of Lindisfarne
History of Holy Island
From the first settlement in the 7th century up to the Dissolution of the Monasteries nine centuries later, the history of the island was inextricably linked to that of the Christian church in the area
In the following centuries the populace who remained eked out an existence by farming the land and fishing the coastal waters. In 1559 the Crown had taken over the rights on the island; eventually Holy Island fell into private hands. Part of the land remained common land until the end of the 18th century. In 1793 the Bill for the Enclosing of Common Land came into effect. Various changes then occurred: The Lord of the Manor retained rights of hawking, hunting, fowling and fishing. The freemen had to surrender their rights to common land, but were granted plots near the village, and were permitted to work freestone and limestone quarries at the north end of the island, and to erect one kiln for burning the limestone.
The 19th century saw a period of increasing prosperity for Holy Island. Fishing had always been a major source of living, now the fishing fleet expanded dramatically and herring was exported, mainly to the Baltic. Crab, cod and lobster were also caught.
Holy Island was not left untouched by the Industrial Revolution. A Dundee company developed the limestone quarrying, and the lime was transported by a railway down the eastern side of the island to the kiln near the castle, before being shipped from a purpose-built jetty. Unsuccesful attempts were made to mine ironstone and coal on the Snook (the sand-dune ridge stretching toward the mainland)
Such was the prosperity that for a brief period the island became a popular watering place.The population rose steadily, peaking at over 600 in the 1861 census, of whom about one half were engaged in fishing and over 100 in limestone quarrying and kilning. All this prosperity was short lived and was over by the end of the 19th century, but this was succeded by the tourist influx. Today the island economy is very much dependent on this daily influx of visitors
 Former railway embankment |
 Herring boats (upturned as huts) |
