Canna

An account of Canna, a beautiful Hebridean island. Small though it is, many of the major historical trends of the Hebrides have touched it, from St Columba through the Benedictine monasticism of Iona to the Lordship of the Isles. Following the Reformation the island was of considerable importance to the Irish Franciscan mission of the 1620s and also the Jacobite risings before being swept up in the tragedies of depopulation and clearance of the 19th century. Gifted to the National Trust in 1981, the island is undergoing something of a revival, with the creation of the St Edward Centre on Sanday, and the proposed developments of Canna House. Archaeological surveys and historical research has uncovered more evidence about the island. Hugh Cheape of the Royal Museum of Scotland, who has been intimately involved with the Canna project, has edited this volume. This edition contains new contributions which update and fill out the account of the island.