Jura –

George Orwell and Barnhill

Place Guide Place Guide Home Page
Place Guide
Place Guide
Home Page

Links to pages in the Place Guide

Jura
Craighouse
Jura Gardens
Wildlife
George Orwell
Corryvreachan
Autumn
Jura Ferry Times
Jura Links


OK, I was there with good intentions to get a photograph and guess what, I’d forgotten my camera. But I did have my trusty pencil so here is a reasonable sketch of the house. Built of stone and really quite big, the temptation to look through the windows was almost, but not quite overpowering.

The building is of stone with a drystane wall in the background. The waters of the sound of Jura are just over the low rise in the background a few hundred yards away maybe.

Jura – George Orwell

George Orwell first visited Jura in September 1945 and moved into Barnhill in April 1946. On Jura he was known by his real name, Mr. Blair (Eric) though he made few friends locally probably due to the isolation of the house. While at Barnhill he gardened in the small orchard, fished a lot and had a small boat in which he often visited the whirlpool at Corryvrechan, at one time suffering a capsize that came close to ending his life prematurely. During his time on Jura he was diagnosed with TB and he spent some time in a sanitarium in the Cotswolds.

In Barnhill he was accompanied by his adopted son, Richard and later, his sister Avril. His house was kept by Susan Watson and he was helped to farm the area by Richard Rees and Bill Dunn. There seems to have been some disagreement between Avril and Susan resulting in the departure of the latter. Orwell’s novel 1984 was completed in 1948 and the reversing of the final digits gave him the title. Later Bill Dunn married Avril.

The strain of typing out the book taxed him so severely that he deteriorated rapidly, in due course he became too ill to remain on Jura and he had to move back south. George Orwell died in January 1950.

The furnishings and decor have stayed very much the same to create more interest for visitors to the house. There is still no electricity supply to the house. It is very nostalgic to see how Orwell once lived and wrote. The house is available for rent through the year.

You can find a good site on Orwell by Charles in Canada, click here for the homepage.

The information on this page is distilled from a detailed, 16 page pamphlet by DGB Wright called “Jura and George Orwell”. By no coincidence it was first published in 1984. This is available through the Tourist Information Office and from the Celtic House. It includes photographs and an eye witness account of Eric’s time on Jura which provides many insights into his day to day life. For a few pounds this is a very worthwhile read for the enthusiast.

Kilearnadil

One of the other pieces of Jura’s history is the story of Earnan, Saint Columba’s uncle. Earnan is thought to be one of the first pilgrims to travel to Jura and round about. The church on Jura is called Kilearnadil which means "Earnan’s seat".

There is a bay on Jura called Lowlandman’s Bay. It is thought to be the bag-shaped bay that Columba landed at to travel over the island to Iona. This bay is mentioned in Columba’s accounts of his pilgrimages.