Hirta

The St Kilda islands were continuously populated from prehistoric times. Archeologists working at the archipelago between 2017 and 2019 confirmed habitation as long as 2,000 years ago. Finds included Iron Age pottery and some potsherds that might be from Bronze Age pottery. The director of the project told BBC News that the work "revealed that the eastern end of Village Bay on St Kilda was occupied fairly intensively during the Iron Age period, although no house structures were found". In more recent history, Hirta was inhabited until 29 August 1930, when the 36 inhabitants were removed to the Scottish mainland at their own request. St Kilda was part of the Lordship of the Isles, then a…

Visits by tourists in summer became quite common starting in the 1870s when steamships and private yachts began arriving. A new pier was built in 1901, making it easier to land passengers from the larger craft, using rowboats. and the remnants of three old chapels, are readily visible. A tour operator's website states that when facilities in Hirta are open, "the St. Kilda museum, school and church provide a fascinating insight into the St Kildans’ way of life ... the remains of the village, the graveyard and Second World War gun" can also be viewed. The Historic Environment Scotland Web site adds that "the plain, two-bay church, with the schoolroom added to its north west in 1898" was…