Isle of Raasay

The spread of Scots culture from Dalriada north of Ardnamurchan is poorly understood and little is recorded of Raasay's early Christian period. The placename Kilmaluag suggests the presence of St Moluag in the late sixth century. Following Viking expeditions to the islands they called the Suðreyjar in the eighth century, Raasay became part of the Norse Kingdom of the Isles and for much of the period religious observance came under the jurisdiction of the Bishopric of the Isles. The Hebrides were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland as a result of the 1266 Treaty of Perth, after which time control of the islands north of Ardnamurchan was in the hands of the Earls of Ross. In addition to the…

iron ore mine]] Nicolson reported an early bloomery on the island. The next record of ironstone on Raasay was by HB Woodward in 1893. Stead investigated the outcrop in 1909 and the subsequent analysis by Tatlock convinced Baird's to buy the island the following year (with completion in 1912). Baird's original plan was for a railway from the outcrop site down to just south of Suisnish point with the erection of five kilns. Objections led to the plan being revised for two kilns further south, where the current pier is. This pier was a public pier with landing charges regulated by government order. By the outbreak of war Baird's had completed the pier (constructed by Robert McAlpine & Sons),…