Aignish ( gd, Aiginis) is located northwest of Knock and east of

Stornoway Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...

on the east coast of the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...

, in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

, Scotland. The township is at the island side of the isthmus connecting to the

Eye peninsula Point ( gd, An Rubha), also known as the Eye Peninsula, is a peninsula some 11 km long in the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), Scotland. The majority of Point is connected to the rest of the Isle of Lewis by a narrow isthmus, one mile in l ...

. Aignish is within the parish of Stornoway, and is situated on the A866 between Stornoway and

Portnaguran Portnaguran () is a settlement situated within Point, on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Portnaguran is the township at the north-easternmost point of the peninsula. It lies southwest of Tiumpan Head and just south of the hea ...

History

Church

The

croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

ing village contains the historic Ui Church (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Eaglais na h-Aoidhe''), a large pre-Reformation Church. The present church buildings are believed to be medieval, built during two separate construction phases. They were constructed on the site believed to be the cell of

St Catan Saint Cathan, also known as Catan, Cattan, etc., was a 6th-century Irish monk revered as a saint in parts of the Scottish Hebrides. Source Material This Saint appears in the ''Aberdeen Breviary'', Walter Bower's ''Scotichronicon'', and the ''A ...

, a contemporary of

St Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

. The church was the burial ground of the MacLeods of Lewis.

Land Raiders

Aignish is important in the context of the history of Scottish land reform following the Aignish Riot of January 1888. This took place in the aftermath of land agitation following the groundbreaking legal victory of the Bernera Riot of 1874 and the Park deer raid of 1887. It was part of the Crofters War and involved a standoff between the local landless peasantry and the heavily armed marines that were drafted in. The courage of the people is now marked by a memorial cairn.

Community

Aignish consists of a large number of houses. It is the first village entered in Point. Aignish falls into the catchment of the new Point primary school in

Bayble Bayble ( gd, Pabail) is a large village in Point, Outer Hebrides, Point (''An Rubha''), on the Isle of Lewis, east of Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, Stornoway. Bayble is also within the parish of Stornoway. There are around 400 people living in Ba ...

. Bus services are available daily (except Sundays) to and from Stornoway bus station.

References

External links

Canmore - Lewis, Aignish, St Columba's Church site recordCanmore - Lewis, Aignish Farm Raiders Monument site record
{{Lewis and Harris Villages in the Isle of Lewis