Kerrera

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

This edition is copyright © The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland, 2002-2022.

It has taken much time and money to make the six-volumes of Groome's text freely accessible. Please help us continue and develop by making a donation. If only one out of every ten people who view this page gave £5 or $10, the project would be self-sustaining. Sadly less than one in thirty-thousand contribute, so please give what you can.

Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry Arrow

Kerrera, an island of Kilmore and Kilbride parish, Argyllshire, in the Firth of Lorn, opposite the south-eastern part of Mull. Separated from the mainland by the Sound of Kerrera, ¼ to 1 mile in breadth, and screening, in its northern part, the Bay of Oban, it extends 4 3/8 miles south-south-westward, with a varying breadth of 1¾ furlong and 1¾ mile; and it forms part of the line of communication between Oban and Mull. Its shores contribute largely to the excellence of the romantic harbour of Oban, and contain within themselves two good harbours, called Ardintraive and Horseshoe Bays; its southern extremity is a promontory, exhibiting noble cliff scenery, and crowned with the strong, tall, roofless tower of Gylen Castle, probably erected in the 12th century, long a stronghold of the Macdougals of Lorn, and besieged and captured in 1647 by a detachment of General Leslie's army. Chief elevations from N to S are Barr Dubh (374 feet), Ardchoric (617), and Cnoc na Faire (344); and the general surface is a broken and confused mixture of steep hills and deep vales, commanding gorgeous views from the heights, containing good arable and pasture land in the hollows, and so rapidly alternating as to be traversable only with much fatigue and difficulty. The rocks are a remarkable assemblage of trap, schist, slate, and conglomerate, and form a singular study to geologists. With the exception of two farms, the island is included in the Dunolly property. Alexander II., when preparing his expedition against the Hebrides, assembled his fleet in Horse-shoe Bay, and, being seized with fever there, was taken ashore to a pavilion, on a spot still called Dalree or 'the King's field,' and there died, 8 July 1249; and Hakon of Norway, in 1263, held a meeting of Hebridean chiefs on Kerrera, to engage their aid in his descent on the mainland. Pop. (1841) 187, (1861) 105, (1871) 101, (1881) 103, of whom 91 were Gaelic-speaking.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

If you have found this information useful please consider making
a donation to help maintain and improve this resource. More info...

By using our site you agree to accept cookies, which help us serve you better