Parish of Eddrachillis

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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1791-99: Edderachillis
1834-45: Edderachillis

Eddrachillis (Gael. eadar-de-chaolas, 'between two firths'), a coast parish in the W of Sutherland, containing the village of Scourie, at the head of Scourie Bay, 21 miles S by W of Cape Wrath, 29 NNE of Loch Inver (viâ Kylesku Ferry), and 43½ NW of Lairg, under which it has a post office, with money order and savings' bank departments. Till 1724 forming one parish with Durness and Tongue as part of `Lord Reay's country,' it now is bounded NE and E by Durness, SE by Lairg and Creich, S and SW by Assynt, and W by the Atlantic Ocean. Its utmost length, from N by W to S by E, is 28 1/8 miles; its utmost breadth from E to W, exclusive of islands, is 15 ¼ miles; and its area is 226 square miles, or 144,617 acres, of which 1059½ are foreshore and 7985¾ water. Of thirty-five islands and islets belonging to the parish, and lying at distances of from a few yards to 2½ miles from the mainland, only Handa challenges special attention. Kylesku projects far inland from the sea, along the boundary with Assynt, and forks at its head into Lochs Glendhu and Glencoul. Laxford and Inchard are only less considerable sea-lochs; and, save to the N, the entire coast is niched and vandyked by a multitude of lesser inlets. The district between Lochs Laxford and Inchard, and eastward thence to the boundary with Durness, is called in Gaelic Ceathramh-garbh, or the `rough territory; ' whilst that to the N of Loch Inchard bears the name of Ashir, or `cultivable country.' The coast, which rises steeply in the N to a height of 600 feet above sea-level, as seen from the sea at a distance of some miles, bears a striking resemblance to any parts of the coasts of Norway; both seaboard and interior are reputed to be wilder and more rugged than any other region of similar extent in Scotland; and the entire surface, with rare exception, is a grand assemblage of crags, hills, glens, ravines, defiles, lochs, tarns, torrents, and towering mountains. The glens and ravines, in many instances, are so narrow, tortuous, rugged, and precipitously flanked as to be dangerous to strangers unattended by a guide. Of lakes there is a veritable net-work, among the larger being Sandwood Loch (9 x 3 furl.), Loch na Claise Carnaich (7¾ x 4 furl.; 490 feet above sea-level), Loch Slack (2½ miles x 1 mile; 118 feet), Loch More (4 miles x 3 furl.; 127 feet), and Loch an Leathaid Bhuain (1 5/8 mile x 3 3/5 furl.; 690 feet). These generally afford good sport to anglers, as likewise do the river Laxford and numerous lesser streams. The mountains are variously isolated, clustered, or in ranges, and, with a great diversity of form and altitude, exhibit a high degree of grandeur and picturesqueness, including, f.rom N to S, *Creag Riabhach (1592 feet), Ben Dearg Mhor (1527), An Socach (1165), *Foinaven (2952), Sail Mhor (2580), Ben Auskaird (1265), Ben Stack (2364), Meallan Liath (2625), Ben Strome (1374), *Ben Hee (2864), Ben Leoid (2597), and *Ben Uidhe (2384), where asterisks mark those summits that culminate on the borders of the parish. The rocks comprise hornblende slate, red sandstone, and limestone, but mainly are either gneissic or crystaline. Very little land is in tillage, and even that little is cultivated solely by manual labour, or with very little aid from the plough. The arable soil on the coast and in the valleys, all the way between Kylesku and Loch Inchard, is principally a mixture of gravel and moss; but in Ashir district is dark loam intermixed with sand. A vast proportion of the parish is included in the Duke of Sutherland's deer forest, and a very large area is devoted to sheep walks. Fishing is actively prosecuted, in many instances by the crofters. From remote ancestors of the Duke of Sutherland the entire territory was conveyed in the early part of the 13th century to the Morays of Culbin, and, passing by marriage about the year 1440 to the Kinnairds of Kinnaird, afterwards went to the Macleods. About 1550 it was seized by a branch of the Mackays, who took the designation of Mackays of Scourie; and in 1829 it was repurchased by the Sutherland family, and has since undergone great improvement in its dwellings, roads, and general economy. Some ancient Caledonian standing stones are at Badnabay; and remains of Scandinavian forts are at Kylestrome and Scourie.-The parish is in the presbytery of Tongue and synod of Sutherland and Caithness, and is ecclesiastically divided into Eddrachillis proper and Kinlochbervie, the former a living worth £218. The church, at the head of Badcall Bay, 2½ miles SSE of Scourie, contains 275 sittings. There are also Free churches of Eddrachillis and Kinlochbervie; and three public schools-Badcall, Oldshore, and Scourie-with respective accommodation for 57, 59, and 55 children, had (1880) an average attendance of 44, 36, and 38, and grants of £34, £22, 15s., and £50, 8s. Valuation (1860) £3760, (1882) £5167, 2s. 11d.-all but £119 held by the Duke of Sutherland. Pop. (1801) 1253, (1831) 1965, (1861) 1641, (1871) 1530, (1881) 1523, of whom 603 were in Scourie registration district and 920 in that of Kinlochbervie.—Ord. Sur., shs. 107, 108, 113, 1880-82.

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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