Benbecula
Scottish Gaelic name | Beinn nam Fadhla |
---|---|
Pronunciation | [peɲəˈvɤːlˠ̪ə] ⓘ |
Meaning of name | hill of the fords |
Location | |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | |
Demographics | |
Population | 1,283[3] |
Population rank | 11 [2] |
Population density | 15.9/km2 (41/sq mi)[3][4] |
Largest settlement | Balivanich[1] |
References | [4][1][5] |
Benbecula (
In 1746,
In 2006, local residents took control of parts of the island in a community buy-out. The previous landowners, a sporting syndicate, sold their 372-square-kilometre (92,000-acre) estate, which included Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay for £4.5 million to a community-owned organisation known as Stòras Uibhist, which now manages the land in perpetuity.
Language
Etymology
The first written record of the name is as "Beanbeacla" in 1449.
The second element is a loan from
fadhla, with the ethnonymic suffix -ach has led to the formation of Badhlach "a person from Benbecula".Other interpretations that have been suggested over the years are Beinn Bheag a' bhFaodhla, supposedly meaning the "little mountain of the ford" and Beinn a' Bhuachaille, meaning "the herdsman's mountain".[4]
The island is also known in Gaelic poetry as An t-Eilean Dorcha "the dark island". The well-known tune "The Dark Island" was written by accordionist Iain MacLachlan from Benbecula.
Current language use
Benbecula has historically been a very strong Gaelic-speaking area. In both the 1901 and the 1921 censuses, all parishes were reported to be over 75% Gaelic-speaking. By 1971, Benbecula and South Uist were classed as 50–74% Gaelic-speaking.[10]
It remains a relatively strong Gaelic-speaking area in spite of a continued decline. In the 2001 census, Benbecula overall had 56% Gaelic speakers. The weakest Gaelic-speaking area is Balivanich, with only 37%. All other areas on Benbecula range between 74% (Lionacleit) and 62% (Gramsdale and Uachdar).[10]
Geology
In common with the rest of the
Geography
The island is about 12 kilometres (7 miles) from west to east and a similar distance from north to south. It lies between the islands of
There is a dense cluster of lochs across almost the entire island, and almost the whole island is below 20 metres (70 feet) in elevation.
Climate
Benbecula has an extremely moderated temperate
Climate data for South Uist Range, 1981-2010, elevation: 13 ft (4 m), 1981–2010 normals | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) |
7.2 (45.0) |
8.2 (46.8) |
10.2 (50.4) |
12.9 (55.2) |
14.6 (58.3) |
16.1 (61.0) |
16.1 (61.0) |
14.9 (58.8) |
12.2 (54.0) |
9.8 (49.6) |
8.1 (46.6) |
11.5 (52.7) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.4 (41.7) |
5.1 (41.2) |
6.0 (42.8) |
7.7 (45.9) |
10.1 (50.2) |
12.2 (54.0) |
13.8 (56.8) |
13.8 (56.8) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.9 (49.8) |
7.6 (45.7) |
5.9 (42.6) |
9.2 (48.6) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.1 (37.6) |
3.0 (37.4) |
3.8 (38.8) |
5.1 (41.2) |
7.4 (45.3) |
9.7 (49.5) |
11.4 (52.5) |
11.5 (52.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
7.8 (46.0) |
5.3 (41.5) |
3.6 (38.5) |
6.9 (44.4) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 140.1 (5.52) |
94.9 (3.74) |
104.3 (4.11) |
67.3 (2.65) |
58.3 (2.30) |
61.7 (2.43) |
77.7 (3.06) |
100.5 (3.96) |
105.4 (4.15) |
136.2 (5.36) |
128.9 (5.07) |
118.4 (4.66) |
1,193.7 (47.01) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 20.6 | 16.4 | 19.8 | 13.2 | 11.6 | 13.4 | 14.0 | 16.9 | 15.4 | 20.8 | 21.3 | 19.4 | 202.8 |
Source: Met Office[15] |
Settlements
Benbecula's main settlement is
Other settlements include Craigstrome, a tiny hamlet in the south-east of Benbecula. In contrast to the cultivated west coast of the island, the eastern half is a mixture of freshwater lochs, moorland, bog and deeply indenting sea lochs. Craigstrome is near Ruabhal, Benbecula's highest hill at 124 metres (407 ft).
The township of Lionacleit houses the island's main secondary school, which also doubles as a community centre, with a swimming pool, cafeteria, sports facilities, a small museum and a library.[16] Next door to this is the Lionacleit campus of Lews Castle College. Lionacleit lies on the west coast road, about 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) from its junction with the north–south spinal road near Creagorry.
Creagorry is in the south of the island, near the causeway to South Uist. The
The RAF radar station RRH Benbecula monitors the northern Atlantic, but is located on the west coast of North Uist.
Nearby islands
In addition to South and North Uist, there are numerous islands off the north, east and south coasts. To the north of Balivanich is
History
Early history
A number of standing stones from the
The island is rich in built remains from the Iron Age, though they are generally in poor condition. A number of small island forts can be found throughout Benbecula, particularly on Loch Olabhat, but the most substantial is Dun Buidhe, near Balivanich, which has a series of causeways linking it to the loch shore, via Eilean Dubh (Black Island); a wheelhouse was also present nearby[note 3] (a better preserved wheelhouse survives on the adjacent island of Grimsay), at which Iron Age pottery was found.
At the shore near Dun Buidhne was found a Class 1
Kingdom
In the 9th century
However, in the mid 12th century,
In the 13th century, despite Edgar's quitclaim, Scottish forces attempted to conquer parts of Suðreyjar, culminating in the indecisive Battle of Largs. In 1266, the matter was settled by the Treaty of Perth, which transferred the whole of Suðreyjar to Scotland, in exchange for a very large sum of money.[note 5] The treaty expressly preserved the status of the rulers of Suðreyjar; the MacRory lands, excepting Bute, Arran, and Jura, became the Lordship of Garmoran, a quasi-independent crown dependency, rather than an intrinsic part of Scotland.
Lordship
At the turn of the century,
Just three years later[note 7] the sole surviving MacRury heir was Amy of Garmoran. According to MacGibbon and Ross, Borve Castle (which they date to between 1344 and 1363) was built by Amy;[27] it became the main power seat of power in Benbecula and surrounding islands of North and South Uist. Amy is also reported to have built the parish church of St. Columba on Benbecula; the eastern side of Teampul Chalumchille, an ancient chapel dedicated to St Columba, dates to her lifetime.[note 8][28]
The southern parts of the Kingdom of the Isles had become the
However, on Ranald's death, his sons were still children, and Godfrey took the opportunity to seize the Lordship of Garmoran. This led to a great deal of violent conflict involving Godfrey's family (the
position as Lord of Garmoran, and in view of Ranald's heirs being no less responsible for the violence, King James declared the Lordship forfeit.Lairdship
Following the forfeiture, most of Garmoran (including Benbecula) remained with the Scottish crown until 1469, when James III granted Lairdship of it to John of Ross, the Lord of the Isles. In turn, John passed it to his own half-brother, Hugh of Sleat; the grant to Hugh was confirmed by the king – James IV – in a 1493 charter.
Hugh died a few years later, in 1498, and for reasons that are not remotely clear, his son John of Sleat immediately resigned, transferring all authority to the king. That same year, king James IV awarded Benbecula to Angus Reochson, son of Ranald's penultimate son, Angus Riabhach.[30][31][note 10] Angus' son, Angus MacAngus Rewing,[note 11] became a friar at Iona, and was succeeded by his son John.[note 12] John died in 1538, without any lawful children; under the charter, this demise of Angus Riabhach's line[note 13] meant that ownership of Benbecula returned to the King.[30]
In 1538, therefore, the king granted lairdship of Benbecula[32] to Allan and Lachlan MacDonald (jointly),[33] the grandsons of Ranald Bane. Ordinarily, Allan would have been the head of Clan Ranald, but the extreme cruelty of his father,[note 14] Dougall, led to Ranald Bane's descendants being officially barred from the succession; instead leadership of the Clan now rested with Ranald Bane's nephew, John Moidartach.[note 15]
In 1549,
and in the north syde of this there is ane parochin callit Buchagla,[note 16] perteining to the said Clandonald. At the north end thereof the sea cuts the countrey againe, and that cutting of the sea is called Careynesse, and benorth this countrey is called Kenehnache of Ywst, that is in Englishe, the north head of Ywst.[35]
Tenancy
In 1596, concerned by the active involvement of Highland leaders in Irish rebellions against
Donald Gorm Mor subinfeudated Benbecula to Clan Ranald for £46 per annum. In 1622, however, his successor, Donald Gorm Og,[note 17] is found requesting that the Privy Council physically punish the Clan Ranald leadership for not removing their families and tenants from Benbecula;[37] presumably they had not been paying the rent.[38]
In 1633, Donald Gorm Og decided to sell the lairdship of Benbecula to
Refuge
In 1746,
that she had only acted out of charity, and would have done the same for either side.Eviction
In the early 19th century, the leader of Clan Ranald, Ranald George MacDonald, got into severe financial difficulties. The
Already accustomed to treating people as slaves, and seeing the financial advantages to livestock farming, Gordon was ruthless, evicting the population with short notice, sometimes even resorting to dragging them to the shore in handcuffs, wearing little more than their undergarments. He replaced the residents with sheep. Despite his behaviour causing a national outcry, it was continued by the widow of his son, well into the early 20th century.[note 23]
Modern island life
In 2001 the census recorded a population of 1,219[41] the 2011 total of 1,303 being an increase of 7% against an average of 3% for all Scottish islands.[3]
A contributor to the economy is the air defence station. The site near Balvanich also includes Benbecula Airport, with regular flights to Glasgow, Inverness, and Stornoway.
Community buy-out
After a protracted campaign, local residents took control of parts of the island on 30 November 2006 in a community buy-out. The previous landowners, a sporting syndicate, sold the assets of the 372-square-kilometre (92,000-acre) estate including Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay for £4.5 million to a community-owned organisation known as Stòras Uibhist which was set up to purchase the land and to manage it in perpetuity.[42][43][44]
Mythology
A local myth states that a mermaid, discovered in 1830, is reportedly buried near the sea on Benbecula.[45][46]
See also
Notes
- ^ The chambered cairns are located beyond the Loch.
- ^ The modern causeway lands adjacent to the ford
- ^ The airport runway now lies on top of it
- Museum of Scotland, (as seen here)
- ^ 4000 marks
- ^ in surviving records, at least
- ^ 1346
- ^ Other parts are more recent
- ^ Surviving records do not describe this in detail
- ^ Gaelic for freckled. It was pronounced somewhat like the English Reohh, hence Reochson for his son
- ^ meaning son of Angus Reoh-on (ie. of Angus Reochson)
- ^ As a friar, Angus was legally unable to own land; he did not die until 1540, two years after his son[30]
- ^ gaelic:Silocht Aonghais Ruabhaig
- ^ which records do not report in detail
- ^ Moidartach refers to Moidart
- ^ "Buchagla" is a reference to Benbecula and Beandmoyll, Beanweall, and Benvalgha are other variants found in charters.[34]
- ^ Og means "the younger"
- ^ for 26,921 marks, 10 shillings, and 8 pence
- ^ £30,000
- ^ hence, The Skye Boat Song
- ^ father of George III
- ^ Although an act of attainder was passed against his grandfather, it had no consequences for him or his estates, due to accidentally referring to him as Donald rather than as Ranald, his actual name
- ^ Following her second marriage, she became better known as Lady Emily Gordon Cathcart
References
- ^ a b c Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure.
- ^ 2011 census.
- ^ a b c National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ a b c Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 236
- ^ "Welcome to Benbecula". Explore Scotland. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
- ^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (20 August 2008). "Placenames". Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2010.
- ^ "Benbecula – Beinn na Faoghla". Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba – Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland – Database. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Benbecula". Am Faclair Beag – Scottish Gaelic Dictionary. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ "Benbecula". Encyclopedia.com quoting Mills, A.D. (2003) A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Retrieved 16 April 2011.[dead link]
- ^ a b c Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2004) 1901-2001 Gaelic in the Census Archived 7 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine (PowerPoint ) Linguae Celticae. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
- ^ Oftedal, M. The Gaelic of Leurbost Norsk Tidskrift for Sprogvidenskap 1956
- ^ "Uist and Barra (South)". BGS large map images. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Onshore Geoindex". British Geological Survey. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "MWR_1948 | Met Office UA".
- ^ "South Uist 1981–2010 averages". Met Office. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ "Sgoil Lionacleit" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ At grid reference NF866476
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Benbecula, Strome Shunnamal (10189)". Canmore.
- ^ Kingship and Unity, Scotland 1000–1306, G. W. S. Barrow, Edinburgh University Press, 1981
- ^ Galloglas: Hebridean and West Highland Mercenary Warrior Kindreds in Medieval Ireland, John Marsden, 2003
- ^ Lismore: The Great Garden, Robert Hay, 2009, Birlinn Ltd
- ^ Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 90 (1956–1957), A. A. M. Duncan, A. L. Brown, pages 204-205
- ^ The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard, R. A. McDonald, 1997, Tuckwell Press
- ^ Dickinson W.C., The Sheriff Court Book of Fife, Scottish History Society, Third Series, Vol. XII (Edinburgh 1928), pp. 357-360
- ^ The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, K. M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007–2017), 15 July 1476
- ^ Regesta Regum Scottorum VI ed. Bruce Webster (Edinburgh 1982) no. 73.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Benbecula, Borve Castle (9962)". Canmore. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ Clan Donald, Donald J MacDonald, MacDonald Publishers (of Loanhead, Midlothian), 1978, p.448
- ^ Gregory, Donald (1836), History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, from A.D. 1493 to A.D. 1625, with a brief introductory sketch, from A.D. 80 to A.D. 1493, Edinburgh, W. Tait, retrieved 11 May 2012, p. 65
- ^ a b c Angus & Archibald Macdonald. The Clan Donald volume 3: Inverness, The Northern Counties Publishing Company Ltd, 1900.
- ^ Clan Donald, Donald J MacDonald, MacDonald Publishers (of Loanhead, Midlothian), 1978, p.426
- ^ Red Book of Clanranald, edited by A. MacBain & J. Kennedy, 1894, Northern Counties Publishing, page 169
- ^ Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, edited by M. Livingstone, 1908, HM General Register House, volume II, entry 378
- ^ MacLuachlan, Rev. Thomas. "On the Kymric Element in the Celtic Topography of Scotland". (Jan 1866) Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. VI p. 318
- ^ Monro (1549) "Ywst" No. 154
- ^ Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, edited by Maitland Thomson, 1912, HM General Register House, volume VI, entry 161
- ^ Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, edited by I Hill-Burton, 1877, HM General Register House, volume XIII, 741-742
- ^ Angus & Archibald Macdonald. The Clan Donald volume 2, The Northern Counties Publishing Company Ltd, 1900, p. 320
- ^ Angus & Archibald Macdonald. The Clan Donald volume 2, The Northern Counties Publishing Company Ltd, 1900, p. 324
- ^ Angus & Archibald Macdonald. The Clan Donald volume 2, The Northern Counties Publishing Company Ltd, 1900, p. 339
- ^ General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ "Land buyout reality for islanders". BBC News. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ "Stòras Uibhist: Going Forward Together" Archived 2006-06-29 at the Wayback Machine storasuibhist.com. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ The quiet revolution. (19 January 2007) Broadford. West Highland Free Press.
- ^ "1830: Mermaid near Benbecula, Outer Hebrides, Scotland - Think AboutIt". Think AboutIt. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "The myth of the Hebridean mermaid - The Scotsman". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
Bibliography
- ISBN 1-904607-57-8
- Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
- Monro, Sir Donald (1549) Description of the Western Isles of Scotland. William Auld. Edinburgh - 1774 edition.
External links
- Sgoil Lionacleit
- Explore Benbecula
- Am Paipear Community Newspaper
- Island News and Advertiser Popular Free Newspaper
- Benbecula Community News, Tourism and Local Benbecula Events
- Map sources for Benbecula
- Benbecula travel guide from Wikivoyage