Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 2

JUR
70
JUR
Portobello. Between it and the sea is a freestone
quarry. About J of a mile to the east are some
salt-works, called Joppa-Pans.
JURA,* one of the Hebrides, lying opposite to
the district of Knapdale, in Argyleshire, to which
county it is politically annexed. It is 20 miles in
length, from south-west to north-east ; its breadth at
the southern end is about8 miles, but tapers gradually
to about 2 miles at the northern extremity. Its su-
perficies has been estimated at 58,500 Scots acres, of
which only 3,000 are arable. It is the most rugged
of the Western isles, being composed chiefly of huge
rocks, piled on one another in the utmost disorder,
— naked and incapable of cultivation, and presenting
" one continued tract of brown and rocky mountain-
pasture." These mountains extend in the form of
a ridge from south to north, nearly in the middle of
the island. Three of them rising near the south end,
of an irregular conoidal form, and termed the Paps
of Jura, are conspicuous at a great distance. The
southern one is termed Benachaolais, ' the Moun-
tain of the Sound.'as beingnearto the sound of Islay;
the next and highest, Benanoir, ' the Mountain of
Gold;' the third, JBenshianta, 'the Consecrated
mountain.' There are five of these conical peaks,
but only three of them are distinguished as the Paps.
Corrabhain, or ' the Steep peak,' is the most preci-
pitous but lowest of the cluster. See Benanoir.
Loch-Tarbet, a long narrow arm of the sea, opening
on the west coast, nearly divides the island into two.
There are some small lakes in the vicinity of the
Paps ; and a few streams, descending from these
mountains, flow into the sound of Jura. The west
side of the island is wild and rugged, and intersected
by numerous torrents which come rushing down from
the mountains. It presents only rocky and abrupt
shores ; and has been deemed so inhospitable that
no person chooses to fix his habitation in it. All the
inhabitants live on the east side. Here, along the
margin of the sea, the coast is level ; but, at a little
distance from the shore, there is a gradual ascent.
The whole of this side forms a pleasant scene : the
coast, in several places, is indented with bays and
harbours, and the arable and pasture grounds spread
out on the declivity, and terminate at the base of the
huge rocky mountains which form a romantic andaw-
ful back-ground. The soil along the shore is thin and
stony; higher up it becomes moory, with patches of
improvable moss ; along the foot of the mountains
there are numerous springs which render the ground
spouty and unfit for cultivation. ' The crops are oats,
barley, potatoes, and flax ; the chief manure is sea-
weed ; the use of lime has not been introduced, nor
the practice of sowing artificial grasses, or laying
out the lands in fallow or regular rotation. There
are two fine harbours on the east coast of the
island ; that to the south is called the harbour of
Small- Isles from the number of islets which shelter
it ; the other, a few miles to the north, is named
* This name is said tobe, correctly, Diura, that is, ' a Deer.'
the Lowlandman's bay ; there are also some an-
choring places on the west coast. At the north
end of Jura are the three inhabited islands of Scarba,
Lunga, and Baln'ahuaigh : see these articles
Between Scarba and Jura is the famous gulf called
Corrievrekin : which see. Several kinds of red
deer exist on the mountains, and there is plenty of
grouse and black game. When Pennant visited this
island, the number of cattle was much greater than
at present ; the inhabitants having banished these to
make way for the numerous herds of sheep and goats
which have been introduced. There is only one
small village, called Jura, on the east coast of the
island, inhabited by a few fishers. There are several
barrows and duns in the island ; and on the coast,
near the harbour of Small-Isles, are the remains of a
very considerable encampment. It has a triple line
of defence, with regular bastions towards the land;
and near the east end is a pretty large mound, seem-
ingly formed of the earth thrown out in forming the
ditches. The mountains are of white or red quartz,
some of which is brecciated, or filled with crystalline
kernels of an amethystine colour. The other rocks
of the island are a bluish coloured slate, veined with
red, and so fine as to be used as a whetstone ; a mi-
caceous sandstone ; and, at the northern extremity, a
quarry of micaceous granite. There is great abundance
of iron ore, and a vein of the black oxide of manganese.
On the west coast there is a fine kind of sand, which
is used in the manufacture of glass. The climate of
Jura is very healthy, owing to its high situation, and
its exposure to the winds. There is a ferry from
Kenuachtrach, or Kinuachrach, at the northern point
of the island, to Craignish-point on the mainland, a
distance of 4 miles, whence a good carriage-road leads
to the Kintraw and Kellmelfort roads. Gaelic is
spoken in the island. Population, in 1811, 1,157;
in 1831, 1,312. Houses, in 1831, 251.
JURA and COLONSAY, a parish of Argyle-
shire, composed of nine islands, of which that of Jura
is the largest. The islands of Colonsay and Oransay,
of Scarba, Lunga, Balnahuaigh, and the three small
uninhabited isles called the Gravellach or Marg
islands on the north of Jura, form the rest of
the district. It was originally called the united par-
ish of Killearnadale and Kilchattan : Jura forming
the former, and Colonsay the latter. The islands of
Gigha and Cara were disjoined from it about the
year 1729. The district of Colonsay and Oransay is
under charge of an assistant- minister : see Colon-
say. Population, in 1801,2,007; in 1831, 2,205.
Houses 404. Assessed property, in 1815, £3,598.
— This parish is in the presbytery of Islay and Jura,
and synod of Argyle. Patron, the Duke of Argyle.
Stipend £158 6s. 8d. ; glebe £12. Church built
about 1776; enlarged about 1824; sittings 249.—
There are two parochial schools in Jura, the masters
of which share a salary of £33 6s. 8d., with a third
schoolmaster stationed in Colonsay. Besides this
there were, in 1834, five private schools in Jura.