Stroma

The lone island of Stroma lies just a few kilometres from the Northern tip of the Scottish mainland in the midst of the Pentland Firth, sandwiched between Caithness and the Orkney Islands. Once a thriving island community in the 18th and 19th centuries, entering into the 20th its population began to decline as the younger generations ventured to the mainland in search of higher wages.

By 1962, the island had become totally depopulated, and the many properties dotting the treeless grasslands began to steadily disintegrate, providing shelter and accommodation only for the areas diverse array of seabirds and the occasional seal during mating season.

This series looks at what remains of the island’s settlements, well after their golden age has long since passed into memory.

View of a lone cottage close to an island cliff-edge with the sea in the foreground
A decayed bed inside an abandoned cottage with sunlight shining in through a window and walls flecked with moss
An old sewing machine in the attic of an abandoned cottage, lit by a hole in the roof
View of a lone croft cottage amidst tall, lush grass
A broken photograph faintly depicting a moutached man, sitting on a mantelpiece
Glass bottles and jars lined up in front of a wall with flaking paint and green stains from decay
A broken sideboard and shelving unit inside an abandoned cottage
A distant view of abandoned houses scattered across an island
The top of a fireplace, mostly submerged under a layer of thick mud
An old, covered cot in an abandoned cottage with a cooking range visible through an open doorway
A recently deceased sheep lying on the mud in front a fireplace inside an abandoned cottage
A view of an old church amidst grassland with a couple of houses on either side
A sidelong view of an ruined cottage and barn, with an old, rusted farming implement visible outside
A distant view of an island taken from a beach on the mainland which is visible in the foreground
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