Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 4
(44) Page 264 - HEB
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HEBRIDES
in Paisley Abbey, which he and his ancestors had
liberally endowed, and there died the last of the Lords
of the Isles.
The Lordship of the Isles being thus legally extinct,
James IV. seems to have resolved on attempting to
prevent the ascendancy of any one family by distri-
buting the power and the territories among a number
of the minor chiefs, and in 1496 an effort was made to
extend the dominion of the law by making every chief-
tain in the Isles responsible for the due execution of
legal writs upon any of his clan, on pain of becoming
personally subject to the penalty exigible from the
offender. The King, in 1499, finding all his efforts to
produce order unavailing, suddenly changed his policy,
revoked all the charters given to the chiefs, and com-
missioned Archibald, Earl of Argyll, and others, to let
on short leases all the lands of the lordship as they
stood at the date of forfeiture. Donald Dubh, who was
generally regarded as the representative of the last Lord
of the Isles, and who had been kept in prison to pre-
vent him from agitating his claims, escaped in 1503, and,
finding the district in a disturbed condition, in conse-
quence of the royal measures, had but little difficulty in
raising an armed force, which he led to the mainland.
There he laid the whole of Badenoch waste, and the
insurrection assumed such a formidable character that
two years were required for the vindication of the King's
authority. In 1504 the islanders were expelled from
the mainland, and in the following year the King per-
sonally led his forces against the islands in the S,
while Huntly attacked them on the N, and the rebel-
lion was quelled. Torquil Macleod of Lewis and some
other chiefs still holding out in despair, a third expedi-
tion was undertaken in 1506, and led to the capture of
the castle of Stornoway, and Donald Dubh was again
made prisoner, and shut up in Edinburgh Castle. Jus-
ticiaries were appointed for the North Isles and South
Isles respectively — the courts of the former being held
at Inverness or Dingwall, and those of the latter at
Tarbert or Lochkilkerran ; attempts were made to dis-
seminate a knowledge of the laws, and the royal authority
became so established that the King, up to his death in
1513, was popular throughout the islands. In the con-
fusion that followed the battle of Flodden, Sir Donald
of Lochalsh seized the royal strengths in the islands,
made a devastating irruption upon Inverness-shire, and
proclaimed himself Lord of the Isles. In 1515 he made
his submission to the Regent, and though he attempted
in 1517 to bring about another rising, this proved a
failure. There was another outbreak in 1528, caused
by the withdrawal of many of the grants of Crown
lands, and in 1539 Donald Gorme of Sleat made a deter-
mined effort to place the Lordship of the Isles and the
Earldom of Ross on their old independent footing. His
death was at once followed by the failure of the insur-
rection, and the matter led to the voyage of James V.
round the Isles in 1540. The King's measures were
vigorous and effective ; but after his death in 1542
Donald Dubh escaped, and, receiving support from all
the Islesmen except the Macdonalds of Islay, again
dangerously disturbed the peace of the realm. He was
encouraged by the fickle dealing of Albany, and in 1545
swore allegiance to England. Donald, however, died
that year, and the chiefs of the southern islands then
elected James Macdonald of Islay to succeed him. The
Macleods of Lewis and Harris, the Macneils of Barra,
the Mackinnons, and the Macquarries, however, held
aloof, and obtained a reconciliation with the Regent ;
while in the following year the island chiefs generally
were amnestied, and returned to their allegiance. James
Macdonald then dropped the assumed title of Lord of
the Isles, and he seems to have been the last person
who even usurpingly bore it, or on whose behalf a
revival of it was attempted. The subsequent history of
the Hebrides is that of the mainland.
The Hebrides belonged to various clans. In the
Outer Hebrides, Lewis was in the possession of the Mac-
leods of Lewis ; while Harris belonged to the Macleods of
Harris ; North Uist, Benbecula, and South Uist to the
264
HELENSBURGH
Macdonalds of Clan Donald ; and Barra to the Macneils.
In the Inner Hebrides, Skye and the adjacent islands
were divided among the Macleods, Macdonalds, and
Mackinnons ; the Small Isles were held by the Mac-
donalds ; Tyree, Coll, and Mull by the Macleans ; Diva
by the Macquarries ; Colonsay by Clan Duffie or the
Macfies ; Islay and the S end of Jura as far as Loch
Tarbert by the southern branch of the Macdonalds ; the
N end of Jura and the adjacent islands as far as Luing
by the Macleans ; Lismore by the Stewarts of Appin ;
and Kerrera by the Macdongals.
See Martin's Description of the Western Islands ; Pen-
nant's Tour ; Johnson's Journey to the Western Islands
of Scotland ; Boswell's Tour to the Hebrides; Gregory's
History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland;
Macculloch's Description of the Western Islands of Scot-
land (1819) ; Buchanan's Land of Lome (1871), and 2d
edition under the title of Tlie Hcbrid Isles (1883) ;
Chambers's Journal for 1876 ; Mr "Walker's report in the
Report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture (1881) ;
Alex. Mackenzie's History of the Macdonalds and Lords
of the Isles (Inverness, 1SS1) ; and All the Tear Round
for April 1S83.
Heck, a village in Lochmaben parish, Dumfriesshire,
2| miles SSE of Lochmaben town, and 3i "WSW of
Lockerbie. One of the villages called the Four Towns,
it stands on a rising-ground, the Hill of Heck ; and
sometimes, during a freshet of the river Annan, is com-
pletely begirt with water, so as to look like an island in
a lake, and to be approachable only by means of a boat.
It got its name, signifying 'a rack for feeding cattle,'
from its being made, in times of freshets, a retreat of
cattle driven from their ordinary pasture on the haugh
to be fed from racks on its rising-ground. — Ord. Sur.,
sh. 10, 1864.
Hecla. See Uist, South.
Heiton, a village in Roxburgh parish, Roxburghshire,
2 J miles SSW of Kelso, under which it has a post office.
Helensburgh, a town and quoad sacra parish within
the parish of Row, Dumbartonshire, is picturesquely
situated on the shore of the Firth of Clyde, near the
entrance to the GareLoch, and directlyoppositeGreenock,
which is 4 miles distant. The town lies 8 miles by rail
NW of Dumbarton, and 23 WNW of Glasgow. It is
the terminus of the Glasgow and Helensburgh branch
of the North British railway ; and it has direct com-
munication with Edinburgh and other districts via Cow-
lairs Jnnctiou. By water it has steam communication
with Glasgow, Greenock, and all parts of the Clyde ; and
in summer it is the starting-point for some of the best-
known tourist and excursion steamer-routes. Helens-
burgh is built partly on a low belt of flat ground con-
tiguous to the beach, and partly on the gentle slope of
a low range of hills that rises immediately behind. The
town, whose outskirts extend into Cardross parish
towards the E, stretches along the coast for about 1J
mile, and it has an average breadth of 6 furlongs. For
the most part it is carefully laid out on the rectangular
plan, the longer streets running parallel to each other,
with the shorter streets cutting them at right angles.
Each of the rectangles thus formed comprises about 2
acres, never occupied by more than four houses, except
in the two chief streets near the sea. A terraced street,
extending along the coast, and buttressed for a part of
its length by a sea-wall, is, with the thoroughfares im-
mediately adjoining, chiefly occupied by shops and tho
dwellings of the poorer classes ; but where it begins to
leave the town proper, it is flanked by a number of
handsome and pretentious villas, standing each within
its own grounds. The more inland thoroughfares, and
especially those on the slope, are spacious and well-kept r,
many have broad and carefully-trimmed ribands of turf
betwixt the side-walks and the carriage-way ; and
several are planted, boulevard-fashion, with small trees.
The houses that line these streets are chiefly villas and
neat cottages ; and as each is separated from the quiet
thoroughfare by a garden or shrubbery, the whole at-
mosphere of this retired town is delightfully sequestered
and rural. The houses in most cases are the property
in Paisley Abbey, which he and his ancestors had
liberally endowed, and there died the last of the Lords
of the Isles.
The Lordship of the Isles being thus legally extinct,
James IV. seems to have resolved on attempting to
prevent the ascendancy of any one family by distri-
buting the power and the territories among a number
of the minor chiefs, and in 1496 an effort was made to
extend the dominion of the law by making every chief-
tain in the Isles responsible for the due execution of
legal writs upon any of his clan, on pain of becoming
personally subject to the penalty exigible from the
offender. The King, in 1499, finding all his efforts to
produce order unavailing, suddenly changed his policy,
revoked all the charters given to the chiefs, and com-
missioned Archibald, Earl of Argyll, and others, to let
on short leases all the lands of the lordship as they
stood at the date of forfeiture. Donald Dubh, who was
generally regarded as the representative of the last Lord
of the Isles, and who had been kept in prison to pre-
vent him from agitating his claims, escaped in 1503, and,
finding the district in a disturbed condition, in conse-
quence of the royal measures, had but little difficulty in
raising an armed force, which he led to the mainland.
There he laid the whole of Badenoch waste, and the
insurrection assumed such a formidable character that
two years were required for the vindication of the King's
authority. In 1504 the islanders were expelled from
the mainland, and in the following year the King per-
sonally led his forces against the islands in the S,
while Huntly attacked them on the N, and the rebel-
lion was quelled. Torquil Macleod of Lewis and some
other chiefs still holding out in despair, a third expedi-
tion was undertaken in 1506, and led to the capture of
the castle of Stornoway, and Donald Dubh was again
made prisoner, and shut up in Edinburgh Castle. Jus-
ticiaries were appointed for the North Isles and South
Isles respectively — the courts of the former being held
at Inverness or Dingwall, and those of the latter at
Tarbert or Lochkilkerran ; attempts were made to dis-
seminate a knowledge of the laws, and the royal authority
became so established that the King, up to his death in
1513, was popular throughout the islands. In the con-
fusion that followed the battle of Flodden, Sir Donald
of Lochalsh seized the royal strengths in the islands,
made a devastating irruption upon Inverness-shire, and
proclaimed himself Lord of the Isles. In 1515 he made
his submission to the Regent, and though he attempted
in 1517 to bring about another rising, this proved a
failure. There was another outbreak in 1528, caused
by the withdrawal of many of the grants of Crown
lands, and in 1539 Donald Gorme of Sleat made a deter-
mined effort to place the Lordship of the Isles and the
Earldom of Ross on their old independent footing. His
death was at once followed by the failure of the insur-
rection, and the matter led to the voyage of James V.
round the Isles in 1540. The King's measures were
vigorous and effective ; but after his death in 1542
Donald Dubh escaped, and, receiving support from all
the Islesmen except the Macdonalds of Islay, again
dangerously disturbed the peace of the realm. He was
encouraged by the fickle dealing of Albany, and in 1545
swore allegiance to England. Donald, however, died
that year, and the chiefs of the southern islands then
elected James Macdonald of Islay to succeed him. The
Macleods of Lewis and Harris, the Macneils of Barra,
the Mackinnons, and the Macquarries, however, held
aloof, and obtained a reconciliation with the Regent ;
while in the following year the island chiefs generally
were amnestied, and returned to their allegiance. James
Macdonald then dropped the assumed title of Lord of
the Isles, and he seems to have been the last person
who even usurpingly bore it, or on whose behalf a
revival of it was attempted. The subsequent history of
the Hebrides is that of the mainland.
The Hebrides belonged to various clans. In the
Outer Hebrides, Lewis was in the possession of the Mac-
leods of Lewis ; while Harris belonged to the Macleods of
Harris ; North Uist, Benbecula, and South Uist to the
264
HELENSBURGH
Macdonalds of Clan Donald ; and Barra to the Macneils.
In the Inner Hebrides, Skye and the adjacent islands
were divided among the Macleods, Macdonalds, and
Mackinnons ; the Small Isles were held by the Mac-
donalds ; Tyree, Coll, and Mull by the Macleans ; Diva
by the Macquarries ; Colonsay by Clan Duffie or the
Macfies ; Islay and the S end of Jura as far as Loch
Tarbert by the southern branch of the Macdonalds ; the
N end of Jura and the adjacent islands as far as Luing
by the Macleans ; Lismore by the Stewarts of Appin ;
and Kerrera by the Macdongals.
See Martin's Description of the Western Islands ; Pen-
nant's Tour ; Johnson's Journey to the Western Islands
of Scotland ; Boswell's Tour to the Hebrides; Gregory's
History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland;
Macculloch's Description of the Western Islands of Scot-
land (1819) ; Buchanan's Land of Lome (1871), and 2d
edition under the title of Tlie Hcbrid Isles (1883) ;
Chambers's Journal for 1876 ; Mr "Walker's report in the
Report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture (1881) ;
Alex. Mackenzie's History of the Macdonalds and Lords
of the Isles (Inverness, 1SS1) ; and All the Tear Round
for April 1S83.
Heck, a village in Lochmaben parish, Dumfriesshire,
2| miles SSE of Lochmaben town, and 3i "WSW of
Lockerbie. One of the villages called the Four Towns,
it stands on a rising-ground, the Hill of Heck ; and
sometimes, during a freshet of the river Annan, is com-
pletely begirt with water, so as to look like an island in
a lake, and to be approachable only by means of a boat.
It got its name, signifying 'a rack for feeding cattle,'
from its being made, in times of freshets, a retreat of
cattle driven from their ordinary pasture on the haugh
to be fed from racks on its rising-ground. — Ord. Sur.,
sh. 10, 1864.
Hecla. See Uist, South.
Heiton, a village in Roxburgh parish, Roxburghshire,
2 J miles SSW of Kelso, under which it has a post office.
Helensburgh, a town and quoad sacra parish within
the parish of Row, Dumbartonshire, is picturesquely
situated on the shore of the Firth of Clyde, near the
entrance to the GareLoch, and directlyoppositeGreenock,
which is 4 miles distant. The town lies 8 miles by rail
NW of Dumbarton, and 23 WNW of Glasgow. It is
the terminus of the Glasgow and Helensburgh branch
of the North British railway ; and it has direct com-
munication with Edinburgh and other districts via Cow-
lairs Jnnctiou. By water it has steam communication
with Glasgow, Greenock, and all parts of the Clyde ; and
in summer it is the starting-point for some of the best-
known tourist and excursion steamer-routes. Helens-
burgh is built partly on a low belt of flat ground con-
tiguous to the beach, and partly on the gentle slope of
a low range of hills that rises immediately behind. The
town, whose outskirts extend into Cardross parish
towards the E, stretches along the coast for about 1J
mile, and it has an average breadth of 6 furlongs. For
the most part it is carefully laid out on the rectangular
plan, the longer streets running parallel to each other,
with the shorter streets cutting them at right angles.
Each of the rectangles thus formed comprises about 2
acres, never occupied by more than four houses, except
in the two chief streets near the sea. A terraced street,
extending along the coast, and buttressed for a part of
its length by a sea-wall, is, with the thoroughfares im-
mediately adjoining, chiefly occupied by shops and tho
dwellings of the poorer classes ; but where it begins to
leave the town proper, it is flanked by a number of
handsome and pretentious villas, standing each within
its own grounds. The more inland thoroughfares, and
especially those on the slope, are spacious and well-kept r,
many have broad and carefully-trimmed ribands of turf
betwixt the side-walks and the carriage-way ; and
several are planted, boulevard-fashion, with small trees.
The houses that line these streets are chiefly villas and
neat cottages ; and as each is separated from the quiet
thoroughfare by a garden or shrubbery, the whole at-
mosphere of this retired town is delightfully sequestered
and rural. The houses in most cases are the property
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