County of Nairn
County of Nairn | |
---|---|
Country | Scotland |
County town | Nairn |
Area | |
• Total | 200 sq mi (518 km2) |
Ranked 31st of 34 | |
Chapman code | NAI |
The County of Nairn (also called Nairnshire) (
The county borders
Geography
Nairnshire is about 22 miles in length and 15 miles in breadth (35×24 km); comprising an area of 200 square miles (520 km2), or 128,000 acres.[1] The county consists of a flattish coastal region where the vast majority of the population live, with a sparsely populated hilly interior, rising to the foothills of the Grampian Mountains in the south. These moorlands reach 634 m (2,080 ft) at Carn nam Bain-tighearna, on the county march (boundary) just east of Slochd summit on the A9. There is no old-established name for these heights, but they have been termed the "Nairnshire Hills".[2] The coast forms an arc shape, with the Whiteness Head peninsula in the west and The Bar peninsula in the east. The main rivers are the River Nairn and the Findhorn, which both follow deeply incised courses across the general slope northwards.[3] The chief bodies of water are Loch Loy, Cran Loch, Clunas Reservoir, Loch of Boath and Loch Kirkcaldy.
Nairn can be seen from several distant points such as Ben Rinnes, a peak that is a common point of distant view to such places as Inverness-shire and Longman Hill in Banffshire. To the north, Nairn is bounded by the Moray Firth.[4]
Functions
Nairn (
Nairn is a
Since 1996 it has had no formal meaning in terms of local government.
Local Government
19th century
Until 1891 Nairnshire had a number of
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 established a uniform system of county councils in Scotland and realigned the boundaries of many of Scotland's counties. Subsequently, Nairn County Council was created in 1890. The new county council was based at Nairn Town and County Buildings.[8] However, Nairn County Council amalgamated with Moray County Council for almost all aspects of administration in 1930.[9]
20th century
In 1927 Nairnshire, along with many of Scotland's other counties, matriculated a coat of arms by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the governor of Scotland's heraldry. The arms was as follows: Or, a chevron gules, between two water-bougets in chief and a stag's head cabossed in base sable, three mullets argent. The motto was UNITE AND BE MINDFUL.[10]
In 1975, under the
Local government council functions were divided between the regional council and the district council. For example, education was a regional responsibility, and housing was a district responsibility.
In 1996, under the
The new unitary
21st century
In 2007, following further changes to ward boundaries, the Local Government council created a new management structure, with three new
The
Within the Highland area there is the Badenoch and Strathspey ward and the Inverness South ward to the south, and the Culloden and Ardersier ward to the west.
The Nairn ward is one of nine within the Highland Council's Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey corporate area, and the Nairn management area is one of six ward-level management areas within the corporate area.
There is significant difference between the boundaries of the new Nairn management area and those of the area abolished in 2007. The new area is smaller, part of the old area being now within the Culloden and Ardersier ward-level area and within Inverness city ward-level area 4.
Civil parishes
Civil parishes are still used for some statistical purposes, and separate census figures are published for them. As their areas have been largely unchanged since the 19th century this allows for comparison of population figures over an extended period of time.
The county consisted of the
Parliamentary constituencies
The parliamentary constituency for the Westminster Parliament is Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey and the MP is Drew Hendry of the Scottish National Party.
The parliamentary constituency for the Scottish Parliament is Inverness and Nairn, represented by Fergus Ewing MSP.
Transport
The Aberdeen–Inverness railway line runs through the north of the county west–east.
Settlements
- Ardclach
- Auldearn
- Cawdor
- Clephanton
- Culcharry
- Delnies
- Ferness
- Firhall
- Geddes
- Glenferness
- Littlemill
- Nairn
- Piperhill
- Regoul
Notes and references
- ^ a b Nairnshire, in A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland by Samuel Lewis (1846), pp. 298-309, accessed 2 March 2008
- ^ Jarman D (2017): Very long-term landscape evolution - a geomorphological contextual approach. In Merritt JW, Auton CA and Phillips E (eds) The Quaternary around Nairn and the Inverness Firth - Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association, London, 18-27
- ^ Jarman D (2017): Very long-term landscape evolution - a geomorphological contextual approach. In Merritt JW, Auton CA and Phillips E (eds) The Quaternary around Nairn and the Inverness Firth - Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association, London, 18-27.
- ^ New Boundary Maps/Wards, Highland Council website Archived 2008-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Land Register Counties" Archived 2010-02-02 at the Wayback Machine. Registers of Scotland. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ^ "The Lord-Lieutenants (Scotland) Order 1996". The National Archives. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Relationships / unit history of Nairnshire, Vision of Britain, accessed April 2, 2008". Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Former Court House including prison and boundary walls to rear, High Street, Nairn (LB38427)". Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "County of Nairn". Scan. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Urquhart, R.M. Scottish Burgh and County Heraldry (1973 ed.). Heraldry Today. p. 72. consulted 20 December 2013.
- ^ "Calder Parish: Clunas 1782" Archived 17 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Am Baile. Retrieved 27 July 2013.