Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

NAIRN
ad firmandum in ea castellum et burgum de Invernaren. '
The castle stood in what was known as the Constabulary
garden near High Street, and in the 13th century the
sheriffs of Nairn were ex officio keepers of it. In 1264
Alexander de Moravia, the then sheriff, was repaid by
the royal treasurer for expense incurred in plastering
the hall, in placing locks on the doors of the keep, and
in providing two cables for the drawbridge. In the
14th century the office of sheriff and constable of the
castle became hereditary in the family of Cawdor, and
with them it remained till the abolition of hereditary
jurisdictions in 1747, when the then thane claimed
£3000 as compensation for the first office, and £500 for
the second. The lands and town itself ' were granted
by Robert I. to his brother-in-law, Hugh, Earl of Ross,
and they probably continued in the possession of that
family till the forfeiture of John, Earl of Ross and Lord
of the Isles, in 1475. At that period the tenure of the
lands in Nairnshire, which had been formerly held
under the Earls of Ross, was changed to a crown-hold-
ing; and a similar change very probably took place
with regard to the town of Nairn, which then begins to
be styled in records the king's burgh and the royal
burgh of Nairn; unless it may be thought that the
terms of Robert I.'s grant of the earldom of Moray to
Thomas Randolph (which cannot easily be reconciled
with the Earl of Ross's charter) are sufficient to prove
that Nairn, as well as Elgin and Forres, was then of the
rank of a royal burgh.' The town stands across the
line marking the division between the highlands and
lowlands which intersects High Street about Rose
Street. The part of the town NE of this was inhabited
by Saxon -speaking fishermen, the part to the SW by
Gaelic-speaking Highlanders, and hence the story that
James VI., when twitted, after his accession to the
English throne, about the inferior importance of the
towns of his old kingdom, replied that, however that
might be, he had a town in Scotland ' sae lang that
the inhabitants of the one end did not understand the
language spoken at the other;' and when Dr Johnson
passed through the town 170 years later, he found no
great change had taken place, for he says : ' At Nairn
we may fix the verge of the Highlands ; for here I first
saw peat fires, and first heard the Erse language. ' He
is otherwise very hard on the town, for he says : ' "We
came to Nairn, a royal burgh, which, if once it flourished,
is now in a state of miserable decay; but I know not
whether its chief annual magistrate has not still the
title of Lord Provost.' In the Covenanting troubles of
the 17th century the burgh does not seem to have taken
a very active part, or to have suffered much, though,
after the battle of Auldearn, Montrose's men burned
and destroyed Cawdor's house in the town. The Duke
of Cumberland spent the night of 14 April in the
Laird of Kilravock's town-house here, and the night
following at the old house of Balblair not far off. To
the W of the town, between Balblair and Kildrummie,
are the fields where the Royalist army encamped, where
they held their rejoicings on the Duke of Cumberland's
birthday, the 15 April, and where they were when
the Highlanders attempted their night surprise. The
only distinguished native of the town was Lieutenant-
Colonel James Grant, C.B. (1827-92), son of a former
parish minister. Colonel Grant accompanied Speke
in his journey to the sources of the Nile in 1863, and
gave an account of the expedition in his Walk across
Africa.
Streets, etc. — The principal street, High Street, ex-
tends from the river south-westward for about J mile,
and contains now a number' of very good buildings.
From it the older streets branch off, but along the sea
and on the W side there are large numbers of handsome
villas, many of them built for the purpose of being let
to visitors, but others built by their proprietors as sea-
side residences for themselves. The county buildings,
near the middle of the NW side of High Street, were
erected in 1818, and greatly improved in 1870. They
have a good front and spire, and, besides providing
accommodation for the county offices, contain a large
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NAIRN
county hall, used also as a, court-room. The prison
cells erected behind have, since the passing of the
Prisons Act, become almost useless. The public hall
was projected in 1865, and built by a joint-stock com-
pany at a cost of about £1200. It contains a large
hall, with accommodation for 800 persons, supper-rooms,
and ante-rooms. On the SE of the town the railway
crosses the river Nairn by a handsome stone bridge of
four arches, each with a span of 70 feet and 34 feet
high. A little farther down the river is the bridge for
the great coast road. It was originally built by Rose
of Clava in 1632, but has since been very extensively
repaired in consequence of damage received in heavy
floods in 1782 and 1829. The parish church, erected
in 1893-94 at the corner of Seabank Road on a site pre-
sented by Colonel Clark of Achareidh, provides accom-
modation for 1200 worshippers. It is a very handsome
church in the Early Gothic style, with square tower
above the entrance, the estimated cost of the edifice
being £8000, and superseded a plain erection of 1811,
containing 900 sittings. The new Free church to the
S is a fine building, Early French Gothic in style,
erected in 1880-81 at a cost of £7000, and containing
1200 sittings. There is a handsome spire with clock
and bell. The U.P. church, erected in 1851-52, con-
tains 512 sittings. The Congregational church, erected
in 1804 at a cost of £575, contains 416 sittings. St
Columba's Scottish Episcopal church is an Early Eng-
lish edifice of 1857, containing 225 sittings; and St
Mary's Roman Catholic church (1864) contains 150.
There is also a small English Episcopal church. At
the SW end of the town is Rose's Academical Institu-
tion, built by subscription on ground given by Captain
Rose, and supported by endowment, subscriptions, and
fees. Near it is a monument erected by old pupils as
a memorial of Mr John Strath, who was for 40 years
parish schoolmaster. In 1890 a statue was erected
to the memory of Dr Gregor, a well-known Indian
medical man. Church Street and the Monitory public
schools, and St Mary's Roman Catholic school, with
respective accommodation for 348, 470, and 50 pupils,
have an average attendance of about 270, 275, and 35,
and grants amounting to about £245, £220, and £25.
There are also some private schools. The Town and
County Hospital, to the W of the town, was erected by
subscription in 1846, and is supported by donations and
subscriptions. It is managed by directors chosen by
the subscribers. The Northern Counties Convalescent
Home is situated at Nairn, and there is a cemetery E
of the town. There is also a museum, containing a
valuable cabinet of minerals.
Two large bathing establishments possess all kinds
of artificial baths, cold, tepid, and warm. The Marine
Hotel salt-water baths are open to the public at all
seasons. Near the sea-shore is a large swimming-bath,
erected in 1872-73 at a cost of about £1500. The main
building is a square measuring 91 feet each way, covered
with a glass roof. The plan of the bottom has been so
ingeniously managed, that, while the depth of water
slopes gradually from 1 foot 3 inches to 6 feet, yet there
is a swimming course all round of about 100 yards.
Water is pumped from the sea by a centrifugal pump
worked by steam, and the bath when full holds 140,000
gallons. A large number of bathing coaches ply on the
beach during the summer months.
A wharf and harbour were constructed at the mouth
of the river in 1820, according to a plan by Telford, the
principle being to increase the depth of the river, and
by straightening its course from the bridge downwards
to increase the scour, and so prevent the silting up
of the opening. Inclusive of a sum paid for injury to
the neighbouring salmon fishings, the operations cost
£5500, but so great was the damage done by the flood
of 1829 that only very small vessels and fishing boats
frequented the place. Fresh works, on a similar plan,
were afterwards again constructed ; a breakwater of
wood and stone, 400 yards long, was extended from the
E side of the river, so as to afford shelter against the
only winds to which the harbour is exposed; and further