Collection: Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Museum nan Eilean was established in 1983 as the local authority Museum Service for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) and forms part of the Heritage Services section within the Chief Executives Department. For the most part the Collections were built up following the establishment of the Museum Service in 1983, with two significant exceptions:

  • The earliest collection material was from the Lewis Museum, run by the Lewis and Harris Museum Society, and established in the 1950s. In 1983, an agreement with The Lewis Museum Trust led to Museum nan Eilean taking on the care and management of this collection.
  • The Calbost Collection is a highly significant social history collection built up by Angus Macleod for his private museum at Calbost, over a long period. In 1999 it was brought into the care and management of Museum nan Eilean by a similar agreement to that made with The Lewis Museum Trust.

  Soon after the establishment of the Museum Service, the collections were re-located to Stornoway Town Hall, where display galleries were developed. In 1988 a smaller satellite accredited museum was established on Benbecula, as part of a new Community School at Sgoil Lionacleit with material from Museum nan Eilean relating to Uist and Benbecula displayed there. A Museum Development post based in Uist was also created at this time to care for these collections and make them accessible through future exhibitions.

  Richard Langhorne was the curator from when the museum was established in 1983 until 2008. He was a key figure in expanding the island wide collections, moving the museum to Francis Street, attaining Museum Registration and then Accreditation, expanding the professional heritage team to include a Conservation Officer and Islands Archaeologist. As a Monument Fellow, funded by the Museums Association’s Knowledge Transfer programme, he drafted the Documentation Policy and was instrumental in the establishment of the Collections Committee.

  In 2013 an archivist was employed by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, following on from a 3-year ERDF funded Tasglann project. At this time, the Comhairle archives were transferred to the care and management of the Archive Service (Tasglann nan Eilean).

  In 2015 a new museum and archive was built adjacent to Lews Castle replacing the Francis Street Museum. The museum displays focus on inter-related themes of the land, the sea, the way of life and Gaelic-rich culture of the people of the Outer Hebrides. A unique Gaelic-led approach to interpretation reflects the bilingual nature of the islands with objects, archives, oral, audio-visual and interactive displays helping to make the information and key messages accessible to all. The museum also creates an opportunity to showcase the network of independent museums and Comainn Eachdraidh groups there are across the islands.

  The facility at Museum nan Eilean, Lionacleit continues as an integral part of the Heritage Service and is used for a changing exhibitions programme using our own collections for in-house curated exhibitions and for touring exhibitions, community projects and for national loans.

  In November 2023 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar was hit by a criminal cyber-attack which affected most systems including the museum’s Collections Management System. Following extensive investigation work from the CnES IT department, and working with CMS provider, data from the old CMS was recovered up to June 2023. Prior to the cyber-attack Museum nan Eilean had started work to transfer to a new cloud-based system, this was finalised as part of the recovery exercise. The system was not fully operational again until March 2025.

  There has been no major change in focus for the collections and no key disposals.

  Museum nan Eilean, holds collections at four locations:

  • Museum nan Eilean, Lews Castle, Stornoway

  • Museum nan Eilean, Lionacleit, Benbecula

  • Museum Collection Store, Torlum, Benbecula

  • Museum Collection Store, Marybank, Stornoway

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2025

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The collecting area for Museum nan Eilean is the area of the Outer Hebrides as defined by the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1994 and includes both inhabited and non-inhabited islands within this boundary. This includes the islands of St Kilda 50 miles west of the main archipelago.

  Museum nan Eilean holds collections relating to the social history, regional ethnography and archaeology of the Outer Hebrides. Social, historical and ethnographic artefacts date mainly from the 19th / 20th centuries and the archaeology collections span from the Mesolithic to the present day.

  The following subject areas are represented in the museum collections:

  • Archaeology
  • Crofting
  • Maritime
  • Domestic
  • Textiles
  • Local photographs, ephemera and paintings
  • Natural History

  The museum collections currently comprise some 14,400 items or groups of items; of these 20% are on loan. These loans are mostly made up of two collections, Lewis Museum Trust collection and the Calbost Collection. These collections are placed in the care of Museum nan Eilean under formal management agreements with the respective trusts. Another small number of approximately 90 items are on loan from National Museums of Scotland plus a loan of 6 chess pieces from the British Museum.

  Artefacts in the museum collection range from small coins and pottery fragments to very large items, such as a full-sized threshing machine and a Grimsay boat.

  Archaeology

  Our archaeology collections comprise site assemblages and stray finds, covering a wide spectrum from the Mesolithic up until recent times. Over this expanse of time, common themes can be drawn out through the objects in our care.

  There are approximately 1,200 archaeology boxes in our stores from 37 excavation assemblages, including human remains, plus approximately 300 stray finds. The Udal assemblages are presently stored on the mainland due to ongoing research and reporting. All the archaeological material has been awarded to the museum through Treasure Trove Scotland or the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel (SAFAP).

  Since 2021, with the help of funding from Museums Galleries Scotland, we have been able to employ a project archaeologist to work on legacy issues with assemblages and to catalogue the archaeology collections with the aim of increasing our knowledge and making them more accessible. The Sòonraichte and Archaeology Awakened projects were the first two phases of what will be a larger exercise to document all our archaeology collections. https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/archaeology/ and Announcing ‘Archaeology Awakened’ – Outer Hebrides Heritage Services

  Harris Tweed

  The islands are famous for the manufacture of Harris Tweed. The earliest evidence for the weaving of wool into cloth goes back to the Iron Age, over 2000 years ago and it was almost certainly carried on long before this. Since that time, making woollen cloth was an important domestic craft. It was carried on in the house, using the wool from the family’s sheep, for clothing and blankets. Museum nan Eilean has a substantial Harris Tweed collection including tweed cloth samples, trade stamps, labels and fashion items. https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/textile- costume-collection/ and https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/collection-1/

  Maritime

  Outer Hebrides fishing is well represented within our collections, with the oldest known example of a Grimsay boat being one of the most iconic and significant survivals of the open boat era of Scottish fishing. However, the industry is largely represented by much smaller artefacts, like herring barrel stencils or bone net needle and again, many of these are made from recycled or ephemeral materials. Sheepskins were converted into floats for fishing nets and lobster creels. The creels themselves were woven at home from locally grown willow. Boats’ fenders were made from twisted straw rope, or from marram grass.

  Models of the Muirneag and HMS Lively are nationally significant. The Muirneag was the last traditional “Zulu” – the most significant type of sailing vessel associated with the great years of the herring fishing industry. HMS Lively is associated with the Crofters’ War and the Napier Commission of the 1880s, events which shaped not only the settlement pattern of the islands but of the whole Scottish Highlands too.

  https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/industry-and-commerce- including-maritime/

  Domestic Life

  One of the most significant items in the domestic collection is a tub chair, with a solid wooden back and sides, made with recycled tongue and groove boarding. Such chairs can be linked back to the Viking era, and this piece is an indicator of the shared Viking culture of the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

  Utensils and tools made from ephemeral materials such as heather, straw and marram grass were once common in these almost treeless islands and few examples have survived. https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/domestic-life/

  Crofting

  Crofting is an integral part of community life in the Outer Hebrides and contributes significantly to the local environmental landscape and biodiversity. It is a system of landholding, which has had specific legislation since the Crofters Holding Act of 1886 (and succeeding Acts), that ensures security of tenure for the crofters.

  Within the crofting collection are items, most of which would have been home-made, with the exception of metal parts which would have been produced by the local blacksmith or the itinerant tinsmith. We also have a number of artefacts that reflect crofting life across the generations including plans for memorials to the Clearances and land raids. https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/crofting/

  Fine Art

  The museum has a small collection of Fine Art including some pieces which are of national importance. The small visual arts collections reflect the limited place of the pictorial arts in the local culture in the past. Most artwork in the collection relates to the topography and history of the Outer Hebrides.

  A small collection of paintings and prints, principally portraits of civic dignitaries and local personalities, was inherited from the since disbanded Stornoway Burgh Council. A handful of larger works in oil were acquired from Lews Castle, erected in the mid- nineteenth century by Sir James Matheson, the Lewis landowner.

  In 2006, with assistance from the Art Fund, the museum purchased the painting “Stornaway with a Shooting Lodge on the Isle of Lewes” by James Barret. Painted in 1798 this is one of the earliest known oil paintings of the Outer Hebrides and shows the development of Stornoway town since then. A companion piece is held in the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland.

  In contrast, two paintings that can be considered small gems are by a local amateur artist of some skill, Robert Grant Masson. Masson was active around the middle of the nineteenth century and a number of works by him have survived locally. One of those in our collection is a portrait of Thomas Mackay, piper to the island’s landowner, Sir James Matheson, and handyman on his estate. The other is a splendid view of the inner harbour and town c1840. These works lack the painterly skills of James Barret but are significant to the history of Stornoway. https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/fine-art-and-decorative-applied- art/

  Photography

  The museum holds a number of photographic collections including some by notable photographers such as Lady Matheson, Werner Kissling and Gus Wylie. This is an area where we are actively collecting material on contemporary themes such as the Covid pandemic and Pride. https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/photographic-collections/

  Accessioned Archival Material

  Museum nan Eilean holds a collection of postal history and subsequent postal history acquisitions made up of a number of albums of letters, postmarks, stamps, envelopes, postcards with a date from the late 18th century to present day; postcards and photographs which comprises several hundred original items supplemented by over 1000 copy prints and accompanying negatives of material in private possession.

  The Gibson collection is comprised of letters, medals, journals, certificates and writings collected by William J Gibson, the first Rector of the Nicolson Institute. Of particular interest is the collection of letters written to him by ex-pupils during World War 1. These letters are from young men serving at the front and also from female pupils who have gone into nursing and domestic service on the mainland. As a whole, these letters give much information on domestic and foreign affairs of the time. This collection is accessed regularly by researchers and has recently been fully transcribed to make the content available for study and display by local groups and schools. https://www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk/collection/gibson-collection/

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2025

  Licence: CC BY-NC