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URQUHART AND GLENMORISTON
or stream that could have supplied the water. It was,
however, spanned by a drawbridge leading to the
principal entrance, consisting of an archway for a port-
cullis flanked by projecting towers. Within this is the
guardroom, and beyond is the courtyard. The oldest
portion of the castle seems to be to the N and E, and at
the extreme N end is the most prominent part of the
whole — the great keep 50 feet high, and 34 by 29 feet
on the outside, with walls 8 feet thick. It consisted of
basement vaulted chambers, three stories which seem
to have had wooden joists, and a fourth top story which
seems to have been vaulted. In the wall is a wheel
staircase, and at each corner of the building was a
square turret. This portion of the structure seems to
date from the middle of the 13th century. There is
traditional account, no doubt true, of a much earlier
stronghold, but there must certainly have been here one
of the strengths of Gillespie Macscoulane, who was
defeated and put to death during a rebellion in the north
in 1229, after which the lands of Urquhart and Boleskine,
which had been claimed by him, were granted to Sir
Thomas Dorward, who was succeeded by his son, Sir
Allan Hostiarius. Shortly after the death of the latter,
whose heirs were three daughters, the castle passed into
the possession of the Cumins of Badenoch, who seem to
have held it till the beginning of the great War of
Independence, when a detachment of Edward's army
occupied it, Sir John Fitzwarrenne being appointed
governor. During the first struggle against English
usurpation, under Sir William Wallace, it was besieged
and captured by Sir Andrew Moray, younger of Petty,
and remained in the hands of the national party till
1304, when it again passed into possession of the
English after a long siege, in which the additions to the
fortifications ordered by Edward in 1297 were the chief
means of its prolonged resistance. These additions pro-
bably included the flanking towers at the gateway and
the bastioned curtain walls. The castle was one of the
few Scottish strengths that successfully resisted Edward
Baliol's party after the death of Robert Bruce. In 1336
we find it in charge of Richard Cumin, but it was a
royal castle, and as such was granted in 1359 to William,
Earl of Sutherland, and again in 1371 to David, Earl of
Strathearn, son of Robert II. , whom failing, to Alex-
ander, Wolf of Badenoch. The castle was, however, in
1398, placed by parliament under charge of a governor
appointed by them, and in the Chamberlains Rolls for
1428-29 are records of sums expended on repairs, and
from entries in 1448-50 we learn that the fabric and
garrison seem to have been under the charge of the
Thane of Cawdor. It was seized by the Earl of Ross
during the rebellion of 1451 ; but notwithstanding an
Act of Parliament of date 1455, annexing the castle and
barony ' to the Crowne perpetually to reniane, the quhilk
may not be giffyn away, ' it was again granted by the
king to the Earl of Ross, on whose forfeiture it once
more returned to the crown. In 1475 it was granted
to Hugh Rose of Kilravock, but towards the close of
the century it was given to the Grants who had dis-
tinguished themselves on the royal side against Donald
Dubh, Lord of the Isles. This clan had to fight for
their hold, but they prevailed, and in 1509 a charter
in favour of Grant of Freuchie was signed by the king,
and in the possession of the Seafield Grants the barony
and castle still remain. The destruction of the roof
and woodwork seems to have taken place early in the
18th century. One vault is said to contain the plague
which was somehow buried there, and another a con-
cealed treasure. See a long article in the Builder for
17 Feb. 1872.
The parish is traversed by a good road along the shore
of Loch Ness ; by another up Glen Urquhart and across
to Strath Glass, which is reached at Glenaffric Hotel at
the mouth of the river Cannich ; and by another up
Glen Moriston, which continues by Glen Clunie to
Invershiel and Kintail at the head of Loch Duich. The
villages are Lewiston at the Established church and
llillton farther NW at the Free church. The parish
is made up of the old parishes of Urquhart and Glen-
472
URQUHART AND LOGIE WESTER
moriston, which were united at or shortly after the
Reformation. The latter was formerly joined to Aber-
tarff. Urquhart and Glenmoriston is in the presbytery
of Abertarff and synod of Glenelg, and the living is
worth £377 a year. The parish church is near the mouth
of Glen Urquhart, about a mile from Urquhart Bay. It
was built in 1836 in place of a previous church of 1630,
and contains 850 sittings ; and there is a mission station
at Glen Moriston. There are Free churches at Glen
Urquhart and at Glen Moriston, and there is also an
Episcopal mission station (St Ninians). Under the school
board are Balnain, Bunloit, Dalchreichard, and Glen
Urquhart schools and joint schools at Corriemony and
Invermoriston, which, with accommodation for 97, 60,
63, 233, 60, and 55 pupils respectively, had in 1884
attendances of 41, 27, 30, 111, 15, and 25, and grants
of £29, 6s. 8d., £12, 15s. 4d., £42, 5s., £82, lis. 10d.,
£20, 2s., and £36, 6s. 6d. The chief proprietors are the
Dowager-Countess of Seafield, the trustees of Grant of
Invermoriston, Ogilvie of Corriemony, and Grant of
Lakefield ; and there are a few smaller landowners. The
mansions are Balmacaan, Corriemony, Invermoriston
House, Lakefield House, and Lochletter House. Valua-
tion (1860) £8084, (1884) £13,802. Pop. (1801) 2633,
(1831) 2942, (1861) 2911, (1871) 2780, (1881) 2438.—
Ord. Sur., shs. 73, 72, 83, 1878-81.
Urquhart and Logie Wester, a parish partly in Ross-
shire, but comprehending also in its centre the whole of
the detached section of Nairnshire forming the barony
of Fekintosh. It is bounded for £ mile at the N corner
by Cromartyshire ; NE by the parish of Resolis, and for
| mile by Cromartyshire again ; SE by the parishes of
Avoch, Eilmuir Wester, Killearnan (detached), Kilmuir
Wester, and Killearnan ; SW and W by the parish of
Urray ; and NW by the parish of Fodderty and the
Cromarty Firth. All along the .NW side the boundary
follows the course of the river Conan and the Cromarty
Firth, but elsewhere it is almost entirely artificial. The
extreme length, from NE to SW, parallel to the Cromarty
Firth, is a little over 8 j miles ; the average breadth at
right angles is about 2J miles ; and the total area is
14,999 '722 acres, of which 125 -429 are water and 1293 -511
foreshore. The Ross-shire portion contains S613'977
acres, of which 49 '279 are water and 986738 foreshore,
and the rest forms the detached portion of Nairnshire.
The surface rises pretty regularly from the Conan and
the Cromarty Firth south-eastward to the boundary line,
which runs partly along Ardmeanach or the Mullbuie
ridge of the Black Isle, along which it reaches a height
of 627 feet. The higher grounds command magni-
ficent views of the upper reaches of the Cromarty Firth.
The slope is cut across by ravines formed by a number
of small burns, which carry off the drainage to the river
Conan or direct to the Cromarty Firth. The soil of the
lower grounds is good but light loam, but in the higher
portions it is poorer, though all districts produce excel-
lent crops of barley and oats. Along the coast there are
large farms, but the higher ground is given up to small
holdings and crofts, the tenants of these having within
the last fifty years reclaimed and improved a large
extent of land formerly waste. There is still some
moorland, but more than half the area is under the
plough, and the great proportion of the rest pasture,
there being very little under wood. The underlying
rocks are Old Red Sandstone. The Nairnshire portion,
which constitutes the barony of Ferintosh, belonging
to the family of Forbes of Culloden, and Kinkell
Castle have both been separately noticed. The parish
is traversed along the centre and NW by main
roads from Cromarty to Dingwall, with a branch
running up the valley of the Conan. The extreme
W corner is crossed for 2| miles by the Inverness and
Dingwall section of the Highland Railway, on which
is Conan station, 16J miles NW of Inverness and 2 S
of Dingwall. The only village is Conan Bridge, but there
are hamlets at Culbockie, Duncanston, and Newton of
Ferintosh. The mansions are Conan Honse and Rye-
field. This parish, formed by the union of the parishes
of Urquhart (NE) and Logie-AVester (SW) as early as
or stream that could have supplied the water. It was,
however, spanned by a drawbridge leading to the
principal entrance, consisting of an archway for a port-
cullis flanked by projecting towers. Within this is the
guardroom, and beyond is the courtyard. The oldest
portion of the castle seems to be to the N and E, and at
the extreme N end is the most prominent part of the
whole — the great keep 50 feet high, and 34 by 29 feet
on the outside, with walls 8 feet thick. It consisted of
basement vaulted chambers, three stories which seem
to have had wooden joists, and a fourth top story which
seems to have been vaulted. In the wall is a wheel
staircase, and at each corner of the building was a
square turret. This portion of the structure seems to
date from the middle of the 13th century. There is
traditional account, no doubt true, of a much earlier
stronghold, but there must certainly have been here one
of the strengths of Gillespie Macscoulane, who was
defeated and put to death during a rebellion in the north
in 1229, after which the lands of Urquhart and Boleskine,
which had been claimed by him, were granted to Sir
Thomas Dorward, who was succeeded by his son, Sir
Allan Hostiarius. Shortly after the death of the latter,
whose heirs were three daughters, the castle passed into
the possession of the Cumins of Badenoch, who seem to
have held it till the beginning of the great War of
Independence, when a detachment of Edward's army
occupied it, Sir John Fitzwarrenne being appointed
governor. During the first struggle against English
usurpation, under Sir William Wallace, it was besieged
and captured by Sir Andrew Moray, younger of Petty,
and remained in the hands of the national party till
1304, when it again passed into possession of the
English after a long siege, in which the additions to the
fortifications ordered by Edward in 1297 were the chief
means of its prolonged resistance. These additions pro-
bably included the flanking towers at the gateway and
the bastioned curtain walls. The castle was one of the
few Scottish strengths that successfully resisted Edward
Baliol's party after the death of Robert Bruce. In 1336
we find it in charge of Richard Cumin, but it was a
royal castle, and as such was granted in 1359 to William,
Earl of Sutherland, and again in 1371 to David, Earl of
Strathearn, son of Robert II. , whom failing, to Alex-
ander, Wolf of Badenoch. The castle was, however, in
1398, placed by parliament under charge of a governor
appointed by them, and in the Chamberlains Rolls for
1428-29 are records of sums expended on repairs, and
from entries in 1448-50 we learn that the fabric and
garrison seem to have been under the charge of the
Thane of Cawdor. It was seized by the Earl of Ross
during the rebellion of 1451 ; but notwithstanding an
Act of Parliament of date 1455, annexing the castle and
barony ' to the Crowne perpetually to reniane, the quhilk
may not be giffyn away, ' it was again granted by the
king to the Earl of Ross, on whose forfeiture it once
more returned to the crown. In 1475 it was granted
to Hugh Rose of Kilravock, but towards the close of
the century it was given to the Grants who had dis-
tinguished themselves on the royal side against Donald
Dubh, Lord of the Isles. This clan had to fight for
their hold, but they prevailed, and in 1509 a charter
in favour of Grant of Freuchie was signed by the king,
and in the possession of the Seafield Grants the barony
and castle still remain. The destruction of the roof
and woodwork seems to have taken place early in the
18th century. One vault is said to contain the plague
which was somehow buried there, and another a con-
cealed treasure. See a long article in the Builder for
17 Feb. 1872.
The parish is traversed by a good road along the shore
of Loch Ness ; by another up Glen Urquhart and across
to Strath Glass, which is reached at Glenaffric Hotel at
the mouth of the river Cannich ; and by another up
Glen Moriston, which continues by Glen Clunie to
Invershiel and Kintail at the head of Loch Duich. The
villages are Lewiston at the Established church and
llillton farther NW at the Free church. The parish
is made up of the old parishes of Urquhart and Glen-
472
URQUHART AND LOGIE WESTER
moriston, which were united at or shortly after the
Reformation. The latter was formerly joined to Aber-
tarff. Urquhart and Glenmoriston is in the presbytery
of Abertarff and synod of Glenelg, and the living is
worth £377 a year. The parish church is near the mouth
of Glen Urquhart, about a mile from Urquhart Bay. It
was built in 1836 in place of a previous church of 1630,
and contains 850 sittings ; and there is a mission station
at Glen Moriston. There are Free churches at Glen
Urquhart and at Glen Moriston, and there is also an
Episcopal mission station (St Ninians). Under the school
board are Balnain, Bunloit, Dalchreichard, and Glen
Urquhart schools and joint schools at Corriemony and
Invermoriston, which, with accommodation for 97, 60,
63, 233, 60, and 55 pupils respectively, had in 1884
attendances of 41, 27, 30, 111, 15, and 25, and grants
of £29, 6s. 8d., £12, 15s. 4d., £42, 5s., £82, lis. 10d.,
£20, 2s., and £36, 6s. 6d. The chief proprietors are the
Dowager-Countess of Seafield, the trustees of Grant of
Invermoriston, Ogilvie of Corriemony, and Grant of
Lakefield ; and there are a few smaller landowners. The
mansions are Balmacaan, Corriemony, Invermoriston
House, Lakefield House, and Lochletter House. Valua-
tion (1860) £8084, (1884) £13,802. Pop. (1801) 2633,
(1831) 2942, (1861) 2911, (1871) 2780, (1881) 2438.—
Ord. Sur., shs. 73, 72, 83, 1878-81.
Urquhart and Logie Wester, a parish partly in Ross-
shire, but comprehending also in its centre the whole of
the detached section of Nairnshire forming the barony
of Fekintosh. It is bounded for £ mile at the N corner
by Cromartyshire ; NE by the parish of Resolis, and for
| mile by Cromartyshire again ; SE by the parishes of
Avoch, Eilmuir Wester, Killearnan (detached), Kilmuir
Wester, and Killearnan ; SW and W by the parish of
Urray ; and NW by the parish of Fodderty and the
Cromarty Firth. All along the .NW side the boundary
follows the course of the river Conan and the Cromarty
Firth, but elsewhere it is almost entirely artificial. The
extreme length, from NE to SW, parallel to the Cromarty
Firth, is a little over 8 j miles ; the average breadth at
right angles is about 2J miles ; and the total area is
14,999 '722 acres, of which 125 -429 are water and 1293 -511
foreshore. The Ross-shire portion contains S613'977
acres, of which 49 '279 are water and 986738 foreshore,
and the rest forms the detached portion of Nairnshire.
The surface rises pretty regularly from the Conan and
the Cromarty Firth south-eastward to the boundary line,
which runs partly along Ardmeanach or the Mullbuie
ridge of the Black Isle, along which it reaches a height
of 627 feet. The higher grounds command magni-
ficent views of the upper reaches of the Cromarty Firth.
The slope is cut across by ravines formed by a number
of small burns, which carry off the drainage to the river
Conan or direct to the Cromarty Firth. The soil of the
lower grounds is good but light loam, but in the higher
portions it is poorer, though all districts produce excel-
lent crops of barley and oats. Along the coast there are
large farms, but the higher ground is given up to small
holdings and crofts, the tenants of these having within
the last fifty years reclaimed and improved a large
extent of land formerly waste. There is still some
moorland, but more than half the area is under the
plough, and the great proportion of the rest pasture,
there being very little under wood. The underlying
rocks are Old Red Sandstone. The Nairnshire portion,
which constitutes the barony of Ferintosh, belonging
to the family of Forbes of Culloden, and Kinkell
Castle have both been separately noticed. The parish
is traversed along the centre and NW by main
roads from Cromarty to Dingwall, with a branch
running up the valley of the Conan. The extreme
W corner is crossed for 2| miles by the Inverness and
Dingwall section of the Highland Railway, on which
is Conan station, 16J miles NW of Inverness and 2 S
of Dingwall. The only village is Conan Bridge, but there
are hamlets at Culbockie, Duncanston, and Newton of
Ferintosh. The mansions are Conan Honse and Rye-
field. This parish, formed by the union of the parishes
of Urquhart (NE) and Logie-AVester (SW) as early as
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