Place:Bute, Bute, Scotland

Watchers
NameBute
TypeIsland
Coordinates55.836°N 5.056°W
Located inBute, Scotland
See alsoStrathclyde, Scotlandregion covering the County of Bute 1975-1996
Argyll and Bute, Scotlandunitary council covering Island of Bute since 1996
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The Isle of Bute (; or ), known as Bute, is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.

Formerly a constituent island of the larger County of Bute, it is now part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Bute's resident population was 6,498 in 2011, a decline of just over 10% from the figure of 7,228 recorded in 2001 against a background of Scottish island populations as a whole growing by 4% to 103,702 for the same period.

Contents

Parishes

The Isle of Bute has three parishes: Rothesay covering the town and some environs, Kingarth situated to the south of the island, and North Bute which covers the area north from the town limits of Rothesay and west to the hamlets facing the Kintyre Peninsula, as well as the subsidiary island of Inchmarnock. The sketchmap provided by GENUKI is a good illustration.

Geography

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Bute lies in the Firth of Clyde. The only town on the island, Rothesay, is linked by ferry to the mainland. To its north is the coastal village of Port Bannatyne; hamlets on the island include Ascog, Kilchattan Bay, and Kingarth.

The interior of the island is hilly, though not mountainous, with conifer plantations and some uncultivated land, particularly in the north. The highest point is Windy Hill at . The centre of the island contains most of the cultivated land, while the island's most rugged terrain is found in the far south around Glen Callum. Loch Fad is Bute's largest body of freshwater and runs along the fault line.

The western side of Bute is known for its beaches, many of which enjoy fine views over the Sound of Bute towards Arran and Bute's smaller satellite island Inchmarnock. Hamlets on the western side of the island include Straad, around St. Ninian's Bay, and Kildavanan on Ettrick Bay.

In the north, Bute is separated from the Cowal peninsula by the Kyles of Bute. The northern part of the island is more sparsely populated, and the ferry terminal at Rhubodach connects the island to the mainland at Colintraive by the smaller of the island's two ferries. The crossing is one of the shortest, less than , and takes only a few minutes but is busy because many tourists prefer the scenic route to the island.

North Bute forms part of the Kyles of Bute National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Beginnings

The human occupation of Bute dates from prehistoric times. The Queen of the Inch necklace is an article of jewellery made of jet found in a cist that dates from circa 2000 BC.

Saint Maccai (died 460) was said to have founded a monastery on the island. Bute was absorbed into the Cenél Comgaill of Dál Riata and colonised by Gaelic peoples. The island subsequently fell under Norse control and formed part of the Kingdom of the Isles, ruled by the Crovan dynasty. The Irish Text Martyrology of Tallaght makes a reference to Blane, the Bishop of Kingarth on Bute, "in Gall-Ghàidheil". However, in the 12th century, the island, along with Arran, was granted by David I to Somerled, Lord of Argyll, Kintyre and Lorne. At about the turn of the 13th century, Bute appears to have come into possession of the family of the Steward of Scotland, during a time of internal strife amongst Somerled's descendants.

During the 13th century, Bute was the target of two Norwegian attempts to reassert authority in the Isles. For instance, Rothesay Castle fell to a Norwegian-backed King of the Isles in 1230, and fell again to the Norwegians in 1263. In 1266, the Norwegian king, Magnus VI, ceded the Kingdom of the Isles to the Scottish king, Alexander III, in return for a very large sum of money, by the Treaty of Perth. Alexander Stewart had been the chief military commander of Scottish forces, and was now rewarded by Alexander (the king) by being confirmed in possession of Bute and Arran.

Under Scottish rule

In 1549, Dean Monro wrote of "Buitt" that it was:

very fertyle ground, namelie for aitts, with twa strenthes; the ane is the round castle of Buitt, callit Rosay of the auld, and Borrowstone about it callit Buitt. Before the town and castle is ane bay of sea, quhilk is a gude heavin for ships to ly upon ankers. That uther castle is callit the castle of Kames, quhilk Kames in Erishe is alsmeikle as to say in English the bay Castle. In this ile ther is twa paroche kirks, that ane southe callit the kirk of Bride, the uther northe in the Borrowstone of Buitt, with twa chappells, ane of them above the towne of Buitt, the uther under the forsaid castle of Kames.

Under Scottish Rule, Bute and Arran were governed as a unit, the shrievalty aligning with the comital jurisdiction. The latter merged into the crown, as a result of the Alexander Stewart's great-grandson, Robert, inheriting the throne via his mother. A corresponding title, Duke of Rothesay was created by Robert's son for the heir apparent, without landlordship of the land. Robert had already granted the sheriffdom to his bastard son, heritably; consequently, in the early 18th century, the latter's senior descendant acquired the (non-comital) title Earl of Bute.

During the seventeenth century there were cases of witchcraft: in 1630 an unknown number of women confessed to the crime and were confined in the dungeon at Rothesay Castle, left without food or water and died from starvation. Other instances are recorded but the most fervent activity occurred during the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661–62 when at least four Bute witches were executed; one woman who was convicted at that time escaped but the sentence was enacted when she returned to the island in 1673.


When the comital powers were abolished by the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 and counties formally created, on shrieval boundaries, by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, Bute and Arran became the County of Bute. Later reforms merged Bute, without Arran, into the wider region of Argyll and Bute.

World War II

Bute played a major role during World War II, and its naval involvements were especially significant. HMS Cyclops was the depot ship for the 7th Submarine Flotilla and was home-based in Rothesay Bay. A few miles further north at Port Bannatyne the luxury 88-bedroomed Kyles Hydro Hotel, overlooking the Port, was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as the HQ for midget submarine (X-craft) operations. In particular, it was from here (hotel renamed HMS Varbel) that the top secret and audacious attack on the Tirpitz was masterminded.

Much of the training of X-craft submariners was undertaken in the waters around Bute, and especially in the secluded waters of Loch Striven to the north of Port Bannatyne. Bute at War. Bute accommodated many officers and NCOs of the Polish Armed Forces in the West. Officially a military camp, it was unofficially thought of as a prison for Władysław Sikorski's political enemies.

21st Century

On 2 July 2018, the island was shocked by the murder and rape of Alesha MacPhail. The 6-year old was taken from her bed by 16-year old Aaron Campbell, and was then sexually abused at the Kyle's Hydro. The 16-year old was caught, charged and convicted, and given a life sentence.

Several major wildfires started on 18–19 April 2019 in the north of the island, involving a substantial area of moorland and conifer plantation.

Research Tips

  • Transcriptions of all the 19th century censuses are available on FreeCen.
  • ScotlandsPeople holds indexes and images for all civil births, marriages and deaths, censuses 1841-1911, and for all Old Parish Registers throughout Scotland. It is a pay-per-view site. ScotlandsPeople also holds records of Wills and Testaments and Coats of Arms. Access to this latter part of their website is free.
  • Vision of Britain provides both the topographical Ordnance Survey of Scotland First Series (1856-1887) in black and white, and the Ordnance Survey of Scotland Popular Edition (1928-1945) in colour at a scale of 1:63360, as well as other series of maps covering the whole of the United Kingdom. These maps are wonderful for finding places that have diminished in size over the past 150 years.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Isle of Bute. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.