“Twelve thousand years of Islay's story under one roof — a church saved from ruin, now packed with everything from prehistoric tools to the stills of the island's illicit distillers.”
Housed in a former church in Port Charlotte, this museum tells 12,000 years of Islay's story — from prehistoric settlers to illicit whisky distilling.
- 12,000 years of Islay history in one museum
- Includes items on illicit whisky distilling
- Housed in a former 19th-century church
- Small, easy visit — pairs well with Bruichladdich
The building started life as the Free Church of Kilchoman, raised by the local community after the Disruption of 1843 split the Church of Scotland — crofters, farmers and builders all lending their labour. It stood until 1929, when the congregation moved on and the church fell out of use; by the 1970s it had become a near-ruin. It was bought and restored in 1976, opening the following year as the Museum of Islay Life, now home to close to 3,000 objects spanning 12,000 years of island history, from Mesolithic tools and medieval grave slabs to the stills of the island's illicit distillers.