INTO THE ARCHIVE: Life and times of UNESCO World Heritage Site St Kilda revealed in fascinating Highland records
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The St Kilda archipelago lies about 64km west off the Outer Hebrides and consists of the main island of Hirta, along with Boreray, Dun and Soay, as well as some impressive sea stacks.
On August 29, 1930, all remaining 36 inhabitants of Hiort (St Kilda) voluntarily left the island after struggling with depopulation and hardship.
There is evidence of human settlement in St Kilda going back at least 4000 years, making the final exit of its inhabitants all the more poignant and historic. It is thought that the population probably never exceeded 180, with the peak sometime in the late 17th Century.
By the mid 1800s the St Kildans were quite used to visitors, with the arrival of many a Victorian tourist seeking out an introduction to the islanders and their “curious” way of life.
Formal education was brought in via the Church of Scotland with help from the Gaelic School Society when the resident minister, the Rev. Neil Mackenzie, and his wife (who arrived on the island in July 1830) began a daily school which taught reading, writing and arithmetic in both Gaelic and English.
There were various factors which resulted in the difficult decision to leave; a gradual decline of self-sufficiency, poor health coupled with a lack of medical facilities and supplies which was especially hard when there were outbreaks of influenza, cholera and smallpox. There were acute food shortages and an increased feeling of isolation due to a lack of communication to other parts of the country.
This was exacerbated in the aftermath of the First World War. When the Royal Navy erected a signal station on Hirta this brought daily communication with the mainland for the first time in St Kilda’s history so when this communication ended with the war, the sense of isolation deepened resulting in many of the young men seeking another ‘better’ life on the mainland.
With a severely depopulated community and subsequently a struggling economy and a bleak outlook for their future, the remaining St Kildans voted to leave their island and to be re-settled on the mainland.
The County of Inverness Valuation Roll for 1930 shows a handful of houses owned by Sir Reginald MacLeod of Dunvegan along with the names of their tenants; the last residents of St Kilda.
The archipelago is now owned by The National Trust for Scotland and is a renowned bird sanctuary. It is the UK’s only dual UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of only 39 in the world. Today there are no permanent inhabitants, although there are several military personnel, conservation workers and volunteers who stay on Hirta throughout the year.
The Highland Archive Centre is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. To make a booking or to enquire about remote archive or family history research please contact us at archives@highlifehighland.com tel: 01349 781130 or see our website for further details https://www.highlifehighland.com/archives-service/covid-19-archive-updates/
