page_title: Lismore, Scotland
section_title: 18th to 20th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Lismore, Scotland / History / 18th to 20th centuries
caption_attribution_description: A celtic cross on the shore of Lismore, Scotland
context_page_description: Lismore is an island of some 2,351 hectares in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The climate is damp and mild, with over 166 centimetres of rain recorded annually. This fertile, low-lying island was once a major centre of Celtic Christianity, with a 6th-century monastery associated with Saint Moluag, and later became the seat of the medieval Bishop of Argyll. There are numerous ruined structures including a broch and two 13th-century castles.
  During the 19th century various new industries were introduced, including lime quarrying. During the early decades of the 20th century the population exceeded 1,000; but this was followed by a lengthy decline. Although resident numbers are now less than 200, there was a small increase from 2001 to 2011. About a third of the population were recorded as Gaelic-speaking at the former date. The modern economy is largely based on farming, fishing and tourism and the largest settlement is Achnacroish. Various shipwrecks have been recorded in the vicinity.
context_section_description: In 1707, the Acts of Union merged England and Scotland, and Lismore became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Thereafter taxes on whisky distillation rose dramatically, and much of Scotland's distillation was either shut down or forced underground until the 1823 Excise Act provided a legal framework for the industry. The remains of at least two illicit stills from this period have been found on Lismore.
  In 1749 the ruins of the old cathedral were trimmed down from their remaining height, given a roof and turned into a parish church with a bell tower.
  In the 19th century lime was quarried, particularly on the west coast. The ruined remains of the quarriers' cottages can still be seen on Eilean nan Caorach and Inn Island, and old lime kilns can be seen at Sailean, Port na Moralachd and Port Ramsay; the last lime was produced in 1934. The remains of another two kilns can be seen at Kilcheran near Lismore Seminary, a Roman Catholic divinity school that was in operation from 1803 to 1828 at a time when the other inhabitants of the island were staunchly Presbyterian.
  John Stuart McCaig, the architect of McCaig's Tower in Oban, was born on Lismore in the 19th century as was the folklorist Alexander Carmichael. Overlooking Lismore Bay is a Celtic Cross, a memorial to Waverley Arthur Cameron, the son of Duncan Cameron, inventor of the "Waverley" nib pen and the owner of The Oban Times newspaper. Waverley was drowned in 1891 when his yacht foundered off the coast nearby.
  There have been various other shipwrecks in the vicinity. In 1889 the paddle steamer Mountaineer lived up to its name by clambering onto Lady's Rock, the damage to which was still visible in 1995. In 1905 the MacBrayne steamship Clydesdale hit the same obstruction in a Force 6 wind. The harbour patrol craft Appletree was sunk in a collision with an RAF pinnace east of the Lismore light in October 1940 with, according to one report, the loss of two lives. The trawler MFV Solway Firth foundered south of this position in 1977.
  Lismore, like other Hebridean islands, has suffered from depopulation since the 19th century, in large part due to the Clearances. In 1798 there were 900 people living on the island and 1399 by 1841. Over the next 40 years the population more than halved to 621. By 1961 there were only 155 residents, and by the time of the 1991 census there were just 140. There are various examples of abandoned townships, such as Coille nam Bard. In the 2001 census, the population had risen slightly to 146, over 45% of whom were over 60 years old, making it the Scottish island with the oldest population.
caption: Celtic cross memorial to Waverley Arthur Cameron
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