St Kilda: Life & Lore

Jenny and Annie explore the far edge of the Outer Hebrides, St Kilda. We look at the wonders of climbing the stacks of St Kilda, and the seabirds that create a symphony.

We see through the eyes of Evelyn Heathcote, as she spends the night in a sea cave with a group of Gaelic psalm-singing St Kildans. We examine the folklore and landscape of this unique and special place. 

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This is part of the Radical Mountain Women, funded by the Royal Society of Literature. Some of the music you heard in this episode was beautifully played by Nicky Murray and Chloe Rodgers.

A special thanks to the School of Scottish Studies Archives for letting us use these Gaelic Psalm recordings:

Salm 68, Contributor: John MacLeod, Fieldworker: Thorkild Knudsen, SA1963.44.A2, The School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh. [https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/74853]

Salm 118, Contributor: James Smith, Fieldworker: Thorkild Knudsen, SA1964.103.B3, The School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh. [https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/75665]

References:

CANMORE, ‘St Kilda, Hirta, The Amazon’s House’, https://canmore.org.uk/site/3960/st-kilda-hirta-gleann-mor-the-amazons-house

C. Maclean, ‘Island on the Edge of the World - The Story of St Kilda’, Cannongate Publishing, 1977. 

E. J. Clegg & J. F. Cross, ‘Aspects of neonatal death in St Kilda, 1830-1930,  Journal of Biosocial Science, 1994. 

G. F. Geddes, ‘The Amazon's House, Hirta, St Kilda – A Conservation Statement’, unpublished report for the National Trust for Scotland, RCAHMS Mss 6341, 2011.

E. Heathcote, ‘A night in an Ocean cave’, World Wide Magazine, Vol 5, 1900. 

E. Heathcoat, ‘A summer Sojourn in St Kilda’,Good Words, Vol  42, 1901.

N. Heathcote, ‘Climbing in St Kilda’, Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal, Vol 6, 1901.

‘More About St Kilda Underground Houses,’ The Scotsman, 1928.

National Trust for Scotland on St Kilda, a World Heritage Site: www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/st-kilda

National Records of Scotland, ‘Stories from St Kilda’ https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/features/stories-from-st-kilda

P. Stride, ‘St Kilda, the neonatal tetanus tragedy of the nineteenth century and some twenty-first century answers’, Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 2008.