About this artwork

Kelp has been collected and used as fertiliser along Scotland’s coasts for centuries. But from the 1760s through to the late nineteenth century, an economy thrived around the burning of seaweed to make kelp ash for industrial bleaching of linen and manufacture of glass and soap. Gathering, drying and burning kelp was gruelling work with low wages. Kelp workers sheltered in small huts constructed of stone and turf such as those in this photograph.

Published May 2022

  • artist:
  • title:
    Kelp Makers' Huts, South Uist
  • date created:
    1860s - 1880s
  • materials:
    Albumen print
  • measurements:
    19.00 x 29.10 cm; mount: 26.50 x 35.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    The MacKinnon Collection. Acquired jointly with the National Library of Scotland with assistance from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scottish Government and Art Fund
  • accession number:
    MMK.01594
  • gallery:
Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Tell us what you think.

George Washington Wilson

George Washington Wilson