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In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Shiant Isles like this:
Shiant Isles, a group of islets of basaltic character and picturesque appearance in the Outer Hebrides. It lies in the Minch, 4¼ miles SE of the nearest point of the coast of Lewis, and 21 S of Stornoway. It comprises a number of rocks or skerries, and the three islets of Garv-Eilan, Ellan-na-Kelly, and Ellan-Wirrey, all three of which are noticed separately. ...
They all present a verdant surface, the hollows and declivities abounding in rich pasture; and they form a single sheep-farm, superintended by a single family, who reside on Ellan-na. Kelly. This islet seems anciently to have been the seat of a monastery or a hermitage; and it still possesses some ruins which look to have been ecclesiastical. Its name means ` the island of the cell; ' and probably its reputed sanctity gave rise to the Gaelic designation of the group as Eilcanan Scunta or ` sacred islands.' The Shiant Isles are strikingly characterised by columnar masses similar to those of Staffa and the Giant's Causeway; and had they lain in a position more accessible to tourists or less remote from the tracks of steamboat navigation, they could scarcely have failed to acquire a fame as great as that of Staffa. Pop. (1871) 5, (1881) 6.—Ord. Sur., sh. 99, 1858.
Shiant Isles is now part of NA H EILEANAN AN IAR Council. Click here for graphs and data of how NA H EILEANAN AN IAR has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Shiant Isles itself, go to Statistics.
How to reference this page:
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Shiant Isles, in Na H Eileanan An Iar and Ross and Cromarty | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21956
Date accessed: 09th April 2026
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Shiant Isles".
