 The Head Wall was built in 1834 when the medieval village was abandoned and a new one planned between Tobar Childa and the sea some 700 feet ( 200 m ) down the slope . This came about as the result of a visit by Sir Thomas Dyke Ackland , the MP for Devon . Appalled by the primitive conditions , he made a donation that led to the construction of a completely new settlement of 30 new blackhouses . These houses were made of dry stone , had thick walls and were roofed with turf . Each typically had only one tiny window and a small aperture for letting out smoke from the peat fire that burnt in the middle of the room . As a result , the interiors were blackened by soot . The cattle occupied one end of the house in winter , and once a year the straw from the floor was stripped out and spread on the ground . Several of the new dwellings were damaged by a severe gale in October 1860 , and repairs were sufficient only to make them suitable for use as byres . According to Alasdair MacGregor 's analysis of the settlement , the sixteen modern , zinc @-@ roofed cottages amidst the black houses and new Factor 's house seen in most photographs of the natives were constructed around 1862 . 
