End of an Era

H.A. MacKinnon

On the 15th. of May 1856. John Lorne Stewart bought the Coll Estate. This consisted of 16 dairy farms, a few small holdings, some crofts and a score of cottages, the Castles and several other buildings.

The farms were let out on a yearly rent with the exception of Breachacha farm which was always held by the proprietor and worked by a manager.

John Lorne died on 3rd. July 1878.

Lt. Col. John Lorne Stewart. 2nd. of Coll, took over until his death in 1907.


The third Laird would have been one of the Fox Tarratt lads (who adopted the Stewart name). Sadly, one was killed in a flying accident, aged 15 years; the other fell in the 1914-18 war.

The Estate was held in trust from 1907-1917 when Charles Edward Stewart, 4th. of Coll, succeeded as heir of entail. He did not come to Coll, however, until 1921.

In 1924 he married Margaret MacDonald, a daughter of MacDonald of Balranald in Uist. She was a great horse lady and loved nothing better than galloping round the island on one of the ponies kept at Breachacha. Gates were no problem as she taught her favourite pony to jump them.

The day of her and Charles Edward's homecoming, after their wedding on the mainland, was made a local holiday and the majority of the island collected at the Village to welcome them home.

At one time. in certain places in the Highlands and Islands, a wedding without a fight was classed as not up to much.

They certainly kept up the tradition that day.

A dispute between the hotel keeper and some men over from the mainland. building two miles of road up the East End, caused a right battle royal. A policeman on holiday tried to pacify them all; to his detriment, he came off second best.

Charles Edward Stewart died in 1932.

Brig. General Ernest Moncrieff Paul (who added Stewart to his nane) took over as 5th of Coll. He died in 1942.

The 6th. Laird of Coll would have been Lt. Col. H.W.M. Stewart but, sadly, he did not survive the Second World War.

His young son C.K.M. Stewart. took over as 7th. Laird. He married Janet Hodgson Wilson and they had a family of three girls - Fiona. Fenella and Nicola.

As the years rolled on, the upkeep of rented farm buildings far exceeded the rent collected so the Laird wisely put them up for sale. The cottages with sitting tenants (mostly pensioners) were sold at a token price.

Kenneth Stewart was a hard worker and worked Breachacha farm very efficiently until last year. Owing to health reasons, he put the Estate up for sale thus bringing an era to an end.

The Laird and his wife now live on the mainland and we all wish them long and peaceful days in their retirement. The following family tree will show you who was who.