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ARGYLLSHIRE

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Originally appearing in Volume V02, Page 488 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ARGYLLSHIRE , a See also:

county on the See also:west See also:coast of See also:Scotland, the second largest in the See also:country, embracing a large See also:tract of country on the mainland and a number of the See also:Hebrides or Western Isles. The mainland portion is bounded N. by See also:Inverness-See also:shire; E. by See also:Perth and See also:Dumbarton, See also:Loch See also:Long and the See also:Firth of See also:Clyde; S. by the See also:North Channel (Irish See also:Sea); and W. by the See also:Atlantic. Its See also:area is 1,990,471 acres or 3110 sq. m. The See also:principal districts are Ardnamurchan on the Atlantic, Ardnamurchan Point being the most See also:westerly headland of Scotland; Morven or Morvern, bounded by Loch Sunart, the See also:Sound of See also:Mull and Loch Linnhe; See also:Appin, on Loch Linnhe, with piers at Ballachulish and See also:Port Appin; Benderloch, lying between Loch Creran and Loch Etive; Lorne, surrounding Loch Etive and giving the See also:title of See also:marquess to the Campbells; See also:Argyll, in the See also:middle of the shire, containing See also:Inveraray See also:Castle and furnishing the titles of See also:earl and See also:duke to the Campbells; Cowall, between Loch See also:Fyne and the Firth of Clyde, in which See also:lie See also:Dunoon and other favourite See also:holiday resorts; Knapdale between the Sound of See also:Jura and Loch Fyne; and Kintyre or Cantyre, a long narrow See also:peninsula (which, at the See also:isthmus of See also:Tarbert, is little more than 1 m. wide), the See also:southern-most point of which is known as the Mull, the nearest See also:part of Scotland to the coast of See also:Ireland, only 13 M. distant. There are no navigable See also:rivers. The two principal See also:mountain streams are the Orchy and See also:Awe. The Orchy flows from Loch Tulla through Glen Orchy, and falls into the north-eastern end of Loch Awe; and the Awe drains the loch at its north-western extremity, discharging into Loch Etive. Among other streams are the Add, Aray, See also:Coe or Cona, Creran, See also:Douglas, Eachaig, Etive, Euchar, Feochan, Finart, Fyne, Kinglass, Nell, Ruel, See also:Shiel, Shira, Strae and Uisge-Dhu. The county is remarkable for the numerous sea-lochs which deeply indent the coast, the principal being Loch Long (with its branches Loch Goil and the See also:Holy Loch), Loch Striven (See also:Rothesay's " See also:weather See also:glass "), Loch Riddon, Loch Fyne (with Loch Gilp and Loch Gair), Lochs Tarbert, Killisport, Swin, Crinan, Craignish, Melfort, Feochan, Etive, Linnhe (with its branches Loch Creran, Loch See also:Leven and Loch See also:Eli) and Sunart. There are also a large number of inland lakes, the See also:total area of which is about 25,000 acres. Of these the principal are Lochs Awe, Avich, See also:Eck, Lydoch and Shiel. The principal islands are Mull, See also:Islay, Jura, See also:Colonsay, See also:Lismore, See also:Tyree, See also:Coll, Gigha, Luing and Kerrera.

Besides these there are the two small but interesting islands of See also:

Staffa and See also:Iona. The mountains are so many as to give the shire a markedly rugged See also:character. Some of them are among the loftiest in the See also:kingdom, as See also:Ben Cruachan with its See also:summit of twin pyramids (3689 ft.), Ben More, in Mull (3172), Ben Ima (3318), Buachaille Etive (3345), Ben Bui (3106), Ben Lui (or Loy), on the confines of the shires of Perth and Argyll (3708), Ben Starav near the See also:head of Loch Etive (3541), and Ben See also:Arthur, called from its shape " The Cobbler " (2891), on the See also:borders of See also:Dumbartonshire. There are many picturesque glens, of which the best-known are Glen Aray, Glen Croe, Glen Etive, Glendaruel, Glen Lochy (" the wearisome glen" —some to m. of See also:bare hills and boulders—between Tyndrum and Dalmally),Glen Strae,See also:Hell's Glen (off Lcch Goil) and See also:Glencoe, the See also:scene of the See also:massacre in 1692. The waterfalls of Cruachan are beautiful; and those of Connel, which are more in the nature of rapids, caused by the See also:rush of the ebbing See also:tide over the rocky See also:bar at the narrowing mouth of Loch Etive, have been made celebrated by See also:Ossian, who called them " the Falls of Lora." In several of the glens, as Glen Aray, small falls may be seen, enhanced in beauty when the rivers are in See also:flood. Pre-eminently Argyll is the shire of the sportsman. The lovely Western Isles provide endless enjoyment for the yachtsman; the lochs and rivers abound with See also:salmon and See also:trout; the See also:deer forests and See also:grouse See also:moors are second to none in Scotland. See also:Geology.—The mainland portion of the county consists chiefly of the metamorphic rocks of the Eastern See also:Highlands, nearly all the sub-divisions of that See also:series (see SCOTLAND: Geology) being represented. They See also:form parallel belts of varying width trending north-See also:east and See also:south-west. The slates and phyllites referred to the lowest See also:group occur along the See also:shore at Dunoon, and are followed by the Beinn Bheula grits and See also:albite See also:schists, forming nearly all the highest ground in Cowall between Loch Fyne and the Firth of Clyde and the greater part of Kintyre. The See also:green beds, Glensluan See also:mica-schists and Loch See also:Tay limestones are See also:developed in Glendaruel, and have been traced north-east to Glen Fyne and at intervals south-west to See also:Campbeltown. The next prominent See also:zone is that of the Ardrishaig phyllites, with quartzites in the See also:lower portion and soft phyllites in the upper part, which See also:cover a See also:belt from 3 to 6 m. across, stretching from Glen Shira by Inveraray and Ardrishaig to south Knapdale.

Next in See also:

order come the Easdale slates, phyllites with thin dark See also:limestone, the See also:main limestone of Loch Awe and the pebbly See also:quartzite (Schiehallion), which are repeated by innumerable folds and spread northwards to Loch Linnhe and westwards to Jura and Islay. The slates of this See also:horizon have been largely quarried at Easdale and Ballachulish, and this main limestone is typically developed near Loch Awe, near Kilmartin, on the islands of Lismore and Shuna, and in Islay between See also:Bridgend and Portaskaig. The quartzites of this series form the highest hills in the south of Islay, occupy nearly the whole of Jura, and are continued in the mainland, where, by means of the rapid isoclinal folding, they form lenticular masses. In Islay and at various localities on the mainland a See also:conglomerate occurs at or near the See also:base of the quartzites, which contains fragments of the underlying rocks and boulders of See also:granite not now found in See also:place in that region. On the mainland, on the north See also:side of the See also:compound synclinal folding of Loch Awe, the Ardrishaig phyllites reappear at Craignish near Kilmartin, and the quartzites of this group are supposed to come to the See also:surface again in Glencoe, not far from the outcrop of the Schiehallion quartzite. The metamorphic rocks are associated with bands of See also:epidiorite which have shared in the folding and See also:metamorphism of the region. These are largely developed near Loch Awe, in Knapdale, and on the south-east coast of Islay. They have been usually regarded as intrusive, but south of Tayvallich on the mainland, lavas and tuffs, which have escaped deformation, occur in the Easdale slates and the pebbly limestone. The Lower Old Red See also:Sandstone, chiefly composed of volcanic rocks—lavas and tuffs—rests unconformably on the metamorphic series. These rocks cover a wide area in Lorne between Loch Melfort. See also:Oban and the Pass of See also:Brander, and they reappear in the lofty mountains on both sides of Glencoe. Representatives of this formation are found in Kintyre, south of Campbeltown, where the sediments prevail.

The intrusive igneous rocks belonging to this See also:

period are widely distributed and form conspicuous features. The plutonic masses are represented by the granite of Ben Cruachan, by the See also:diorite of Gleann Domhainn, and by the kentallenite (a basic See also:rock related to the monaonites), near Ballachulish. Throughout the Lorne volcanic See also:plateau there are numerous dykes 'of porphyrite which likewise See also:traverse the schists and part of the Ben Cruachan granite. Sheets of See also:quartz-See also:porphyry, lamprophyre and diorite are also represented, the first of these types being quarried at Crarae on the north shore of Loch Fyne. The Upper Old Red Sandstone forms isolated patches resting unconformably on all older rocks, on the west coast of Kintyre, and between Campbeltown and Southend. In the See also:district of Campbeltown these red sandstones and cornstones are followed by the volcanic rocks of the Calciferous Sandstone series, which lie to the south of the depression at Machrihanish, and are succeeded by the lower limestones and coals of the Carboniferous Limestone series. On the north and south shores of the promontory of Ardnamurchan there are small patches of See also:Jurassic strata ranging from the Lower See also:Lias to the See also:Oxford See also:Clay, and in Morvern on the shores of Loch Aline representatives of the Upper See also:Greensand are covered by the basaltic lavas of See also:Tertiary See also:age. The See also:acid and basic plutonic rocks (gabbros and granophyres) of Tertiary See also:time occur in Ardnamurchan. A striking See also:geological feature of the county is the number of See also:dolerite and See also:basalt dykes trending in a north-west direction, which are referred to the same period of intrusion. There is, however, another group of dolerite dykes See also:running east and west near Dunoon and elsewhere, which are cut by the former and are probably of older date. See also:Lead See also:veins occur at Strontian which have yielded a number of minerals, including sphalerite, fluorite, See also:strontianite, harmotone, brewsterite and pilolite. Near Inveraray, nickeliferous ore has been obtained at two localities.

See also:

Climate.—The rainfall is very abundant. At Oban, the See also:average See also:annual amount is 64.18 in.; in Glen Fyne, I04•II in.; at the See also:bridge of Orchy, 113.62 in., and at Upper Glencoe 127.65. The prevailing winds, as observed near Crinan, are south-west and south-east, and next in frequency are the north-west and north-east. The average yearly temperature is 48° F. See also:Agriculture.—Argyllshire was formerly partly covered with natural forests, remains of which, consisting chiefly of See also:oak, ash, See also:pine and See also:birch, are still visible in the mosses; but, owing to the clearance of the ground for the introduction of See also:sheep, and to past neglect of planting, the county is now remarkable for its lack of See also:wood, except in the neighbourhood of Inveraray, where there are extensive and flourishing plantations, and a few other places. Replanting, however, has been carried on. Most of the county is unfitted for agriculture; but many districts afford See also:fine pasturage for mountain sheep; and some of . the valleys, such as Glendaruel, are very fertile. The See also:chief See also:crop is oats; there is a little See also:barley, but no See also:wheat. The shire is one of those where the crofting See also:system exists, but it is by no means universal. It is predominant in Tyree and the western district of the mainland, but elsewhere farms of moderate See also:size are the See also:rule. The See also:cattle, though small, are equal to any other breed in the kingdom, and are marketed in large See also:numbers in the south. See also:Dairy farming is carried on to some extent in the southern parts of Kintyre where there is a large proportion of arable See also:land.

In the higher tracts sheep have taken the place of cattle withexcellent results. The See also:

black-faced is the See also:species most generally reared. See also:Industries.—Whisky is manufactured at Campbeltown, in Islay, at Oban, Ardrishaig and elsewhere. See also:Gunpowder is made at See also:Kames (Kyles of See also:Bute), Melfort and See also:Furnace. Coarse woollens are made for See also:home use; but fishing is the most important See also:industry, Loch Fyne being famous for its See also:herrings. The See also:season lasts from See also:June to See also:January, but See also:white fishing is carried on at one or other of the ports all the See also:year See also:round. See also:Slate and granite See also:quarrying and some See also:coal-See also:mining are the only other industries of any consequence. Communications.—Owing partly to the paucity of trading industries and partly to the fact that, owing to its greatly indented coast-See also:line, no place in the shire is more than 12 M. from the sea, the railway mileage in the county is very small. The Tyndrum to Oban See also:section of the Caledonian railway See also:company's system is within the county limits; a small portion of the track of the North See also:British railway company's line to Mallaig skirts the extreme west of the shire, and the Caledonian line from Oban to Ballachulish serves the See also:northern coast districts of the Argyllshire mainland. In connexion with this last route mention should be made of the See also:cantilever bridge See also:crossing the Falls of Lora with a span of 500 ft. at a height of 125 ft. above the See also:water-way. The chief means of communication is by steamers, which maintain See also:regular intercourse between See also:Glasgow and various parts of the coast. In order to avoid the circuitous passage round the Mull of Kintyre the Crinan See also:Canal, across the isthmus from Ardrishaig to Loch Crinan, a distance of 9 m., was constructed in 1793-18or, at a cost of £142,000.

It has 15 locks, an average See also:

depth of lo ft., a surface width of 66 ft., and bottom width of 30 ft., is navigable by vessels of 200 tons, and runs through a district of remarkable beauty. Another canal unites Campbeltown with Dalavaddy. In summer the mails for the islands and the See also:great bulk of the tourist See also:traffic by the MacBrayne See also:fleet is conveyed through the Crinan Canal, transhipment being effected at Ardrishaig and Crinan. Throughout the year goods traffic between the Clyde and elsewhere and the West Highland ports is conveyed by deep-sea steamers round the Mull. Before the See also:advent of See also:railways the shire contained many famous coaching routes, but now coaches only run during the tourist season, either in connexion with See also:train and steamer, or in districts still not served by either. See also:Population and See also:Government.—Owing to See also:emigration, chiefly to See also:Canada, the population has declined, almost without a break, since 1831, when it was 100,973, to 74,085 in 1891 and 73,642 in 1901, in which year there were 24 persons to the sq. m. In 1901 the number of Gaelic-speaking persons was 34,224, of whom 3313 spoke Gaelic only. The chief towns are Campbeltown (population in 19o1, 8286), Dunoon (6779) and Oban (5427), with Ardrishaig (1285), Ballachulish (1143), Lochgilphead (1313) and Tarbert (1697). The county returns a member to See also:parliament. Inveraray, Campbeltown and Oban belong to the See also:Ayr district group of See also:parliamentary burghs. Argyllshire is a sheriffdom, and there are See also:resident sheriffs-substitute at Inveraray, Campbeltown and Oban; courts are held also at Tobermory, Lochgilphead, Bowmore in Islay, and Dunoon. Both Presbyterian bodies are strongly represented; there are See also:Roman See also:Catholic and (See also:Anglican) Episcopal bishops of Argyll and the Isles, and there is a Roman Catholic See also:pro-See also:cathedral at Oban.

Campbeltown, Dunoon and Oban have secondary See also:

schools, Tarbert public school has a secondary See also:department, and several other schools See also:earn grants for giving higher See also:education. Part of the " See also:residue " See also:grant is spent by the county See also:council on classes of See also:navigation and other subjects in various schools, See also:short courses in agriculture for See also:farm,, and in providing bursaries. See also:History.—The See also:early history of Argyll (Airergaidheal) is very obscure. At the See also:close of the 5th See also:century Fergus, son of Erc, a descendant of Conor II., airdrigh or high See also:king of Ireland, came over with a See also:band of Irish Scots and established himself in Argyll and Kintyre. Nothing more is known till, in the days of Conall I., the descendant of Fergus in the See also:fourth See also:generation, St See also:Columba appears. Conall died in 574, and Columba was mainly instrumental in establishing his first See also:cousin, See also:Aidan, founder of the Dalriad kingdom and ancestor of the royal See also:house of Scotland, in See also:power. In the 8th century Argyll, with the Western Islands and See also:Man, See also:fell under the power of the Norsemen until, in the 12th century, Somerled (or Somhairle), a descendant of Colla-Uais, airdrigh of Ireland (327-331), succeeded in ousting them and established his authority, not only as thane of Argyll, but also in Kintyre and the Western Islands. Somerled died in 1164 and his descendants maintained themselves in Argyll and the islands, between the conflicting claims of the See also:kings of Scotland, See also:Norway and Man, until the end of the 15th century. Up to 1222 Argyll had formed an See also:independent See also:Celtic princedom; but in that year it was reduced by See also:Alexander II., the Scottish king, to a sheriffdom, and was henceforth regarded as an integral part of Scotland. Among the various clans in Argyll, the Campbells of Loch Awe, a See also:branch of the See also:clan McArthur, now began to come to the fore, though the mainland was still chiefly in the See also:possession of the MacDougals. The position of the lords of the house of Somerled was now curious, since they were feudatories of the king of Norway for the isles and of the king of Scotland for Argyll. Their policy in the See also:wars between the two See also:powers was a masterly See also:neutrality.

Thus, during the expedition of Alexander II. to the Western Isles in 1249, Ewan (Eoghan), See also:

lord of Argyll, refused to fight against the Norwegians; in 1263 the same Ewan refused to join See also:Haakon of Norway in attacking Alexander III. See also:Forty years later the clansmen of Argyll, mainly MacDougals, were warring on the side of See also:Edward of See also:England against See also:Robert See also:Bruce, by whom they were badly beaten on Loch Awe in 1309. The clansmen o^ the house of Somerled in the isles, on the other See also:hand, the MacDor nlda, remained loyal to Scotland in spite of the persuasions of See also:john of Argyll, appointed See also:admiral of Edward II.'s western fleet; and, under their chief See also:Angus Og, they contributed much to the victory of See also:Bannockburn. The See also:alliance of John, earl of See also:Ross and lord of the Isles, with Edward IV. of England in 1461 led to the breaking of the power of the house of Somerled, and in 1478 John was forced to resign Ross to the See also:crown and, two years later, his lordships of Knapdale and Kintyre as well. In Argyll itself the Campbells had already made the first step to supremacy through the See also:marriage of See also:Colin, See also:grandson of See also:Sir See also:Duncan See also:Campbell of Lochow, first Lord Campbell, with See also:Isabel See also:Stewart, eldest of the three co-heiresses of John, third lord of Lorne. He acquired the greater part of the lands of the other sisters by See also:purchase, and the lordship of Lorne from See also:Walter their See also:uncle, the See also:heir in tail male, by an See also:exchange for lands in See also:Perthshire. In 1457 he was created, by See also:James II., earl of Argyll. He died on the loth of May 1493. From him See also:dates the greatness of the house of the earls and See also:dukes of Argyll (q.v.), whose history belongs to that of Scotland. The house of Somerled survives in two main branches—that of See also:Macdonald of the Isles, Alexander Macdonald (d. 1795) having been raised to the See also:peerage in 1776, and that of the Macdonnells, earls of See also:Antrim in Ireland. The principal clans in Argyll, besides those already mentioned, were the Macleans, the Stewarts of Appin, the Macquarries and the Macdonalds of Glencoe, and the Macfarlanes of Glelcroe.

The Campbells are still very numerous in the county. Argyllshire men have made few contributions to See also:

English literature. For long the natives spoke Gaelic only and their bards sang in Gaelic (see See also:CELT: Literature: Scottish). Near Inistrynich on the north-eastern shore of Loch Awe stands the monumental See also:cairn erected in See also:honour of Duncan See also:Ban McIntyre (1724-1812), the most popular of See also:modern Gaelic bards. But the romantic beauty of the country has made it a favourite setting for the themes of many poets and See also:story-tellers, from " Ossian " and Sir Walter See also:Scott to Robert See also:Louis See also:Stevenson, while not a few men distinguished in affairs or in learning have been natives of the county. The antiquities comprise monoliths, circles of See also:standing stones, crannogs and See also:cairns. In almost all the burying-grounds—as at Campbeltown, Keil, Soroby, Kilchousland, Kilmun—there See also:ARGYROPULUS are specimens of sculptured crosses and slabs. Besides the famous ecclesiastical remains at Iona (q.v.), there are ruins of a Cistercian priory in Oronsay, and of a See also:church founded in the 12th century by Somerled, thane of Argyll, at Saddell. Among castles may be mentioned See also:Dunstaffnage, Ardtornish, Skipness, KiIchurn (beloved of painters), Ardchonnel, Dunolly, Stalker, Dunderaw and Carrick. AurHoRITIEs.—The (Eighth) Duke of Argyll, Commercial Principles Applied to the Hire of Land (See also:London, 1877) ; Crofts and Farms in the Hebrides (See also:Edinburgh, 1883) ; Iona (Edinburgh, 1889) ; See also:Scot-land as it Was and Is (Edinburgh, 1887) , House of Argyll (Glasgow, 1871) ; A. See also:Brown, Memorials of Argyllshire (See also:Greenock, 1889) ; Harvie-Brown and Buckley, Vertebrate See also:Fauna of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides (Edinburgh, 1892) ; D. Clerk, " On the Agriculture of the County of Argyll " (Trans. of H. and A.

See also:

Soc., 1878) ; T. See also:Gray, See also:Week at Oban (Edinburgh, 1881); Stewart, Collection of Views of Campbeltown. For antiquities see The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, vol. ii., published by the See also:Spalding See also:Club, and Capt. T. P. White's Archaeological Sketches in Kintyre and Proc. Antiq. Soc. of Scotland, vols. iv., v., viii.

End of Article: ARGYLLSHIRE

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