Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

KILC
K I L C
stitute the principal crop, and a large quantity of them
is sent annually to the English and Irish markets. The.
tenants mostly hold their lands at will, and but little
improvement in husbandry has taken place ; but there
are some exceptions, especially on the farm of Crear, in
Kilberry, where the land has been brought into good
cultivation, and received much embellishment. Lime-
stone occurs in several places ; but it lies in thin beds,
and is not much used. The rateable annual value of
the parish is £7563. The principal mansions are,
Stonefield, situated in Kilcalmonell ; Dunmore and
Ardpatrick Castles, in Kilberry ; and an elegant castel-
lated edifice lately erected near Tarbert. The village of
Tarbert, which is separately described, is supposed to
have been anciently the county-town of Argyll ; it is
now chiefly famed for its harbour, and for the herring-
fishery in which its inhabitants are actively and success-
fully engaged. It has a general post-office, communi-
cating by steam daily with Glasgow ; and a road runs
through Kilcalmonell to Campbelltown, by which letters
are forwarded to the latter place. The produce of the
parish is sent for sale, partly to Campbelltown, but
chiefly, especially the potatoes, to Ireland and England.
A fair, principally for horses, is held at Tarbert in the
beginning of August. The parish is in the presbytery
of Cantyre and synod of Argyll, and in the patronage of
the Duke of Argyll. The minister's stipend is £21S,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £17. 10. per annum.
The church of Kilcalmonell was built about the year
1760; that of Kilberry in 1S21 : the former contains
600 sittings, and the latter 700, all free. A chapel is
supported at Tarbert by Royal Bounty ; and the Inde-
pendents have a place of worship. There are two paro-
chial schools, affording instruction in the ordinary
branches ; the masters each receive a salary of £25 per
annum, with the fees. The parish contains the forts of
Dunskeig, forming part of a chain of strongholds built
along the coast of Cantyre ; they are very ancient, lofty,
and strong, and command extensive views. The castle
of Tarbert, now in ruins, was, formerly, also a place of
great strength ; and there was once a large vitrified fort
in the parish; the remains of which are still to be seen.
KILCHATTAN, Argyllshire. — See Kilbrandon.
KILCHATTAN-BAY, a village, in the parish of
Kingarth, Isle and county of Bute, 6 miles (S. by E.)
from Rothesay: containing 167 inhabitants. This vil-
lage derives its name from the fine bay on the south-
east of the island, opening into the Frith of Clyde,
and eastward of which, and immediately opposite to it,
are the isles of Great and Little Cumbray. In the vil-
lage, from which is a good coast-road to Rothesay, are
about fifty inhabited houses ; and there is a wharf for
lading and unlading small vessels. A rapid increase
has taken place here, within the last few years, in the
exportation of agricultural produce and of lime, which
is very abundant in the neighbourhood. Near the
north-east shore of the bay are two barrows, a short
distance from each other.
KILCHENZIE, Argyllshire. — See Killean.
KILCHOMAN, a parish, in the Islay district of the
county of Argyll, 12 miles (W. by S.) from Bowmore;
containing 4505 inhabitants. This place, which is situ-
ated at the south-western extremity of the island of
Islay, is supposed to have derived its name from a
church founded here by St. Chomanus, who was sent by
26
St. Columba from the monastery of Iona, to convert the
inhabitants to Christianity. Little more of its ancient
history is known than that, for many years, it was in
the possession of the Danes and Norwegians, and sub-
sequently became the property of the Macdonalds,
lords of the Isles, of whose baronial seat the site is now
occupied by the manse and gardens of the minister. In
158S, a sanguinary battle took place between the
Macdonalds and the Macleans, of whom the latter, of
the isle of Mull, landed a considerable force to dis-
possess the former of their territory. The conflict
occurred near the shore of Loch Gruinard, and termi-
nated in the defeat of the Macleans, whose leader fell in
the action ; and his followers giving way, many of them
took refuge in the church of Kilnave, near the field of
battle, pursued by the Macdonalds, who set fire to the
building. The body of Maclean, being found among
the slain, was buried in the church of Kilchoman.
The parish, which is of peninsular form, is bounded
on the west by the Atlantic, and on the east by Loch
Indal ; and is deeply indented on the north by Loch
Gruinard, between which and Loch Indal there is little
more than a mile of land at high water. It is about
twenty miles in extreme length, and five at its greatest
breadth, comprising upwards of 50,000 acres, of which not
more than 5000 are arable, and the remainder, with the
exception of twenty acres of plantations, is hill pasture
and waste. The surface is diversified with ridges of hills of
moderate elevation, the highest not exceeding 500 feet
above the level of the sea ; and between these undu-
lating ridges are large tracts of level ground, covered
with moss, and interspersed with lakes, of which the
largest, Lochgorum, is about 600 acres in extent, and
from five to seven feet in depth. There is no river of
any importance. The coast, which is more than thirty
miles in circuit, is mostly bold and precipitous, abound-
ing on the east with creeks, and on the west with bays.
The largest bay is that of Kilchoman ; but it is so ex-
posed to the swell of the Atlantic that fishing-boats, to
be in safety, must be drawn above high-water mark.
Loch Gruinard is about four miles in length, and affords
shelter for small vessels, but is partly dry at low water;
Loch Indal is twelve miles in length, and eight in breadth
at the entrance, forming a good roadstead, and is much
frequented by vessels in adverse weather.
The soil includes almost every variety : on the shore
of Loch Indal is some rich alluvial land of great fertility ;
on the western shore the soil is less productive, and in
other parts nearly sterile. The crops are, oats, barley,
potatoes, turnips, peas, and beans, with the usual
grasses. The system of husbandry is improving on
some of the farms ; considerable progress has been
made in draining the lands, and several tracts of moss
have been reclaimed ; but from the tenure of the smaller
farms, the spirit of enterprise is much restrained. The
chief attention is paid to the improvement of live stock ;
the cattle are generally of the West Highland breed, but
the sheep, with the exception of a few of the black-
faced, are of a very ordinary kind. The principal sub-
strata are, clay-slate, greywacke, alternating with thin
beds of quartz, basalt, greenstone, and porphyry. There
is no limestone ; but the want of it is supplied by the
abundance of shell-marl found in the numerous creeks
and bays. Slate of good colour and quality is exten-
sively quarried at Kilchiaran. The rateable annual