Fruin Water

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Fruin Water, a troutful stream of W Dumbartonshire, rising on Maol an Fheidh (1934 feet), at an altitude of 1500, in the NW of Row parish, 2 miles NE of the head of Gare Loch, and thence winding 12½ miles south. eastward and east-north-eastward, through or along the borders of Row and Luss parishes, till it falls into Loch Lomond, nearly opposite the lower end of Inchmurrin island and 2¼ miles N by W of Balloch pier. Its upper glen, named after it Glenfruin, is flanked, on the NE side, by Ben Chaorach (2338 feet), Ben Tharsuinn (2149), and Balenock (2092), a mountain range that figures grandly in the sky-line of the views from the upper waters of the Firth of Clyde, and on the SW side by the Row hills (1183) ; whilst the last 4 miles of its course are through a low and luxuriant plain. Dumfin (200 feet), an eminence here, 3 miles ENE of Helensburgh, is crowned by traces of a 'Fingalian' fort; and on the right or opposite bank of the stream stands the ruined castle of Bannachra, where in July 1592 Sir Humphry Colquhoun, the Laird of Luss, was besieged by an invading party of Macfarlanes and Macgregors. The loophole still is shown through which he was shot dead by an arrow, guided by the treacherous torch of one of his own servants. At Strone, 3 miles ESE of Garelochhead, was fought the bloody clan conflict of Glenfruin in 1603. Early in that year Allaster Macgregor of Glenstra, followed by 400 men, chiefly of his own clan, but including also some of the clans Cameron and Anverich, armed with ' halberschois, pow-aixes, twa-handit swordis, bowis and arrowis, and with hagbutis and pistoletis, ' advanced into the territory of Luss. Alexander Colquhoun, under his royal commission, granted the year before in consequence of the Macgregors' outrage at Glenfinlas, had raised a force which some writers state to have amounted to 300 horse and 500 foot. 'On 7 Feb. the Macgregors,' says Mr Fraser, 'were in Glenfruin in two divisions, one of them at the head of the glen, and the other in ambuscade near the farm of Strone, at a hollow or ravine called the Crate.' The Colquhouns came into Glenfruin from the Luss side, which is opposite Strone-probably by Glen Luss and Glen Mackurn. Alexander Colquhoun pushed on his forces in order to get through the glen before encountering the Macgregors; but, aware of his approach, Allaster Macgregor also pushed forward one division of his forces and entered at the head of the glen in time to prevent his enemy from emerging from the upper end of the glen, whilst his brother, John Macgregor, with the division of his clan, which lay in ambuscade, by a detour took the rear of the Colquhouns, which prevented their retreat down the glen without fighting their way through that section of the Macgregors who had got in their rear. The success of the stratagem by which the Colquhouns were thus placed between two fires seems to be the only way of accounting for the terrible slaughter of the Colquhouns and the much less loss of the Macgregors. The Colquhouns soon became unable to maintain their ground, and, falling into a moss at the farm of Auchingaich, they were thrown into disorder, and made a hasty and disorderly retreat, which proved even more disastrous than the conflict, for they had to force their way through the men led by John Macgregor, whilst they were pressed behind by Allaster, who, reuniting the two divisions of his army, continued the pursuit.' All who fell into the victors' hands were instantly slain; and the chief of the Colquhouns barely escaped with his life after his horse had been killed under him. Of the Colquhouns 140 were slain, and many more wounded, among them a number of women and children. When the pursuit was over, the work of plunder commenced. Hundreds of live stock were carried off, and many of the houses of the tenantry were burned to the ground. The reckoning, however, was speedy, for on 3 April the name of Gregor or Macgregor was for ever abolished by Act of the Privy Council; and by 2 March 1604 thirty-five of the clan Gregor had been executed, among them Allaster himself.—Ord. Sur., shs. 38, 30, 1871-66. See William Fraser's Chiefs of Colquhoun and their Country (Edinb. l869).

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

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