A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Cumbrae, Little, an island of Buteshire,* 1½ mile SSW of Millport, and about the same distance E of the southern extremity of Bute and W of the Ayrshire coast. Triangular in shape, with base to SW and apex to NNE, it has an utmost length and breadth of 1¾ mile and 7¾ furlongs, whilst its area is estimated at 700 acres. The surface rises, in a series of terraces, to 409 feet above sea-level toward the middle of the island, and, with exception of a few patches of potatoes and ordinary garden produce, is all wild moorland, burrowed by rabbits, and grazed by scattered sheep. The geological formation is Secondary trap, resting on a substratum of Old Red sandstone. A circular lighthouse, 30 feet high, the earliest but one in Scotland, was built on the highest point about 1750, and commands a magnificent panoramic view; but has been superseded by another lighthouse on the western coast, which was built in 1826, raises its lantern 106 feet above high water, and shows a fixed light, visible at a distance of 15 miles. A strong old tower, on an islet off the E coast, believed to have been erected as a watch-post against the Scandinavian rovers, was surrounded by a rampart and a fosse, and accessible only by a drawbridge. It belonged to the Eglinton family, who still are proprietors of the island; gave refuge, in times of trouble, to that family's friends; was surprised and burned by the troops of Oliver Cromwell; and now is roofless and dilapidated. On the NE slope of the hill are the tomb and ruined chapel of St Vey. Valuation (1882) £308. Pop. (1831) 17, (1861) 20, (1871) 11, (1881) 23.
* Little Cumbrae is assigned in the census to West Kilbride, but to Ardrossan in the Ordnance maps and valuation rolls.
(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)
| Linked entities: | |
|---|---|
| Feature Description: | "an island" (ADL Feature Type: "islands") |
| Administrative units: | Buteshire ScoCnty |
| Place: | Little Cumbrae |
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