Ness, Lewis

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Ness
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Ness
Location within the Outer Hebrides
Population1,300 
Language Scottish Gaelic
English
OS grid reference NB5261
Civil parish
  • Ness
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town STORNOWAY
Postcode district HS2
Dialling code 01851 810
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
58°28′N6°15′W / 58.47°N 6.25°W / 58.47; -6.25

Ness (Scottish Gaelic : Nis) is the northernmost part of the Isle of Lewis, a community consisting of about 16 villages, including Lionel, Habost, Swainbost, Cross, North and South Dell, Cross Skigersta, Skigersta, Eorodale, Adabroc, Port of Ness, Knockaird, Fivepenny and Eoropie. It was the most north-westerly community in the European Union, when the United Kingdom was a member. Its most northerly point is the Butt of Lewis. The name Ness derives from the old Norse for headland and many of the other place names in the area also have a Norse origin. [1]

Contents

History

In the medieval period, the Ness area was dominated by the Clan Morrison, including the island of Dùn Èistean where numerous archeologically remains have been discovered. [2]

In 1862, 31 fisherman from Ness were lost during a storm in what was named the 'Great Drowning of Ness'. [3] [4] The incident resulted in 24 widows and 71 children being left without fathers. [3]

In 1919, a Ness boat builder called John F. Macleod from Port saved 40 lives following the sinking of H.M.Y. Iolaire by managing to take a line to shore. [5]

The Ness Historical Society, the first historical society to be established in the Outer Hebrides, was established in 1977. [6]

Since 2007, Ness is part of the Galson Estate, which is owned by Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn (Galson Estate Trust) which is managed by 10 local trustees elected by the community. The official hand-over took place on 12 January 2007. [7]

In 2011, the small school at Cross closed due to declining rolls, latterly having only 19 pupils. The buildings, including Ness Hall have now been taken over by Comunn Eachdraidh Nis, the Ness Historical Society as a museum. [8]

Community

Scottish Gaelic is the language of the community with 75% being able to speak it.[ citation needed ] Peat cut from the moor, is used as a fuel for cooking and heating in many homes, but its use is on the decline. The 2001 Census results show a resident population of just under 1,000. In 1831 Ness had a population of just over 3,000.

Traditions

Each year 10 men from Ness go out to the island of Sula Sgeir in late August to September for a fortnight to harvest around 2,000 young gannets known locally as Guga. [9] [10] The Guga hunt is a Ness tradition and the bird considered a delicacy. [10] The practice was described at length as part of the story in the The Blackhouse novel by Scottish writer Peter May, much of which is set in Ness. [11]

Ness is known for its Sgoth, a type of clinker built skiff with a dipping lug sail. The boats were used for line fishing until the early half of the twentieth century. [12] There are several still in active use owned by community trusts which maintain them. [13] [14]

Transport

Ness is accessible via the A857 road [15] and is about 25 mi (40 km) by road from Stornoway. Ness can also be reached by walking across the moor from North Tolsta in Back to Skigersta. It is about 10 mi (16 km) and takes 6 hours at a leisurely pace.

Landmarks

The main settlement at Ness in 2017 Ness, October 2017 (1) (37671976581).jpg
The main settlement at Ness in 2017

Landmarks include the 13th-century Teampull Mholuaidh in Eoropie and the small island of Dùn Èistean which is the ancestral home of the Lewis Morrisons of the Clan Morrison. There is a road sign to the bridge across to Dùn Èistean, and archaeological excavations have been taking place there. Morrisons of Harris and Lewis can traditionally be found around Nis, and in the north-west Highlands in the county of Sutherland around the town of Durness (Scottish Gaelic: Diùranais).

There is a Ness Fishery Memorial above the harbour at Port of Ness that honours the local fisherman who have died as a result of sinkings and drownings. [4] The memorial was unveiled in 2014 at the instigation of local veteran boat-builder John Murdo Macleod. [4]

Education

Lionel School is the only remaining school providing for Ness. The school roll is 116.

Sport

Football is the main sport with Ness FC playing their home matches on Fivepenny Machair. 'Spors Nis' is a new (2007) Community Sports Centre with all the modern facilities you would expect including a two lane 10 pin bowling alley. Lionel School also has a swimming pool which is open to the public when not in use by the school.

Notable People

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Lewis</span> Region of Lewis and Harris island, Scotland

The Isle of Lewis or simply Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles (1,770 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trotternish</span> Northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland

Trotternish is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland, spanning in length from Portree to Rubha Hunish. The Trotternish escarpment runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some 30 kilometres, and contains landmarks such as the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing. The summit of The Storr, overlooking the Old Man, is the highest point of the peninsula at 719 m above sea level. The north-eastern part of the peninsula around Quiraing is designated as a National Scenic Area and the entire escarpment is a Special Area of Conservation.

A mòd is a festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture. Historically, the Gaelic word mòd, which came from Old Norse mót, refers to a Viking Age Thing or a similar kind of assembly. There are both local mòds, and an annual national mòd, the Royal National Mòd. Mòds are run under the auspices of An Comunn Gàidhealach. The term comes from a Gaelic word for a parliament or congress in common use during the Lordship of the Isles.

HMY <i>Iolaire</i> British armed yacht wrecked in 1919

HMY Iolaire was an iron-hulled steam yacht that was launched in Scotland in 1881 as Iolanthe. She was renamed Mione in 1898; Iolanthe in 1900; and Amalthæa in 1907. Between 1881 and 1915 a succession of industrialists and aristocrats had owned the yacht. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1915 as HMY Amalthaea, and renamed HMY Iolaire in 1918. She was wrecked in a storm at the mouth of Stornoway harbour on New Year's Day 1919. The disaster killed more than 200 people, including many of the young men of the isles of Lewis and Harris. UK law now protects her wreck as a war grave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sula Sgeir</span> Island in Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK

Sula Sgeir is a small, uninhabited Scottish islet in the North Atlantic, 18 kilometres west of Rona. One of the most remote islands of the British Isles, it lies approximately forty nautical miles north of Lewis and is best known for its population of gannets. It has a narrow elongated shape running north-northeast to south-southwest, and is approximately 900 m long by typically 100 m wide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bragar</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Bragar is a village on the west side of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, 14 miles from the island's only town, Stornoway. Bragar is within the parish of Barvas, and is situated on the A858 between Carloway and Barvas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skigersta</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Skigersta is a village to the south east of Ness on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It is the easternmost settlement in the Ness district and is 5km (3miles) southeast of the Butt of Lewis. Skigersta is situated within the parish of Barvas. There is a quay built in 1901 and a shingle beach. The area of Skigersta near the shore is called 'Lathamor'. To the south of Skigersta the moor begins and the road turns into a peat track; there are sheilings on the moor at Cuisiadar and if you follow the moor further south you reach the road at New Tolsta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Morrison</span> Scottish clan

Clan Morrison is a Scottish clan. The Highland Clan Morrison is traditionally associated with the Isle of Lewis and Harris (Leòdhas) around Ness (Nis), Dun Pabbay, and Barvas (Barabhas), lands in Sutherland around Durness, and in North Uist. There are numerous Scottish clans, both Highland and Lowland, which use the surname Morison or Morrison. In 1965, the Lord Lyon King of Arms decided to recognise one man as chief of all Morrisons, whether their clans were related or not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dùn Èistean</span>

Dùn Èistean is a multi-period archaeological site on an inter-tidal sea stack on the north east coast of the Isle of Lewis, near the village of Knockaird in the area of Nis (Ness) in the Western Isles of Scotland. It is accorded the status of traditional stronghold of Clan Morrison, once a highly powerful family within the Lordship of the Isles, in local oral tradition. The ruins of two large buildings and groups of interconnecting cellular structures can be seen amongst the grassy tussocks on the top of the island, as well as an artificial pond and a low turf wall enclosing the site. The most prominent feature of the site is a large circular mound of rubble situated on the highest point of the stack, on the north east side of the site. The topographical survey of the site shows these buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Outer Hebrides</span>

The Hebrides were settled early on in the settlement of the British Isles, perhaps as early as the Mesolithic era, around 8500–8250 BC, after the climatic conditions improved enough to sustain human settlement. There are examples of structures possibly dating from up to 3000 BC, the finest example being the standing stones at Callanish, but some archaeologists date the site as Bronze Age. Little is known of the people who settled in the Hebrides but they were likely of the same Celtic stock that had settled in the rest of Scotland. Settlements at Northton, Harris, have both Beaker & Neolithic dwelling houses, the oldest in the Western Isles, attesting to the settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calbost</span> Village on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland

Calbost is a village on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Calbost is within the parish of Lochs, and within the district of Pairc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borve, Lewis</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Borve is a village on the west side of the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, 17 miles from the island's only town, Stornoway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fivepenny</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Fivepenny is one of the many villages in the Lewis district of Ness and part of the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Fivepenny is within the parish of Barvas, and is situated on the B8014, between Port of Ness and Eoropie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Dell</span> Human settlement in Scotland

North Dell is a village on the Isle of Lewis in the community of Ness, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. North Dell is within the parish of Barvas. It lies 5 km south of the Butt of Lewis, between the settlements of South Dell and Cross and comprises 22 crofts. North Dell is reputed to be the best village for the growing of potatoes in Lewis – along with Garrabost in Point!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Ness</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Port of Ness is a village on the Isle of Lewis in the community of Ness, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Port of Ness is within the parish of Barvas. Port of Ness is situated at the end of the A857, which runs from Stornoway. In 2014, the Ness Fishery Memorial was erected to celebrate the fishing heritage in the area and to commemorate the 96 people who lost their lives in the industry between 1835 and 1900.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knockaird</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Knockaird is a village on the Isle of Lewis in the parish of Ness, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It is the highest point in Port of Ness and is home to Dùn Èistean an ancient ruined fort on a small island that is joined by a bridge. Dùn Èistean is traditionally known as a stronghold of the Clan Morrison of Lewis. Knockaird is within the parish of Barvas. The B8014 travels through the settlement, between Port of Ness and Eoropie. The Clach Stein standing stones are situated between Knockaird and Port of Ness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eorodale</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Eorodale is a settlement in the community of Ness, on Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Eorodale is within the parish of Barvas, and is situated on the B8015 between Lionel and Skigersta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brue</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Brue is a village on the Isle of Lewis in the West Side district, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It is a crofting township and it is composed of two areas: Am Baile Staigh, which is nearer the coast, and Pàirc Bhrù, which runs towards the moor. In total it covers a road distance of 2.5 km. Brue is situated on a minor road which joins to the A858, and is within the parish of Barvas.

Gilhemoire(born approximately 1207-8 AD) is the progenitor of the Scottish Clan Morrison, and half-brother to Leod, the progenitor of the Scottish Clan Macleod, according to Clan traditions.

Fivepenny refers to one of the many villages in the Lewis district of Ness and part of the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

References

  1. ↑ Entry "nes", on page 312 in: Geir T. Zoëga (1910). "A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic" - archive.org
  2. ↑ "Britain's earliest gun flints found on tiny island". BBC News. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Great Drowning of Ness 150 years ago remembered". BBC News. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Ness Fishery Memorial". Hebrides News. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "The Iolaire Disaster". Ness Historical Society. Archived from the original on 22 January 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  6. ↑ "Ness Historical Society". Outer Hebrides Heritage Services. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Islanders in huge estate buy-out". BBC News Online. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2007.
  8. ↑ Murray, Donald S (15 March 2019). "Country diary: a remote island, but still full of noises". the Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  9. ↑ "The Guga Hunters of Ness: creating the programme". BBC . Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  10. 1 2 Murray, Donald S. (2015). The Guga Hunters. La Vergne: Birlinn. ISBN   978-0-85790-765-3.
  11. ↑ May, Peter (2011). The Blackhouse. London: Quercus Books. ISBN   978-1-84916-386-6.
  12. ↑ "Jubilee - Last of the sgoth Niseach". Ness Historical Society. Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  13. ↑ "An Sulaire Trust Ltd". An Sulaire Trust Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  14. ↑ "Falmadair". North Lewis Maritime Society. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
  15. ↑ "A857". Sabre. Retrieved 21 December 2014.

Further reading

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