One of the popular schemes of the Congested Districts Board (1898-1912) was the provision of bulls, rams and stallions, on loan, to crofting parishes where the stock was in need of improvement. Uig did particularly well on the bulls, it seems.
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The late 1840s were years of desperation in Lewis (as elsewhere), with much of the population near to starvation and dependent on ‘destitution meal’ from the Proprietor. The solution that presented itself was assisted and effectively compulsory emigration; here are the numbers fixed on for emigration from Uig in 1851.
Read more →The late 1840s were years of desperation in Lewis (as elsewhere), with much of the population near to starvation and dependent on ‘destitution meal’ from the Proprietor, Sir James Matheson, who according to the Poor Law Act of 1845 was obliged to do something about his famished tenants. Weakened, overcrowded and in many cases without [...]
Read more →Crowlista School 1937 Crowlista School 1937 Crowlista School ca1950 Crowlista School Share
Read more →A list of tenants with their rents and arrears in 1824, from the Seaforth Muniments. This does not necessarily represent a full list of tenants, just those in arrears. Tenant Rent Arrears Angus Macdonald Sr £ 6.0.6 £ 17.17.7½ Donald Macaulay Sr £ 6.0.6 £ 19.11.½ John Smith 1st £ 6.0.6 £ 19.18.10 Murdoch Maclean [...]
Read more →Estate list of tenants at Crowlista, 1867. No. Tenant Rent 1 Murdo Macaulay £ 3.7.6 2 Malcolm Macdonald £ 2.2.0 3 Murdo Maciver £ 2.7.0 4 Angus Macleod Jr. (Donald) £ 4.7.0 5 Wd Catherine Macritchie £ 4.7.0 6 Angus Maclean Sr. (Angus) £ 4.10.0 7 Wd Mary Mackay £ 3.7.0 8 Peter & Norman [...]
Read more →Some notes from the Crowlista school log book in 1919-20. The school was located from both of the populations it served, Crowlista and Aird Uig, and there were recurring problems in getting the children to show up.
Read more →Donald John Macleod was brought up in Enaclete during the war. He recalls the shops, grocery vans and buses that were the source of ample provisions, news and craic at the time.
Read more →Crowlista is located in Uig in the west of Lewis, on the north side of Camas Uig and the Traigh Mhor. It is an old settlement, with rocky ground in contrast to the machair around the other parts of the bay. It was the only township in the area not to have been cleared for [...]
Read more →Colin Ian Maclean (Cailean Ruaraidh Phadraig) was born in 1927 in Crowlista and brought up at 8 Timsgarry. He was minister of the Church of Scotland charge of Trinidad, Port of Spain: Greyfriars and St Ann’s at the time of the laying of this foundation stone for this new building at Arouca.
Read more →Bonfire at Crowlista School, circa 1950. Tonight is also bonfire night! Pictures to follow.
Read more →The Uig Landscape Project (Durham University) is looking at sites around Crowlista, including the old settlement of Bereiro at the head of Traigh na Sruban. The last inhabitant of Bereiro was Donald Matheson, born about 1794, who was a Hudson’s Bay man, returned to Uig, and emigrated again in 1834.
Read more →This story comes from the end of the 18th century, but seems to hark back to an earlier time. However it is likely that the Viking element was grafted on later – did Vikings pick up local pilots? And potatoes didn’t arrive in the islands until the middle of the 18th century, and even by [...]
Read more →From the files, a delivery note for lab supplies for Crowlista School in 1934. The list includes tubes and corgs, jars and other equipment, and a small quantity of chemicals. They were supplied by WB Nicolson of Bath Street, Glasgow, and shipped by MacBrayne at a cost of 4/- for two boxes. [singlepic id=1177 w=580] [...]
Read more →[singlepic=637,,386] Many thanks to Donald J Macleod of Enaclete and Bridge of Don for his research into the fishing boats of Uig. He adds that these boats used lines and not trawls to catch white fish. It was the end of March and beginning of April that was known as the ‘Hungry month’ in Gaelic [...]
Read more →By long and solid tradition in Uig, the spot where the Uig Chessmen were found in 1831 is held to be the Bealach Ban, a hollow in the dunes in Ardroil. In November of last year, a paper by Dr David Caldwell et al in Mediæval Archaeology proposed that, on the evidence of the Ordnance [...]
Read more →[singlepic=1077,280,left]Dr Duncan Maclennan served as the doctor in West Uig from 1935 to 1945. A native of Stornoway, he studied at Aberdeen and Uig was his first post. He was greatly liked throughout the district, as this piece from the Stornoway Gazette on the occasion of his leaving demonstrates: 20 July 1945 On Tuesday, 3rd July, in Crowlista [...]
Read more →[singlepic=1043,338] John Nicholson 3 Crowlista, Peter Angus Maclean 8 Timsgarry; and a Macdonald from 5 Crowlista. Can anyone identify the ladies, or where this is taken? Share
Read more →Stornoway Gazette, 17 May 1940 Some of the people of Crowlista were the spectators of a very unusual sight last Tuesday. While the 1pm news was being broadcast, a sheep belonging to Angus Matheson was labouring to give birth to quadruplets. We regret that two of the lambs were dead on being delivered but the [...]
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