Gometra
Scottish Gaelic name | Gòmastra |
---|---|
Pronunciation | [ˈkoːməs̪t̪ɾə] |
Old Norse name | Goðrmaðrey |
Meaning of name | Possibly Good-man's island |
Location | |
OS grid reference | NM361414 |
Coordinates | 56°29′N 6°17′W / 56.49°N 6.29°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Mull |
Area | 425 ha (1+5⁄8 sq mi)[1] |
Area rank | 75 [3] |
Highest elevation | 155 m (509 ft)[2] |
Administration | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | Scotland |
Council area | Argyll and Bute |
Demographics | |
Population | 2[4] |
Population rank | 86= [3] |
Population density | 0.5/km2 (1.3/sq mi)[1][4] |
Gometra (
Gometra | |
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Highest point | |
Marilyn | |
Geography | |
Location | Off the coast of Mull, Scotland |
Topo map | OS Landrangers 47, 48 |
Etymology
According to Gillies (1906), Gometra is from the
Geology
Like much of nearby Mull and
Geography
The island is agricultural, formerly growing grain for the Iona Abbey.[9] Once home to a population of over a hundred, it is now down to a tight-knit community of a handful of people, up to a thousand blackface sheep, highland cattle, pigs, horses, a flock of feral goats, and red deer. Historical sites on the island include settlements, a burial ground, and the remains of two duns.[9] It has no ferry. One of the few services it does have is a weekly postal service; Gometra issues its own local carriage stamps.
The island is part of the
History
The island became part of the
In 1821 Ulva was sold by the trustees of the MacDonalds of Staffa to Lt-General Charles MacQuarrie, brother of General Lachlan Macquarie, the so-called father of Australia. After his death it was bought in 1835 by Francis William Clark of Ulva, a lawyer from Stirling, of Morayshire origin[12] who began a brutal clearance of a substantial proportion of the inhabitants of Ulva within a few years.[13] However the MacDonalds of Staffa retained Gometra[14][15] until 1858 when it was sold to Donald MacLean, who built Gometra House.
Current ownership
In 1932, the island was sold to the English mountaineer Hugh Ruttledge (1884–1961), who had taken early retirement from the Indian Civil Service and planned a life as a farmer. While living on the island, Ruttledge led two British expeditions to Mount Everest, in 1933 and 1936, and took up sailing. In 1950, he moved to Dartmoor.[9][16]
Gometra House had fallen into disrepair and parts were near collapse by the 1980s, but was reoccupied and restored as a family home in the 1990s.
In 2012, concerns were expressed by islanders about the siting of a large
Transport
Weather and tides permitting, it takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to travel by track from the houses on the west of Gometra to the ferry landing stage on Ulva for the crossing to Mull, using a 4×4 vehicle. The same trip can be done in 50 minutes on a
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 79
- ^ Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
- ^ 2011 census.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Gillies (1906) p. 129.
- ^ Mac an Tàilleir (2003) pp. 58-59
- ^ "Onshore Geoindex". British Geological Survey. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "Staffa, Scotland sheet 43N, Solid and Drift Edition". BGS large map images. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 105
- ^ "National Scenic Areas" Archived 11 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. SNH. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ Monipennie p. 186
- ^ Clan MacQuarrie, A history, R.W. Munro & Alan MacQuarrie, 1986 Ch.6 p.86
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 102-03
- ^ Jo, Mull – the Island and its People, Birlinn 2000 p206
- ^ Munro RW & Alan MacQuarrie, Clan MacQuarrie, Bruce MacQuarrie, 1996 Ch. 6
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, online at Ruttledge, Hugh (1884–1961)(subscription required) accessed 1 March 2008
- ^ a b "Meet the millionaire trading London bustle for life on remote Scottish isle". The Scotsman. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Mackintosh, Thomas (5 February 2001). "Euston tunnel protests: Father fears for children's lives". BBC News. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Bullock, Anne-Marie (10 September 2012). "How can Scotland cope with China's salmon demands?". BBC News. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 102
- ^ "Stacey Dooley meets........virtually no-one as she films show on remote isle". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ a b Ross, David (27 August 2012) "Residents of tiny island to fight plan for salmon farm". Glasgow. The Herald.
References
- Gillies, Hugh Cameron (1906) The Place Names of Argyll. London. David Nutt.
- Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
- Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- Monipennie, John (1818) An Abridgement, or Summarie of the Chronicles of Scotland with a Briefe description of Scotland, to which is added The description of the Western Isles of Scotland &c. Edinburgh. David Webster. First published c. 1612.