Islands Codexery

St Kilda, Scotland

Remote archipelago evacuated in 1930, now a World Heritage Site.

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Hirta, the archipelago's largest island, features sea cliffs that are the tallest in the United Kingdom.[1]

Geography and history

On Hirta, immediately north of the village, lies Conachair, which at 430 m is the archipelago's highest point.[2] The UK's highest sea cliff is the north face of Conachair, a vertical drop of up to 427 m that falls sheer into the sea.[3] Granites and gabbro from Tertiary igneous formations, heavily weathered by the elements, make up the islands.[4] The 19th century saw the medieval village on Hirta rebuilt, but the island's evacuation was ultimately caused by diseases from increased tourism and the disruption of the First World War.[5]

Military personnel are the sole year-round inhabitants today; during summer, conservation workers, volunteers, and scientists also stay on the islands.[6]

What the cited sources add

J. Sands, writing in 1877, noted that St Kilda is the only island in Great Britain where a certain bird breeds, and that the population then numbered seventy-five souls.[7] Sands also described that there was no regular communication with St Kilda except by a boat called 'the smack,' sent by the proprietor twice a year.[7] The National Trust for Scotland states that the church, manse and schoolroom have been restored and visitors can see how they might have looked in the 1920s.[8] The same source notes that the museum, in one of the restored houses, brings to life the story of St Kilda’s natural wonders, its history and its people.[8]

According to a 1764 census, the 90 people living there each day consumed "36 wildfoul eggs and 18 wildfoul" (meaning seabirds).[9] Every morning after prayers, all adult males on St Kilda gathered in the street for a daily meeting, known as a "parliament," to decide the day's work.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "St Kilda, Scotland" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hiltner, "Agony and Ecstasy on the Scottish Archipelago of St. Kilda", The New York Times, 11 October 2021; Steel, "The life and death of St Kilda", [London] : Fontana, 1988 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "St Kilda, Scotland" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Dual World Heritage Status For Unique Scottish Islands" . National Trust for Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2007.; The heights are from Haswell-Smith (2004), although the National Trust website states and respectively. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "St Kilda, Scotland" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baxter and Crumley (1988) page 87. "Village Bay and its hills... a stupendous sham, a masterly St Kildan deception."; Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins. Pages 840–2.; This is noted by several authorities including Steel (1988), p. 27, although Keay (1994) erroneously states they are the "highest in Europe". Croaghaun on Achil (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "St Kilda, Scotland" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Knowledge of the marine environment" (PDF) Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 2 January 2007. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "St Kilda, Scotland" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: See especially Maclean (1977), Steel (1988), Fleming (2005). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "St Kilda, Scotland" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "The new residents of St Kilda archipelago" . (29 August 2010). BBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2010.; "St Kilda Houses" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Life in St. Kilda" , an account by J. Sands in Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Art, 1877. Retrieved 1 April 2007.. facts only, no text reused. widegrin.com
  8. "Church and museum", National Trust for Scotland. facts only, no text reused. nts.org.uk
  9. Wikipedia, "St Kilda, Scotland" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins. Pages 840–2.; Boag, "The Puffin", Blandford, 1995, p. 112–113; BBC News – Census find sheds new light on St Kilda's history (29 December 2016) . London. The BBC. Retrieved 29 December' 2016. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "St Kilda, Scotland" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Steel (1988) pages 44–6; Balfour, Alan, and McCrone, David (2005) Creating a Scottish Parliament Edinburgh. StudioLR. . Retrieved 4 January 2008. Miralles wrote: :"Late XIX St Kilda Par (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article St Kilda, Scotland (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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