The Congested Districts Board established a Lewis committee, and this is their 1900 report on the state of, and proposed improvements to, the tweed industry. Note a couple of references to Uig, which was obviously considered particularly ‘deserving’.
Read more →Another item from the endlessly entertaining Lewsiana, by W Anderson Smith (1874/1886). From the fact that every crofter owns a few sheep, wool is naturally the first and most important article in use [in clothing]. This is often torn from the animal, Shetland fashion, in place of being clipped. More wretched looking creatures than these [...]
Read more →St Kilda is not in the parish of Uig but we can see it from coast around the upper end of the district, and boat trips run there from Miavaig on the Cuma and with Seatrek, so we take an interest in it. The following is from the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of [...]
Read more →Another extract from Uig, A Hebridean Parish, compiled by HA Moisley and members of the Geographical Field Group, Universities of Glasgow and Nottingham. This section was written by Pamela M Gough; see also the further detail on life in the townships. Soils are generally deep, and there are few rocky outcrops on the crofts which [...]
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Brenish and Islivig are old settlements, never cleared. In both, the sites of the original clachans can still be seen clustered around the mouths of their respective streams. The houses are now situated at the east end of the crofts, near to the road…
Read more →This account of the gathering of the sheep into the Gisla fank for the clipping was written by David Henderson and first published in the Scots Magazine in August 1995. These large-scale community gatherings are now, sadly, a thing of the past. There are more pictures in the gallery, and of the fank at Loch [...]
Read more →Dol’ol at the loom (photo by John Blair). From an article for Uig News by Dave Roberts: After the First World War there were ex-servicemen who had lost a hand, and one of the reasons for introducing the Hattersley domestic semi-automatic treadle powered loom to the island, was to give them an opportunity to make [...]
Read more →From an article for Uig News by Dave Roberts: The Harris Tweed industry, according to the traditional story, is said to have begun in the mid-19th century. The two Macleod sisters, originally from Pabbay in the Sound of Harris, were living in a blackhouse in Strond and producing tweeds on their looms. The story is [...]
Read more →From the Stornoway Gazette, 16 March 1951; a report of a public meeting in Uig, ending with an indication of the state of the economy in 1951, compared to the ‘fat’ war years. Wool Scheme Opposed:– A meeting of West Uig crofters was held at Crowlista P School to discuss the wool marketing scheme. It [...]
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