Inveraray

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Coordinates: 56°13′52″N 5°04′23″W / 56.231°N 5.073°W / 56.231; -5.073
Inveraray
Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Aora[1]
Scots: Inverera[2]
Inveraray

 Inveraray shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference NN096085
Council area Argyll and Bute
Lieutenancy area Argyll and Bute
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town INVERARY
Postcode district PA32
Dialling code 01499
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament Argyll and Bute
Scottish Parliament Argyll and Bute
List of places
UK
Scotland

Inveraray (/ˌɪnvəˈrɛri/ or /ˌɪnvəˈrɛrə/; Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Aora; pronounced [ˈinvɪɾʲ ˈɯːɾə]) is a royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.

Coat of arms

The town's coat of arms depicts a net cast out over the ocean, entangled in which are five herrings.

Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, in his 1909 book A Complete Guide to Heraldry, notes the following:

There is no doubt of its ancient usage. ...and the blazon of the coat, according to the form it is depicted upon the Corporate seal, would be for the field: "The sea proper, therein a net suspended from the dexter chief and the sinister fess points to the base; and entangled in its meshes five herrings," which is about the most remarkable coat of arms I have ever come across.[3]

Inveraray Castle

In 1744 the third Duke of Argyll decided to demolish the existing castle and start from scratch with a new building. The castle was 40 years in construction, and the work was largely supervised by the Adam family, still renowned to this day as gifted architects and designers. The end product was not a castle in the traditional sense, but a classic Georgian mansion house on a grand scale, Inveraray Castle. Over the years the castle has played host to numerous luminaries; Queen Victoria visited it in 1847, and the Royal connection was further cemented when her daughter, Princess Louise, married the heir to the Campbell chieftainship, the Marquis of Lorne, in 1871,[4] illustrating the elevated position of the Argyll family in the social pecking order of the times.

Rebuilding the town

Inveraray.
View from the Tower.
Inveraray, Scotland, Viewed from the B839 on the Eastern side of Loch Fyne, above St. Catherines
Inveraray Bridge on Loch Fyne from Inveraray. The spires of Inveraray Castle can just be seen on the left. The hill behind the bridge is Dun Corr Bhile.

In 1747 William Adam had drawn up plans for the creation of a new Inveraray. By 1770 little had been done, and the fifth Duke set about rebuilding the town in its present form. Some of the work on the rebuilt Inveraray was done by John Adam, the Argyll Hotel on Front Street being his, as well as the Town House. Much of the rest of the town, including the church, was designed and built by the celebrated Edinburgh-born architect Robert Mylne (1733-1811) between 1772 and 1800.[5] The end product was an attractive town which included houses for estate workers, a woollen mill, and a pier to exploit herring fishing, which was to mushroom in later years to play a major role in the town's economy. The finished product is one of the best examples of an 18th-century new town in Scotland, and the vast majority of the properties in the centre of Inveraray are considered worthy of protection because of the town's architectural significance.

Tourist attractions

In addition to the castle, the Georgian Inveraray Jail in the burgh is now a museum. Other attractions include the Argyll Folk Museum at Auchindrain. The Celtic Inveraray Cross can also been seen in the town. The Inverarary Maritime Heritage Museum is based on the iron sailing ship Arctic Penguin, moored at the pier, along with the Clyde puffers VIC 72, Eilean Eisdeal, renamed Vital Spark, and VIC27 Auld Reekie, renamed Maggie.[6] The Bell Tower dominates the town, and contains the second-heaviest ring of ten bells in the world.[7] The bell tower is open to the public, and the bells are rung regularly.

Since Scottish Government regulation passed in 2004 mandating bus drivers to take a break every two hours, the town has become a major coach stop, as it is almost exactly two hours away from Glasgow. All services connecting Campbeltown, Oban and Fort William to or from Glasgow stop at Inveraray, for around 15 minutes.

References

  1. ↑ Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba ~ Gaelic Place-names of Scotland
  2. ↑ Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots
  3. ↑ Fox-Davies, Arthur (1909). A Complete Guide to Heraldry. New York: Dodge. p. 88. 
  4. ↑ Matthew Dennison (July 14, 2011). "Inveraray Castle: home to the Duke of Argyll". The Daily Telegraph. 
  5. ↑ Ward, Robert (2007) The Man Who Buried Nelson: The Surprising Life of Robert Mylne. London: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7524-3922-8. pp.101, 167
  6. ↑ "Inveraray Maritime Experience". Retrieved 2008-07-19. 
  7. ↑ "Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers". Retrieved 2009-07-28. 

External links

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