Iona: The Living Memory of a Crofting Community

The Hebridean island of Iona has been the focus of intense outside interest for over fourteen hundred years, from the time of St Columba’s monastery in the sixth century through to the transfer of its renowned monuments into the care of Historic Scotland in the year 2000. Yet the people who lived and worked alongside its sacred sites have been largely overshadowed until now. This book is the first to redress the balance, taking an in-depth look at Iona’s economic and social history during the 18th and 19th centuries, a period that saw profound change across the Highlands and Islands.

It charts the agricultural reorganisation that led to a crofting system, follows the islanders through the harsh decade of the potato famine and records their worship and education, their crafts and customs, and the ties of kinship that underpinned their community. A broad range of sources are woven together – documentary, material and topographical.