, and is situated adjacent to the
A858.
History
Breasclete has several
stone circle
A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...
s, as well as various
cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
s. The
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
-era Olcote
kerbed cairn, south of the settlement, was excavated in 1995 during road works, by CFA Archaeology, and the site seems to form part of a wider ceremonial complex. The cairn contained a
cist burial and the archaeologists believe there was a satellite cist burial on the outside of the cairn but due to the acidity of the soil no bones survived to confirm this. The local pier, situated west of the settlement, was built in the early 20th century, and has a quay of similar construction.
Community
One of the main services in the village is
Breasclete Primary School, which has a current total of 27 children. There is a thriving community with the new Hall as the base for a number of community groups and organisations.
Economy
The village also hosts the Equatec facility, a pharmaceutical facility dedicated to fatty acid research and production, which has now been taken over by German giant
BASF
BASF Societas Europaea, SE () is a German multinational corporation, multinational chemical company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The ...
in June 2012.
Other businesses located in the area include Scottish Fish Farm who have a number of sites in East Loch Roag, and Hebridean Soap who operate from their base in Breasclete.
Traditional industries like Harris Tweed also offer employment, and crofting is at the heart of the community.
References
External links
Canmore - Lewis, Breasclete site recordCanmore - Lewis, Breasclete, Lightkeepers Dwelling Houses site record
{{Lewis and Harris
Villages in the Isle of Lewis