Deserted village, St Kilda

Deserted village, St Kilda

ID: QZP99_97107_05_11 DESCRIPTION: The islands of Hirta, Dun, Soay and Boreray make up St Kilda which can be found approximately 100 miles to the west of the Scottish mainland. The population lived on the main island of Hirta in a settlement by Village Bay. The village was probably re-built several times but the layout as it is today was created by the Rev Neil MacKenzie in the 1830s. There was a mixture of thatched black houses and slate roofed houses. Plots of land were allocated according to the runrig system and rent was paid in barley, oats, fish and seabirds. A pier was built at Village Bay in 1901. An increase in tourism and outside supplies led to a decline in self-sufficiency and morale of the St Kildans. In 1930 the remaining 36 islanders requested evacuation to the mainland. The islands were bought by the Marquis of Bute who bequeathed them to the National Trust for Scotland in 1957. This image comes from a collection gifted to Edinburgh Central Library by Dr Isabel F. Grant. The collection includes photographs taken by a number of different photographers. PLACENAME: St Kilda DISTRICT: Harris OLD COUNTY/PARISH: INVERNESS: Harris SOURCE: Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh Central Library COLLECTION: I F Grant Photographic Archive Asset ID: 38833 KEYWORDS: