Black and white photograph, c.1890
RCAHMS
A place of pilgrimage throughout history, this photograph illustrates the visit of a large group of people, c.1890, prior to the restoration of the abbey.
The monastery of Iona was founded by the Irish monk, Columba, in AD 563. It came to be revered through its missionary activities by the Scots, Irish, Picts, Gaels, and Angles, but also by the Norse, who had earlier repeatedly raided it. Many early Scottish kings, including Macbeth, are reputed to have been buried on the island.
Although the buildings of the Columban monastery have perished, the great enclosing bank, or vallum, and a wealth of early medieval stone sculpture survive. The most conspicuous remains are those of the later medieval Benedictine abbey and Augustinian nunnery which were later founded on the island. These fell into ruin after the Reformation, and it was only in the later nineteenth century that the island began again to attract significant religious interest.