Grishipoll House On History Visit To Island Of Coll Inner Hebrides Scotland

Tour Scotland short travel video clip, with Scottish music, of Grishipoll House, on ancestry, genealogy, history visit to the Island of Coll, Scottish Gaelic: Cola, located west of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. The original house at Grishipol, meaning rough bay, on the Hebridean Isle of Coll was built in the mid 1700’s by Maclean of Coll for his Tac man, or Factor. It was the first lime built square cornered house on the island and took on the informal name The White House distinguishing it from the basic black houses which were the norm on the island. In 1773 James Boswell and Samuel Johnson were entertained there whilst stormbound during their famous tour of Scotland. But for all its grandeur the White House had been built on sand and was deserted in the mid 1800’s as it started to crack. The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. is a travel journal by Scotsman James Boswell first published in 1785. In 1773, Boswell enticed his English friend Samuel Johnson to accompany him on a tour through the highlands and western islands of Scotland. Johnson was then in his mid sixties and well known for his literary works and his Dictionary. The two travellers set out from Edinburgh and skirted the eastern and north eastern coasts of Scotland, passing through St Andrews, Aberdeen and Inverness. They then passed into the highlands and spent several weeks on various islands in the Hebrides, including Skye, Coll, and Mull. After a visit to Boswell's estate at Auchinleck, the travellers returned to Edinburgh. Johnson published his Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland on 18 January 1775. Coll is about 13 miles long by 3 miles wide and has a population of around 195. Coll is known for sandy beaches that rise to form large sand dunes. In the late 18th century there were about 1,000 people on the island supported by agriculture and fishing. However, the collapse in the kelp market after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, followed by the Highland Potato Famine, caused a great deal of hardship on the island. By the middle of the 19th century, half the population had chosen to leave, many of them emigrated to Australia, Canada, South Africa and America. All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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