Gaelic scholars’ island home reopens after major restoration

A Gaelic treasure trove has been reopened after a museum restoration on Canna in the Hebrides.

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) spent nine years restoring the home of late Gaelic scholar John Lorne Campbell.

The ecologist and his wife, American photographer and folklorist Margaret Fay Shaw, bequeathed the island to the charity after amassing a vast archive of Gaelic music, folklore and culture.

The eclectic mix showcases the couple’s life together and their mission to preserve and promote all things Gaelic.

The archive is considered to be hugely significant.

Academic Hugh Cheape, a friend of the Campbells, had the honour of reopening the venue to the public.

He said: “It is focused on Gaelic affairs but always in the wider context – for example what had been happening in the past in Europe, the links between a place where we’re standing here today and France and Rome, Spain.

“There was an international element in it, always.”

NTS chief executive Phil Long hoped the late couple would be proud of the tireless work carried out to conserve the property and their possessions.

He said: “They wanted to create a place here on the isle of Canna that was not just about the house and the life that they lived here, and the entertainment they provided to many people that came.

“It was also about the overall culture of the island which continues to be a living community here.”

In a region often struggling to retain its lifeblood, Canna’s 22-strong, pro-active population is upbeat for the future and now boasts three children under the age of four – two of them born this year.

It hopes the tiny island’s school, mothballed several years ago, will reopen in the not too distant future.

With the Canna House conservation project complete and a new community-led visitor hub thriving, the community has its sights set on building new affordable homes with sustainability the key to its vision.

Isebail MacKinnon of the Canna Community Development Trust said: “If we have housing, if we have economic opportunities and if we have a school – and now we’ve got our community owned shop and our community owned visitor hub – people can come and look at the island and make a plan about how they might want to be here and sustain themselves.”

The meticulous work of the NTS team aimed to create an atmosphere to provide visitors a sense that “someone has just left the room,” with a warm, lived-in feel throughout the house.

Gaelic song and language fill the air, as audio devices are triggered when visitors move through each room.

The couple’s extensive collection of personal items acquired over a lifetime are displayed throughout in an organic and eclectic way, showcasing how the house would have looked in the mid-20th Century.

Extensive repairs were made to the house where the Campbells lived between 1938 and 2004, to withstand the Hebridean weather and protect its contents.

NTS operations manager Angus Murray said: “We’ve worked hard to create an atmosphere that reflects Canna House in its prime — a home full of music, stories, and Gaelic, just as John and Margaret would have had it.

“As a team, we are excited to share this experience with a new generation of visitors to Canna.”

NTS regional director Clea Warner offered her thanks to NTS Foundation USA which has supported a range of projects on Canna, including $600,000 towards the house project.

Around 12,000 people visit the island each year.