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Craignish, Argyleshire

Historical Description

CRAIGNISH, a parish, in the district and county of ARGYLL, 16 miles (N. N. W.) from Lochgilphead, containing 873 inhabitants. This place, though known in modern times only by its present appellation, was anciently called both Craignish and Kilmhorie. The former name, which is a compound Gaelic term signifying a rocky peninsula, is descriptive of the southern portion of the parish; and the latter, meaning a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was applied in reference to an ancient structure, the ruins of which yet remain in the principal burying-ground. The parish is washed by the Atlantic on the west and south; it is bounded on the north by the parish of Kilninver and Kilmelford, and is separated on the east, by Loch Craignish, from the parishes of Kilmartin and Dalavich, Craignish measures a little more than eleven miles in length and about two in average breadth, comprehending, for a Highland district, a considerable portion of land under cultivation. The coast, on account of its numerous indentations, is supposed to form a line of sixteen or seventeen miles in extent; it is exceedingly rocky on the south and west, and also marked in the latter direction by several small bays with fine white sandy shores. Loch Craignish is about three miles wide at a small distance from the entrance; in other parts it varies considerably in breadth, and towards its head narrows itself to less than a mile, the depth averaging about twelve fathoms. On each side of the loch, at the distance of about half a mile from the land, is a chain of verdant islets, some of them ornamented with oak, ash, birch, and fir trees; and at the northern extremity the water expands into a spacious harbour, with good anchorage, and secured by the surrounding hills from the violence of winds. There is also a very convenient harbour in a creek called Little Loch Craignish, on the west of the parish, about a mile from the southern extremity of the peninsula; it is much frequented by vessels in stormy weather, or when waiting for a favourable tide. The most considerable of the islands just alluded to, within the parish, are those of Mc Niven and Mc Larty, so named from their old proprietors: the largest and most fertile of the islands in the loch is Island Righ, or "king's island", attached to Kilmartin parish. Near the southern point of the peninsula, in a south-western direction, are five islands, of which that called Garrarissa forms the sound of Dorus-mor.

The surface of the parish in the interior is much diversified. Lofty hills covered with heath are alternated with tracts of flat land, ornamented in some parts by verdant declivities and valleys, interspersed with lochs, and shrouded with beautiful foliage. The northern extremity of the parish is marked by a chain of rugged hills, rising about 700 feet above the sea; they are mostly covered with a kind of heathy pasture, and skirted at the base with a belt of level land about a quarter of a mile broad. The surface along the eastern boundary of the peninsular portion of the parish is distinguished by a series of verdant eminences, attaining in some parts an elevation of 300 feet; at the base is a narrow strip of land stretching to the margin of the loch, and forming a variety of interesting points and bays on a flat clayey shore. A range of hills, covered principally with heath, also characterises the peninsula, reaching from north to south, and commanding from the chief heights beautiful views of Loch Craignish and its islets, the hills of Knapdale, the sound and island of Jura, the far-famed Corrybreckan, the islands of Colonsay, Scarba, &c., and the mountains of the isle of Mull, and Morvern. There are likewise twelve lochs in the parish, besides numerous rivulets; trout is abundant, and char is found in one of the lochs.

The SOIL in general is fertile; that under tillage chiefly consists of two distinct kinds, one of them a hazel mould resting on rock, and the other a darker earth incumbent on clay, and the whole is interspersed with sandy tracts. Though small in extent, the cultivated lands are of average fertility, producing chiefly crops of oats and potatoes. The rearing of cattle is also much attended to. Husbandry has made comparatively but few advances, the lands are mostly under the old system of cultivation, the tenantry in general hold their farms at will, and many tracts of good quality are suffered to lie waste for want of draining. A superior state of things is observable on a few farms held on lease, which are inclosed and well drained. The sheep are the black-faced, with a few of the Leicester and Cheviot breeds; and of cattle the West Highland breed prevails, with a small proportion of Lowland milch-cows. The prevailing rock in the peninsular district is clay-slate, assuming frequently a sandy character, and sometimes running into a hard inferior sandstone. The annual value of real property in the parish is £3207.

Castle Craignish, situated in the south, is an ancient structure with modern additions, and within the last few years has been repaired and greatly enlarged by its proprietor, Colin Campbell, Esq., of Jura. In the lower portion of this fine mansion is a vaulted apartment said to have been formerly used as a dungeon. The house of Barbreck, in the north-eastern quarter, a commodious mansion, and that of Dail, on the western coast, are both modern residences: these and the castle have demesnes ornamented with clumps of plantations, covering together about 300 acres, which comprehend nearly the whole wood in the parish. In the centre of the parish is the house of Ardlarich. The population are employed in agriculture, except those occasionally engaged in fishing. Ecclesiastieally the parish is in the presbytery of Inverary, synod of Argyll, and in the patronage of the Duke of Argyll. The minister's stipend is £169. 10., of which about a quarter is received from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe of about fifteen acres, valued at £18 per annum. Craignish church is a neat structure, erected in 1826, and conveniently situated on the eastern side of the parish. The parochial school affords instruction in all the clementary branches of education; the master has a salary of £25. 13., with a house, £20 fees, and £2. 10. derived from funded property. The remains of numerous Danish forts are still visible in the parish. The ruins of a religious house, supposed to have been an oratory, and of another, formerly, it is said, the parish chapel, may yet be traced; and there is a small bay called the Port of the Athollmen, which received its name from the circumstance of several of the Marquess of Atholl's men having been drowned there, after a defeat by the natives, in the seventeenth century.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, 1851 by Samuel Lewis

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