Historical References

Fort Augustus / Cil Chuimein

Often, records are created in order to enforce a governing body, collect taxes more efficiently, establish boundaries and so on. There are almost no official records of any kind which can be shown to have no ulterior motive. However, these records viewed in hindsight offer more than just a cold collection of data about the land and its population. Historical references of the documentary kind give a unique insight to the prevailing social and political climate of the times in which they are compiled. Equally then, as now, travellers often recorded what they saw and found on their travels and these writings were as popular in the past as they are today.

This extract is from "Geographical Collections relating to Scotland" made by Walter MacFarlane, edited by Sir Arthur Mitchell. in 3 volumes, published Edin. 1906. {Transcribed G.B.- Cill Chuimein Heritage.}

“... the church of Boleskine is distant from Inverness 15 miles & from Kill Chumin in Abertarph or Barracks there, 9 miles … … the land yeilds bear, black and white oats in many corners and close on the lake of Ness, beans, pease or any grain growing in Murray land. Here the catle are horse, nolt, sheep and goats, deer roe and hare in hills and woods. ... The other end has its name from the River of Tarph ... has its rise from a place called Shelich & Cori Gherrag hills betwixt Badenoch & Abertarph from which it runs rapid 6 miles, & then falls into Lochness from South to North. Closs W on this river is Kill Chumin where is a charity school, near the foot of the river. About a mile East of this river is ane other called Do ariseing from the hills of Cornichulen..." (more...)

Contrast this with the amount of detail given and the style of delivery in a document fulfilling a much more "official" purpose. The "First Statistical Account of Boleskine & Abertarf" published in 1798... {© Cill Chuimein Heritage.}

"PARISH OF BOLESKINE AND ABERTARF. (COUNTY OF INVERNESS, SYNOD OF GLENELG, AND PRESBYTERY OF ABERTARF.) By an Heritor, a friend to Statistical Inquiries.

Name and Extent, &c

The parish of Boleskine, so termed from a farm contiguous to the Fall of Foyers, meaning Bail-o’s-cionn in Gaelic, or the town hanging above the loch, was many years ago united with the parish of Abertarf, situated in the neighbourhood of Fort-Augustus, and so denominated from the confluence of two rivers, Tarf and Oich, which, discharging themselves into Lochness, forms the ground on which the garrison now stands to a beautiful peninsula..." more...)