THE island of Islay lies of the west coast of mainland Argyll, and is the most hospitable of the group of islands which also includes Jura, Tiree, Coll, Colonsay and Oronsay. Much of its surface is reasonably lat and well-drained, and there are supplies of peat, used for fuel; there are also deposits of limestone.
Until the early 18th century it was largely a crofting island, but in 1726 the islands of Islay and Jura were purchased by Daniel Campbell of the Shawield mansion in Glasgow, using money paid by the Government in compensation for the sacking of that house in 1725 by a mob opposed to the introduction of a tax on malt. Campbell enlarged an existing house, Kilarrow House, begun in 1677, to form Islay House. His son, also Daniel, who inherited in 1653, transformed the island, introducing improved agriculture. He and his successors laid out villages to house people displaced from the land. These settlements – Port Charlotte, Port Ellen, Port Wemyss, Port Askaig, Bridgend and Bowmore – ofered much better housing than the thatched cottages they displaced.