Editing Staffa (section)

===Tenants and owners===
[[File:Staffa beside 14624.JPG|thumb|Basalt columns on Am Buchaille]]
However inspiring the scenery, it was not an easy place in which to live. In 1772 there was only a single family, living on a diet of barley, oats, and potatoes, and whatever their grazing animals could provide, and growing flax.<ref name=Smith/> By the end of the 18th century they had deserted Staffa, apparently terrified by the severity of winter storms.<ref name= Keay/> Signs of "[[Ridge and furrow|rig and furrow]]" agriculture can still be seen on the island but the only surviving building is the ruin of a 19th-century shelter for travellers.<ref name=snh>[http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/designatedareas/nnrs/staffa/staffa.asp "Staffa"] Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2006.</ref>

By 1800 the island was under the ownership of Colin MacDonald of [[Lochboisdale]]. In 1816 his son Ranald MacDonald sold Staffa into the care of [[Land trust|trustees]]. In 1821 these trustees sold the island to Alexander Forman as trustee, the purchase money being paid by his brother John Forman [[Writer to the Signet|WS]]. It remained in the Forman family until sold by Bernard Gilpin Vincent "Pat" Forman in 1968. There were several private owners after that, including Alastair de Watteville, a descendant of Colin MacDonald<ref name=Smith/> who wrote a book about the island,<ref>de Watteville, Alastair (1993) ''The Island of Staffa: Its Astonishing Rock Formations Include World-renowned Fingal's Cave''. Romsey Fine Art.</ref> until finally Jock Elliott Jr. of New York gifted it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1986 to honour the 60th birthday of his wife, Eleanor. A grateful National Trust bestowed upon her the honorific "Steward of Staffa".<ref>Obituaries: Eleanor Elliott (8 December 2006) ''The Scotsman'' newspaper. Edinburgh.</ref> In a 2005 [[Opinion poll|poll]] of ''[[Radio Times]]'' readers, Staffa was named as the eighth-greatest natural wonder in Britain.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/4735935.stm Report of poll result] BBC.co.uk Retrieved 10 December 2006.</ref>

During the 20th century there were issues of [[Philatelic fakes and forgeries|bogus postage stamps]] bearing Staffa's name.<ref>[http://www.iswsc.org/iswsc_identbogus.html#S "Bogus Issues"] International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors. Retrieved 14 April 2007.</ref>