Land Raids

In 1838 Colonel John Gordon of Cluny purchased South Uist and Benbecula including Nunton House from where he ran the estate until Grogarry Lodge was built in 1870. Colonel Cluny proved to be one of the most ruthless landlords of the time, with a policy of clearance forcing many to emigrate to Canada. He used the land he had acquired to expand Nunton Farm into a sizeable sheep farm. By 1850 his clearance policies had caused a national outcry.

Following Colonel Cluny, Nunton House was then occupied by a number of tenants who ran Nunton Farm. The last tenant was James MacLean who lived there until 1923. The 1886 Crofters' Act gave security of tenure and fairer rent. However, the Act did not return crofting land to the men from which it had been taken. The British government then did not follow through on its promise to return land to men who had fought in the Great War. Nunton Farm was subject to a land raid by returning servicemen which saw the land split into crofts. Nunton House was then divided into three seperate properties, owned by Duncan MacLean (2 Nunton), Donald MacPhee (3 Nunton) and Roderick MacDonald (4 Nunton).

The property at 4 Nunton was extended in the 1980s adding further accommodation for the MacDonald family and is now a substantial property, and is where an original inglenook arched fireplace can be found. This section of the house, now owned by the MacPhee family, is what has now become Nunton House Hostel. The remaining sections are private dwelling houses.

There is a plaque at Nunton House to commemorate the land raids.

More information on visiting the area can be found here.