Eilean an Taighe
Encyclopedia
Please note "Eilean an Taighe", or "Eilean Taigh" is a fairly common island name
Eilean an T(a)ighe or Eilean an T(a)igh, meaning "home island", is one of the Shiant Isles
. It is joined to Garbh Eilean
by an isthmus and both form part of a single island.
, one of the other islands in the Shiants also takes its name from Mary.
Forty people were living here in the mid 19th century but by 1770 they had all left. In the 1820s a shepherd and his wife were resident, but they too had gone by 1842. In 1862 another shepherd, Donald Campbell, and his wife and two daughters were there, the family only leaving in 1901. The daughters, Mòr and Catriona, were apparently very beautiful and attracted the attention of visiting fishermen and yachtsmen alike.
In 1937 the islands were acquired by Nigel Nicolson
, then an undergraduate at Oxford, who like former owner Compton MacKenzie
, was later a writer, publisher and politician. Nicolson's son, the writer Adam Nicolson
, published the definitive book on the islands, Sea Room. The Shiants now belong to Adam's son Tom. Sheep belonging to a Lewis crofter graze all three islands. The simple bothy
restored by Nigel Nicolson on Eilean an Taighe is currently the only habitable structure on the islands.
Shiant Isles
The Shiant Isles are a privately owned island group in the Minch, east of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They are five miles south east of Lewis.-Etymology:...
. It is joined to Garbh Eilean
Garbh Eilean
Garbh Eilean is one of the Shiant Isles at the south end of the Minch on the west coast of Scotland.-Geology:...
by an isthmus and both form part of a single island.
History
Prior to the 1820s the island was called Eilean na Cille ("church island") and there is evidence of a church, possibly dedicated to the Virgin Mary, near the site of the present cottage. Eilean MhuireEilean Mhuire
Eilean Mhuire is the most easterly of the Shiant Islands in the Outer Hebrides.Once populated Eilean Mhuire is now used only for grazing sheep. There are various ruins on the island and the Ordnance Survey mark the remains of "St...
, one of the other islands in the Shiants also takes its name from Mary.
Forty people were living here in the mid 19th century but by 1770 they had all left. In the 1820s a shepherd and his wife were resident, but they too had gone by 1842. In 1862 another shepherd, Donald Campbell, and his wife and two daughters were there, the family only leaving in 1901. The daughters, Mòr and Catriona, were apparently very beautiful and attracted the attention of visiting fishermen and yachtsmen alike.
In 1937 the islands were acquired by Nigel Nicolson
Nigel Nicolson
Nigel Nicolson OBE was a British writer, publisher and politician.-Biography:Nicolson was the son of the writers Sir Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West; he had a brother Ben, later an art historian...
, then an undergraduate at Oxford, who like former owner Compton MacKenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
, was later a writer, publisher and politician. Nicolson's son, the writer Adam Nicolson
Adam Nicolson
Adam Nicolson, Baron Carnock, FRSL, FSA , is a British author who writes about English history, landscape and the sea....
, published the definitive book on the islands, Sea Room. The Shiants now belong to Adam's son Tom. Sheep belonging to a Lewis crofter graze all three islands. The simple bothy
Bothy
A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are to be found in remote, mountainous areas of Scotland, northern England, Ireland, and Wales....
restored by Nigel Nicolson on Eilean an Taighe is currently the only habitable structure on the islands.