Qualla: Inchcolm https://qualla.com/inchcolm en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:17 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/v/w/inchcolm-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Inchcolm https://qualla.com/inchcolm Inchcolm: Introduction https://qualla.com/inchcolm/ Photo credit Sarah Charlesworth, CC BY-SA 2.0. In 1335 an English ship raided Inchcolm Abbey and stole, among other treasures, a statue of Saint Columba. According to the chronicle, the ship then nearly wrecked itself on the next island over and only barely limped into harbour at Kinghorn. The sailors took the hint. They returned the statue, sailed back to England in calm weather, and the story made its way into Scottish memory as proof of what happens when you steal from a saint. Inchcolm has been collecting that kind of story for fifteen centuries. The Iona of the East, monks called it, hiding in plain sight in the Firth of Forth.

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Image: Sarah Charlesworth | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/v/w/inchcolm-wp/gcvw-inchcolm-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Inchcolm: Iona of the East https://qualla.com/inchcolm/ Photo credit Timo Newton-Syms from Helsinki, Finland & Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0. Inchcolm lies in the Firth of Forth, about a mile and a half east of the great Forth bridges, separated from the Fife shore by a narrow stretch of water called Mortimer's Deep. Tradition holds that Saint Columba - the Irish missionary who founded the monastery on Iona on Scotland...

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Image: Timo Newton-Syms from Helsinki, Finland & Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/v/w/inchcolm-wp/gcvw-inchcolm-iona-of-the-east.mp3 0:06 2 full Inchcolm: Building an Abbey https://qualla.com/inchcolm/ Photo credit PAUL FARMER, CC BY-SA 2.0. The first priory on Inchcolm was established in the 1100s. In 1235, King Alexander II elevated it to an abbey of the Augustinian order. Through the 13th and 14th centuries, the abbey buildings grew - church, cloister, chapter house, refectory, dormitory - around a quiet rectangul...

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Image: PAUL FARMER | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/v/w/inchcolm-wp/gcvw-inchcolm-building-an-abbey.mp3 0:06 3 full Inchcolm: English Raids and a Returned Saint https://qualla.com/inchcolm/ Photo credit The original uploader was Mebanana at English Wikipedia., Public domain. The Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century made the Forth a war zone. English raiders attacked Inchcolm repeatedly. In 1335 the famous theft and supernatural return of Columba's statue persuaded one ship's crew to think twice. In 1384 another English raid tried to set ...

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Image: The original uploader was Mebanana at English Wikipedia. | Public domain

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/v/w/inchcolm-wp/gcvw-inchcolm-english-raids-and-a-returned-saint.mp3 0:06 4 full Inchcolm: Reformation, Reformation Survivor https://qualla.com/inchcolm/ Photo credit Simon Johnston, CC BY-SA 2.0. After the Protestant Scottish Reformation of 1560, the monastic community at Inchcolm was disbanded. On the mainland, Reformers stripped or destroyed many abbeys; on the island, the buildings could not be reached easily enough for thorough demolition. The result is that Inchcolm ...

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Image: Simon Johnston | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/v/w/inchcolm-wp/gcvw-inchcolm-reformation-reformation-survivor.mp3 0:06 5 full Inchcolm: Guns Against the Kaiser https://qualla.com/inchcolm/ Photo credit Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0. During both World Wars, Inchcolm was a key node in the defences of the Firth of Forth. Throughout the First World War it served as the headquarters of what was called the Middle Defences - a continuous anti-submarine and anti-boat boom strung across the Firth to protect the naval...

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Image: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK | CC BY 2.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/v/w/inchcolm-wp/gcvw-inchcolm-guns-against-the-kaiser.mp3 0:06 6 full Inchcolm: Seals, Puffins, and Black Rats https://qualla.com/inchcolm/ Photo credit John, CC BY-SA 4.0. Inchcolm is now in the care of Historic Scotland and accessible during the warmer months via boat tours from South Queensferry's Hawes Pier. The 2011 census recorded no usual residents. Wildlife has the run of the place. Seals haul out on the surrounding rocks. Between April and ...

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Image: John | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/v/w/inchcolm-wp/gcvw-inchcolm-seals-puffins-and-black-rats.mp3 0:06 7 full