Historic island of Iona

Press, 19 June 1979, Page 19

Historic island of Iona

Sir Hugh Fraser, owner of Harrods, the famous London store, has bought the historic Scottish island of lona, off the coast of Mull. It is reported that he intends giving the island to Scotland's National Trust. Trustees for the estate of the 10th Duke of Argyll, who died in 1949, accepted Sir Hugh Fraser’s bid of (£I.SM (about S3M) for the island, which was sold to pay inheritance taxes. The 1900 acre island was the cradle of British Christianity. Saint Colum-

ba, an Irish missionary’, founded the monastery in 563. Already a magnet for day trippers — 140,000 were drawn there last year — lona is expected to attract even more now because of the publicity over its sale. The island’s resident population is 80. The decision to sell was taken by the trustees of the tenth Duke of Argyll, whose chairman is the present twelfth Duke. He resides in the splendour of Inveraray Castle. The tenth Duke was a re-

cluse, preoccupied with genealogy. He was succeeded by a more colourful nephew, whose death left a burden of £450,000 in death duties (about 3900,000). The controversy over lona’s sale has surprised both the sellers and the people who live there. The island is largely under crofting tenure, which means that the rights of any owner, particularly one with ideas of commercial development, are strictly limited.

The subservience to the crofting laws, designed in the 1880 s to strengthen the rights of crofters against landlords, normally reduces dramatically the market value of an estate. The annual rent roll for lona is just £l4OO (about $2800) which contrasts dramatically with the sale price. Not everyone thinks that the National Trust would be ideal owners. The Rev. Donald MacDonald, a member of the radical multi-denominational lona

Community, said: “The place is swamped by visitors, who destroy the tranquillity that they are supposed to be looking for. I cannot see the National Trust’s ownership diminishing this. The island’s economic base is agricultural and this must be taken account of.” The outcome remains unpredictable. All that is certain is that the coffers of the Clan Campbell, who were given lona in 1693 as reward for their part in the Massacre of Glencoe, are now substantially healthier.