Archaeological evidence indicates that there were people living in Carloway at least 5000 years ago. Finds dating from that period have been discovered above the beach at Dalmore, and there is more obvious evidence of Neolithic settlement in Upper Carloway – the standing stone “Clach an Tursa”. Fallen stones nearby suggest that there may have been 3 stones in alignment north-west to south east, perhaps marking the extremities of moonrise and moonset.
About 3000 years later, Iron Age peoples built the monument for which Carloway is most famous – the Doune Broch (An Důn Mhňr). This large and well preserved drystone tower was probably built in the last century BC, and like all brochs was meant to show the power and wealth of a tribal chief or an important farmer. Within the tower, there would have been two or three levels of living space. These would have had wooden floors, and the structure may have been topped with a conical thatched roof. The ground floor was possibly used as a secure store for cattle or sheep when the broch was under siege. There was a second broch where the pier is today. The name Důnan survives, but all other evidence is now underwater and under the pier. There may have been a third small broch in the loch beside the Doune Braes hotel. Two more basic “forts”, probably again from the Iron Age, exist on the Atlantic coast of Carloway at Laimishader and Garenin. Both were given the name “Beirgh” by the Norse settlers who began to come to the island from about AD 800. These “promontory forts” are strung along the island coastline and were perhaps as much for keeping track of passing or approaching boats as they were for purposes of defence.
The language spoken by these early peoples was probably Celtic – but not Scottish Gaelic which came in from Ireland after c500AD. The Norse influence from c.800AD to c.1300 left its mark on the language, most notably in place-names – of which Carloway itself is an example, meaning Karl’s Bay or perhaps the Bay of the Men. Archaeological evidence of the Vikings has not been found in the Carloway area to the extent that it has in many machair areas of the islands, but place names such as Borghastan (fort town) and Tolstadh (Tol’s Farm) show that they settled there.
The medieval period in Carloway has not been well researched, but it is probable that, as elsewhere, this was a period of strong family and clan development – and perhaps a period of lawlessness also. The neighbouring areas of Uig and Ness were famous for their mutual cattle raiding, sometimes leading to bloody battles between the MacAulays and the Morrisons. One such battle took place at Na Cleiteachan, not far from Carloway, and it is also claimed that Dňmhnall Cam MacDhůghaill, an infamous but heroic Uigeach, trapped some cattle-raiding Morrisons in the Broch at Doune and suffocated them by throwing in burning bracken and heather.
Despite the wildness of these times, it is likely that the Carloway area was capable of supporting its people. There was moorland for grazing animals, inbye land which, with some hard work, could be made to produce crops, and a sheltered bay which would allow fishing. Indeed, fishing as an industry became very important in the nineteenth century, coming to an end only when the Great War forced the fishermen to beach their boats and set off to fight for their country.
The eighteenth century onwards saw the increasing power of the Island’s proprietors having its effect on the tenants. The payment of rental became more and more of a burden, and the expanding population put more strain on the small patches of land that tenants were allowed to graze and cultivate. The kelp industry, the herring curing industry on the East Coast, and the aforementioned white fishing helped to bring money into homes, but life became more difficult. The crofts in the Carloway area were laid out in their present form around 1850. Before long, they were being subdivided within families to provide land for growing sons. Soon, families who were unable to pay their rents were encouraged, sometimes forced to emigrate. At least one emigration vessel left from Loch Roag in the 1850s, taking families from Tolsta Chaolais and Carloway, as well as others, to Canada. The 19th century became a period of turbulence. People were moved from their land and settled in other places or abroad. Doune was possibly more affected by the happenings of the times than other Carloway areas. It had a “tac” or farm run by a “maor” or Ground Officer, and within the century, the village was settled and cleared more than once – the final incomers being from Uig. Dalmore and Dalbeg were also cleared and later re-settled.These difficult times led finally to the Crofters Act of 1886, and Carloway, like other areas, eventually settled into the pattern of croft tenure that still exists. The long-line fishing for ling and cod began to thrive, and Carloway got a new pier in 1892. Buildings to accommodate fish curing and the storage of salt had already been built in the 1840s by James Matheson, the island’s proprietor at the time, and it wasn’t unusual in the years to 1914, to see hundreds of salted ling drying on the slabs behind the pier. The curing of herring, particularly at Stornoway and on the East Coast also provided employment, and this continued after the Great War brought the demise of the local fishing industry.
Crofting on its own rarely provided enough for a family, and from the post-war period, increasing numbers were moving away to find employment and a better life. Education and the desire to learn trades also took their toll, in that many young people decided to stay on once they had tasted life on the mainland. The weaving of Harris Tweed, however, began to give some respite to economic conditions from the 1930s. Weaving fitted well into cofting and by the 1950s and 60s, it was providing a reasonably good income for many families. Walking through Carloway at the time, you were guaranteed to hear the clickety clack of looms from many outhouses and barns.Today, there is a tweed mill and remnants of tweed weaving in Carloway, and the fishing has been partially resurrected in the form of creel fishing and salmon farming. Part-time crofting also continues with the grazing of sheep, and increasingly, cattle. Like most rural Lewis areas, however, the nature of the place has changed significantly. The population has decreased and aged, but there are new industries beginning to make their presence felt, particularly tourism, and there is a new, although different, vibrancy about the place. People are probably better off than they ever were, and the district is welcoming new “Carlowegians” into its midst.
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