St Kilda (Scottish Gaelic: Hiort) is an isolated archipelago situated 64 kilometres (40 mi) west-northwest of North Uist, in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.[note 1] The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom. Three other islands (Dùn, Soay and Boreray) were also used for grazing and seabird hunting. The islands are administratively a part of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar local authority area.[1]
The origin of the name St Kilda is a matter of conjecture. The islands' human heritage includes numerous unique architectural features from the historic and prehistoric periods, although the earliest written records of island life date from the Late Middle Ages. The medieval village on Hirta was rebuilt in the 19th century, but illnesses brought by increased external contacts through tourism, and the upheaval of the First World War contributed to the island's evacuation in 1930.[2] The story of St Kilda has attracted artistic interpretations, including Michael Powell's film The Edge of the World and an opera.[3]
Permanent habitation on the islands possibly extends back at least two millennia, the population probably never exceeding 180 (and certainly no more than 100 after 1851). The entire remaining population was evacuated from Hirta (the only inhabited island) in 1930. The islands house a unique form of stone structure known as cleitean, which are only found here. A cleit is a stone storage hut or bothy; whilst many are still to be found, they are slowly falling into disrepair.[4] There are known to be 1,260 cleitean on Hirta and a further 170 on the other group islands.[5] Currently, the only year-round residents are military personnel; a variety of conservation workers, volunteers and scientists spend time there in the summer months.[6][7]
The entire archipelago is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.[8] It became one of Scotland's six World Heritage Sites in 1986, and is one of the few in the world to hold joint status for both its natural and cultural qualities.[9] Parties of volunteers work on the islands in the summer to restore the many ruined buildings that the native St Kildans left behind. They share the island with a small military base established in 1957.[10]
Two different early sheep types have survived on these remote islands, the Soay, a Neolithic type, and the Boreray, an Iron Age type. The islands are a breeding ground for many important seabird species including northern gannets, Atlantic puffins, and northern fulmars. The St Kilda wren and St Kilda field mouse are endemic subspecies.[6]
Notes
edit- ^ Excluding the isolated pinnacle Rockall, the status of which is a matter of international dispute. See, for example, MacDonald, Fraser (2006) "The last outpost of Empire: Rockall and the Cold War" Journal of Historical Geography. 32 pages 627–647. Retrieved 1 August 2007
References
edit- ^ Steel (1988) page 254.
- ^ See especially Maclean (1977), Steel (1988), Fleming (2005).
- ^ McMillan, Joyce (3 March 2007) "St Kilda the Opera brings out the bully-boys". Edinburgh. The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
- ^ Kilda Org
- ^ St Kilda - David Quine (Colin Baxter Island Guides) 1995
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Smithwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The new residents of St Kilda archipelago". (29 August 2010). BBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ National Trust for Scotland. Guide. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "World Heritage: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". UNESCO. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
- ^ Steel (1988) page 273.