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Kingarth

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"KINGARTH, parish, comprising southern part of Bute Island, Buteshire. It has a post office under Rothesay, and contains the villages of Ascog, Kilchattan Bay, Kerrycroy, and Piperhall. Its length is 6½ miles; its mean breadth about 2 ½ miles; its area 8995 acres. Real property in 1880-81, £9943. Pop. 1260. About 4315 acres are arable, about 940 are under wood, and the rest of the land is pastoral or moorish. A chief feature is the Marquis of Bute's seat of Mount Stuart. The churches are 1 Established and 2 Free. There are 3 schools for 234 scholars, and 1 of them and a class-room for 75 are new."

[From The Gazetteer of Scotland, by Rev. John Wilson, 1882.]

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Cemeteries

Presbyterian / Unitarian
Kingarth, Church of Scotland
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Churches

Presbyterian / Unitarian
Kingarth, Church of Scotland
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Church Records

The parish church records are held in the General Register Office for Scotland in Edinburgh, and copies on microfilm may be consulted in local libraries and in LDS Family History Centres around the world.

Records in the old parish registers (OPRs) for Kingarth parish span the following years:

Births or Baptisms ~ 1727 - 1854
Marriages or Banns ~ 1837 - 1854
Deaths or Burials ~ 1768 - 1786

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Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Kingarth which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Samuel Lewis - 1851

KERRYCROY, a village, in the parish of Kingarth, Isle and county of Bute, 2¼ miles (S. E. by S.) from Rothesay; containing 97 inhabitants. It lies on the east side of the island, and on the western shore of the Firth of Clyde; and consists of several neatly-built houses at the bay of Scoulag: the coast road from Kilchattan bay to Rothesay passes through it. South of the village, in the demesne of Mountstuart, is a neat church, still in tolerable repair, and at one time used as the parish church.

KILCHATTAN-BAY, a village, in the parish of Kingarth, Isle and county of Bute, 6 miles (S. by E.) from Rothesay; containing 167 inhabitants. This village derives its name from the fine bay on the southeast of the island, opening into the Firth of Clyde, and eastward of which, and immediately opposite to it, are the isles of Great and Little Cumbray. In the village, from which is a good coast-road to Rothesay, are about fifty inhabited houses; and there is a wharf for lading and unlading small vessels. A rapid increase has taken place here, within the last few years, in the exportation of agricultural produce and of lime, which is very abundant in the neighbourhood. Near the north-east shore of the bay are two barrows, a short distance from each other.

KINGARTH, a parish, in the county of Bute, 8 miles (S. by E.) from Rothesay; containing, with the villages of Kilchattan-Bay, Kerrycroy, and Piperhall, 931 inhabitants. This parish takes its name from the promontory of Garroch Head, forming its extreme point to the south, and called in Gaelic Ceann Garbh, which signifies "stormy head". Very little is known concerning the ancient history of the place; but there are traditions of its having been of considerable importance. Christianity was early introduced here. The name of Saint Catan, or Cathanus, has been transmitted in the appellation of a bay called Kilchattan, " the cell or burial-place of Catan". St. Blane, also, is said to have been born here, and to have been the founder of the original church of Kingarth, the ruins of which, still remaining,are designated by his name, as is likewise a hill ascending from Garroch Head. The parish was anciently the scene of some military conflicts. On the south-west shore is the fort of Dunagoil, " the fortified hill of the Lowlanders," commanding nearly the best landing- place on the whole coast, and having a complete view of the passage from the western seas by Kilbrandon sound, and of the entrance into the Firth of Clyde from the south. Its origin is not known; but it has frequently been attributed to the Danes. The lands of the district were formerly held by several proprietors called Barons, who are at present represented by only four owners of small portions of ground, the larger part of the parish being the property of the Stuart family. Marquesses of Bute.

PIPERHALL, a hamlet, in the parish of Kingarth, isle and county of Bute; containing 29 inhabitants.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NS090578 (Lat/Lon: 55.776065, -5.047344), Kingarth which are provided by: