The following is an excerpt from the most recent newsletter of the Scottish Records Association. written by Lismore Archivist Dr Robert Hay.
The Isle of Lismore Historical Society was founded in the 1990s by a group of residents who were concerned that so much of the rich heritage of their island was being lost in the face of rapid modernisation. They began to collect relevant objects, which now form the nucleus of the displays at the purpose-built Heritage Centre, with its accredited museum and archive. Since 2016, the Centre has been an important venue for social and cultural activities. It is open April to October each year: www.lismoregaelicheritagecentre.org
Heritage Centre 2007
The founders had an important ally in Murdo MacDonald, the then Argyll and Bute archivist, who provided copies of a wide range of relevant documents (Minutes of the Commissioners of Supply; valuation rolls; registers of voters; records of legal processes; sick poor returns; ferry matters; newspaper clippings). At the same time, islanders began to lend and donate unique documents which had been valued and preserved over the years. These included:
- The personal record of births, marriages and funerals conducted by Rev. Gregor MacGregor, parish minister from 1836 to 1885 (amplifying the pre-statutory records and providing unique marriage data).
- The 1868 diary of Mary MacGregor, wife of the minister, full of day-to-day details of life at the manse.
- Minute Book of the Lismore Agricultural Society from 1853, showing how the island tenants acted for themselves in an era of clearance and depopulation.
- Logbooks of schools on the island from 1866, including a variety of information on island events (such as the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic on attendance).
In 2009/10, Museums Galleries Scotland funded a ground-breaking Curating in the Community project on Lismore, with the aim of identifying valuable items in private hands and offering professional help in conservation. In return, the owners agreed to lend the items if they were needed for displays in the museum. As well as a wide range of interesting objects, the project led to the full transcription of the correspondence between the factor and the ground officers of the Baleveolan estate on Lismore (1831-46), shedding important light on the Agricultural Improvement era.
Meanwhile, there are documents in other archives which amplify and complement the Lismore collection:
- Breadalbane Muniments (NRS GD122): 17th century details of the wide holdings on Lismore by the Lords of Glenorchy, including baron court records.
- MacDougall Archive, Dunollie House: another extensive collection of letters instructing ground officers on Lismore.
- Carmichael Watson Archive (Edinburgh University Collection 97): records of Lismore-born Alexander Carmichael when collecting on the island.
- Inveraray Archive: information on a range of activities of the Earls/Dukes and Campbell cadets, including correspondence on the resettlement of cleared townships on Lismore 1914.
With these complementary resources, the Lismore archive is not only of local value but also of importance to Scotland, and it has provided the material for a range of published articles and books. The main publications are as follows:
Hay, R K M. (Ed.), The Minute Book of the Lismore Agricultural Society 1853-1868, 2018https://www.regionalethnologyscotland.llc.ed.ac.uk/written/minute-book-lismore-agricultural-society-1853-1868. Full text with commentary.
Hay, R K M, Bath, C & McDougall, B. (Eds.), The Diary of Mary Cameron MacGregor 1868. A Year in the Life of the Lismore Manse, Argyll, 2019
https://www.regionalethnologyscotland.llc.ed.ac.uk/written/diary-mary-cameron-macgregor-1868-year-life-lismore-manse-argyll. Full text with commentary.
Hay, R K M. How an Island Lost its People. Improvement, Clearance and Resettlement on Lismore, 1830-1914. Second Edition. To be published by Birlinn, Edinburgh during 2022.