In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Kildalton like this:
Kildalton, a parish in Islay district, Argyllshire. It comprises the south-eastern part of Islay island; is bounded on the NW by Killarrow and Kilmeny; includes Texa, Cavrach, and Inersay islets, the Ardelister islands, and the islets off Ardmore Point; and contains the village of Port Ellen, with a post and telegraph office under Greenock. ...
Its utmost length, from NNE to SSW, is 18 miles; its utmost breadth is 8 miles; and its area is 48, 380¼ acres, of which 662½ are foreshore and 559¼ water. The coasts and the interior have alike been described in our article on Islay. The extent of land under cultivation bears but a small proportion to what is waste and reclaimable. A great many acres in the NE are under brushwood, and a good many acres are under flourishing plantations. A principal modern building is a handsome light monumental tower, 80 feet high, erected to the memory of Mrs Campbell of Islay; and the chief antiquities are remains of two Scandinavian forts, of the last Islay stronghold of the Macdonalds, and of four pre-Reformation chapels. Kildalton, the principal residence, 5 miles NE of Port Ellen, is the seat of John Ramsay, Esq., M.P. (b. 1814), who holds 54,250 acres in the shire, valued at £8226 per annum. Divided ecclesiastically into Kildalton proper and Oa, this parish is in the presbytery of Islay and Jura and synod of Argyll; the living is worth £231. The parish church, near Ardmore Point, was built in 1777, and contains 450 sittings. There is a Free church of Kildalton and Oa; and five public schools-Ardbeg, Glenegidale, Kintour, Oa, and Port Ellen-with respective accommodation for 92, 66, 40, 70, and 250 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 49, 19, 17, 22, and 145, and grants of £40, 14s., £33, 18s. 6d., £30, 2s. 6d., £30, 16s., and £88, 13s. Valuation (1860) £5783, (1883) £10,033, 17s. 9d. Pop. (1801) 1990, (1841) 3315, (1861) 2950, (1871) 2283, (1881) 2271, of whom 2127 were Gaelic-speaking, and 2024 were in Kildalton ecclesiastical parish.
Kildalton through time
Kildalton is now part of Argyll and Bute district. Click here for graphs and data of how Argyll and Bute has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Kildalton itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Kildalton in Argyll and Bute | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/16600
Date accessed: 20th April 2024
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