Kilninver and Kilmelfort

"Kilninver (Gael. 'church at the river's mouth '), a hamlet and a parish in Lorn district, Argyllshire. The hamlet lies on the right bank of Euchar Water, just above its influx to salt-water Loch Feachan 8½ miles S by W of Oban, under which it has a post office. The present parish, comprising the ancient parishes of Kilninver and Kilmelfort—the former in the N, the latter in the S—is bounded N by Kilmore and Kilbride, E and SE by Kilchrenan and Dalavich, S by Craignish, and W by Kilbrandon and the Firth of Lorn. Its area was enlarged in 1891 by the Boundary Commissioners, who transferred to it the Lagalochan detaached portion of the parish of Craignish, comprising 529 acres. Its utmost length, from NE to SW, is 12½ miles; its utmost breadth is 9¼ miles; and its area is now 32,920½ acres, of which 303⅔ are foreshore and 833½ water. From a point 9 furlongs WSW of its head, Loch FEACHAN winds 3¼ miles westward along the boundary with Kilmore and Kilbride; Loch Melfort is on the S side of its outer part, near the boundary with Craignish ; and a line of hill watershed forms most of the boundary with Kilchrenan and Dalavich. The coast, if one follows its ins and outs, has an aggregate extent of 14 miles, more than 6 of which are on Loch Melfort. It includes in its northern part two high rocky promontories, in its southern a very rugged reach of frontage dangerous to shipping, though its numerous bays and inlets afford safe anchorage; and from Seil and the other islands of Kilbrandon parish it is separated by only a series or narrow straits. The eastern and central districts, with a general upland character, comprise rour ranges of hills, striking laterally from the watershed on the boundary with Kilchrenan and Dalavich, and extending somewhat parallel to one another from E to W. They include the glen of EUCHAR WATER, another glen called the Braes of Lorn, and some minor vales, and culminate in the summit of BEN CHAPULL (1684 feet), which com- mands a very extensive and superb view. or a number of fresh-water lakes, dotted over the interior, the largest are Lochs Scamadale (1⅝ mile x 2⅔ furl. ; 221 feet) and Tralaig (1¼mile x 2¼ furl.; 470 feet); and many or these lakes, and or the burns or torrents that issue from them through narrow ravines or over precipitous rocks, exhibit no little beauty. A tract of about 3 miles of arable land extends along the seaboard, and consisting of clayey soil and black loam incumbent on sand or slate, is in a state of high cultivation. Slate, sandstone, and dykes of trap are the predominant rock. A cave, traditionally said to have been inhabited by the first settlers in Lorn, is on the N side of Loch Melfort; a sepulchral tumulus, associated with the name of a Scandinavian princess, stood till 1813 in the immediate vicinity or Kilninver hamlet; a cairn, commemorating the assassination of an ancestor or the Duke of Argyll, occupies a conspicuous site on the old line of road from that hamlet to Loch Awe; a very ancient watch-tower, or unknown origin, called Ronaldson's Tower, stands on the coast; the ruins or an old castle or old monastery are on an islet in Loch Pearsan; and cairns and ancient standing stones are in various places. The Earl or Breadalbane and the Duke of Argyll are the chief proprietors. Kilninver is in the presbytery or Lorn and synod of Argyll; the living is worth £205. One parish church, at Kilninver, was built in 1791, and repaired and re-roofed in 1891-92; another, at Kilmelfort, is a very old building. There is also a Free church; and two public schools, Kilninver and Kilmelfort, with respective accommodation for 67 and 45 children, have an average attendance or about 20 each, and grants of over £45 and £40. Valuation (1883) £5426, 5s. 3d., (1892) £4902, 8s. Pop. (1881) 405, (1891) 402, of whom 314 were Gaelic-speaking.—Ord. Sur.., shs. 44, 36, 45, 37, 1876-83."

Extract from Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland c.1895)