Lorne (Scottish Gaelic: Latharn) is an ancient district in the west of Scotland, now part of the Argyll and Bute council area. It is within the region once named Lorna[1] which may have taken its name from Loarn mac Eirc. However the last cartographical reference to Lorna is in 1607[2] with that same area being referred to as Lorne in John Speed's map of the Kingdome of Scotland dated 1610[3]. The Black Galley of Lorne is a much used emblem in heraldry - probably most famously in the Duke of Argylls Coat of Arms.
Lorne bordered (what was then a smaller) Argyll to the south, Lochaber to the north and Breadalbane to the east.
The Firth of Lorn separates Mull from islands off the Lorne coastline.[4]
Oban is the capital of the ancient district of Lorne. Once labelled the "Charing Cross of the Highlands" because of the range of steamer connections with the islands and Argyll coast, Oban is still a busy port for ferries, cruise liners, fishing boats and pleasure craft.[5]
The district may have taken its name from Loarn mac Eirc, a brother of Fergus Mór Mac Earca who, around the year 500 AD became ruler of the Scottish Kingdom of Dál Riata. Loarn created his own dynasty in the new kingdom, in the district of Argyll to which he gave his name.[5]
From 1470, the Lordship of Lorne was held as a subsidiary title of the earldom and later the Duchy of Argyll.
The district was later combined with Argyll and parts of Lochaber to make up the traditional county of Argyll following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. This Act established a uniform system of town and county councils in Scotland, restructuring many of Scotland’s counties. (See: History of local government in the United Kingdom).
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||