Soay, Mol-chlach

SOAY (off Skye)

Four miles by two, the island of Soay lies in Loch Scavaig in the shadow of the Cuillin. The Macleods of Soay emigrated to North Carolina in the 18th century, but the island was re-settled, largely by folk evicted from Minginish during the Skye clearances. In 1946, it was bought by Gavin Maxwell, who established a shark fishing enterprise here. This failed, and he sold up in 1951. Two years' later, all but one family were evacuated at their own request. Since then, the island has had a small migatory population, waxing and waning as circumstances dictate. Most of the buildings are strung round Camus nan Gall on the south-east side: Soay House, c.1890 - the former mission hall, a threebay house of stone and slate, converted as a residence in the 1950s by the harpoonist Tex Geddes; school, 1878, still intact; clusters of ruined houses at the main settlement of Mol- Chlach, some inhabited.

Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

NG41SE 4 centred on 4550 1355

A township, comprising forty-five roofed buildings, one partially roofed building, two unroofed building, seventeen enclosures and a head-dyke is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Inverness-shire, Isle of Skye 1881, sheet xlix). Nineteen roofed buildings, one partially roofed building, sixteen unroofed buildings, thirteen enclosures and the head-dyke are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10560 map (1964).

Information from RCAHMS (AKK) 14 November 1996.