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"The sky is the same for everybody"
George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
The farmhouse of Barnhill is where George Orwell spent much of 1946-48 writing his hugely successful novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Coming to Jura seeking solitude to write, Orwell was known locally by his real name, Eric Blair. During much of his time on Jura he was suffering from
tuberculosis and his illness eventually forced him to leave the island in January 1949.
The house at Barnhill is very isolated and even in Orwell's day was considered fairly primitive. Today it is little changed and still does not have mains electricity.
Visitors can view the outside of the house from the water or land, respecting that it is usually lived in these days. It is four miles along a track beyond the road end.
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