The history of Argyll and Bute is fascinating. There are ancient archaeological sites and signs of more recent settlements, all set in a beautiful landscape of sea lochs and mountains. The early church's history is vividly remembered on the island of Iona. The legacy of the late medieval clans connects with their descendants worldwide. The large-scale migration from the Highlands in the 18th and 19th centuries, partly due to land clearances and improvements, has sparked a strong interest in family history and visiting the homeland of ancestors.
Scotland’s Richest Prehistoric Landscape
Argyll has an important part in Scotland's story. Kilmartin valley in Mid Argyll has Scotland's richest prehistoric landscape with many cairns, standing stones and other ancient remains dating back to around 3000 B.C. Many of these sites are easy for the public to visit, and the award-winning museum at Kilmartin provides information about them.
Almost every part of Argyll and Bute shows signs of ancient settlements. Argyll played a crucial role in the birth of the Scottish nation and its Christian faith when the "Scotti" arrived from Ulster to form the Kingdom of Dalriada in Argyll from around 500 A.D. With the hill fort at Dunadd in Mid Argyll as their initial capital, they grew their kingdom with the help of St. Columba and the Celtic church. In 843 A.D., Kenneth MacAlpine, a Dalriadan king, became the first King of Scots.
The Early Years
Iona
Founded in 563 A.D. by St Columba, Iona became Scotland's most important religious center. Its power grew with the Scotti, but when MacAlpine triumphed, power moved out of Argyll due to Norse invasions. Queen Margaret's adoption of Roman Catholicism ended the dominance of the Celtic Church and Argyll's religious influence.
The Norse
When the Norse raiders attacked Argyll, they caused significant damage to the church and state. However, the Norsemen who settled in the area helped shape a new local government. Initially, Argyll became an extension of the Norwegian Kingdom, but later it evolved into the Lordship of the Isles under Somerled.
By the late 12th century, stone castles began to appear along Argyll's coast. Suibhne, Lord of Knapdale and of Norse descent, built Castle Sween in the late 1100s. Around the same time, Rothesay Castle was built for the Stewarts, who were agents of the Scottish Crown. These castles indicated a strong local economy and the need for fortified bases due to opposing influences in the region. The positioning of the castles showed that the sea and sea lochs were used as seaways rather than barriers.
Dugald, son of Suibhne, held the castle of Skipness in 1261. The wider Norwegian cause faced setbacks: although the Norse captured Rothesay Castle in 1230 and 1263, their campaign ended in a decisive defeat at the Battle of Largs.
The Lordship of the Isles
In the 12th century, the blending of Gaelic and Norse cultures created a new political power base. Somerled and his successors, the MacDougalls and MacDonalds, who ruled the Lordship of the Isles, became significant threats to the Scottish Crown, just as Somerled had been to Norwegian influence. During the Medieval Period, many castles and clan groups emerged, benefiting from changes in power and influence.
Some castles, like Tarbert, evolved in the 13th and 14th centuries due to the extension of Royal power. Others, such as Dunstaffnage, founded by the MacDougall Lords of Lorn in the 13th century, served as strongholds for the dominant local powers.
Industry
Political Power
By the late 19th century, new industries, trades, investments, and people had created a new culture that was different from the traditional one on the Duke of Argyll's land. Despite these changes, landowners kept control of politics until a radical MP was elected in the 1880s. After that, the political power of landowners slowly declined, as did the crofting sector and its influence in Argyll.
Modern Industry
In the early 20th century, towns and the tourist trade grew rapidly. This growth was briefly interrupted by the two World Wars and the rise of cheap holidays, which affected Clyde resorts. However, the increase in car ownership and bus holidays helped these resorts recover. Dunoon thrived for a while due to the American submarine base. Bus holidays led to "drive-through" tourism, with coaches stopping only at major attractions. But car visitors brought a more subtle form of tourism to rural areas, with "bed and breakfast" becoming very popular.
Fishing is still an important industry, but boats now go further out to sea. The way the catch is distributed has changed since a century ago when steamships would buy fish from small boats and take it to market in Glasgow. Nowadays, road transport has replaced the steamship network that used to serve the resorts and communities around the Clyde and further west. Only the islands still rely on sea links, mostly using roll-on, roll-off car ferries.
Reorganisation
The 1975 reorganisation of local government in Scotland was a significant change brought about by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. Further changes in 1996 added Helensburgh and Lomond to Argyll, including the Rosneath Peninsula. Although these areas can keep the 'Dunbartonshire' part of their postal address, they are now firmly part, of a new administrative district.
Historically and culturally, Dunbartonshire has a separate history from Argyll, though there are some overlaps. In the past, the Colquhouns and the MacGregors fought for control around Loch Lomond. The Colquhouns later built Rossdhu, an 18th-century mansion that is now a clubhouse for a golf course. They also founded the town of Helensburgh in 1776. With the launch of Henry Bell's steamship, the Comet, in 1812, and his hotel in the town, Helensburgh became a popular spot for Glaswegian commuters and day-trippers. It was similar to other destinations on the Rosneath peninsula and the Argyll shore.
After the railway arrived in 1857, Helensburgh became more connected to Glasgow and turned into a select suburb. The wealthy residents built impressive Victorian and Edwardian villas, creating one of the finest collections of such buildings in the West of Scotland. This was largely due to the work of "art architects" like William Leiper and Alexander Paterson, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh's design of The Hill House.
The culture of Argyll and Bute is modern and forward-thinking, but most communities still remember their unique history and cultural heritage. This is important in an area with such diversity, from islands where Gaelic is still spoken, to tourist towns, and the newly included areas of Helensburgh and Lomond, which are somewhat influenced by Glasgow.
Towns and Buildings
Castles and Towns
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Argyll experienced significant violence. Despite this, new residences were built as elegant, fortified houses rather than traditional castles or battlemented towers. Examples include Dunderave on Loch Fyne and Barcaldine near Oban.
Sir Alastair MacDonald ravaged Argyll in the 1640s, and more attacks occurred in 1686.
The 18th century brought greater confidence, marked by the construction of Inveraray Castle from the 1740s as a palace in practice and a castle in name only. Inveraray town was rebuilt in a West Highland Palladian style, and Campbeltown was laid out similarly.
Tobermory on Mull was founded in the late 1780s by the British Fisheries Society.
The Crinan Canal opened in the early 19th century, aiding the development of Ardrishaig and Lochgilphead. Tourism grew, especially in Oban, which became a key hub for steamships and later railways.
The Country House
In the later 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, country houses became popular in Argyll. Inveraray Castle sparked interest in historical styles, which dominated this period. Rich newcomers often built these houses after buying out local families. Examples include Torosay, Glengorm, Kilberry, and Ardkinglas in Scottish Baronial style, Torrisdale, Calgary, and Minard in castellated style, Glenbarr as an abbey-turned-mansion, and Poltalloch in English Jacobean style by architect William Burn. Most 18th-century mansions were genteel, Palladian structures, like those at Barbreck and Strachur.
Improvement
The evolution of country houses in Argyll was supported by improvement programs that favored large farms, sheep farming, and efficient practices over traditional systems which supported large peasantry. 19th-century estate policies, including aesthetic landscape concerns and interests in shooting and deer forests, shaped the landscape we see today.
Although there are few records of brutal clearances, the rural population decreased, with some moving to towns in central Scotland and larger communities in Argyll, while others emigrated.
Fishing villages grew as landowners cleared land but retained rents. Campbeltown developed significantly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, influenced by its connections to Glasgow and Ireland, and its agricultural, mining, distilling, and fishing industries.
The “Glaswegian Riviera”
Towns on the Clyde Estuary, known as the "Glaswegian Riviera," focused on tourism and commuting. Towns like Dunoon and Rothesay benefited from tourism dur to their connection to Glasgow. Rothesay developed an urban feel supported by nearby suburban communities. Smaller, middle-class villa communities emerged along the Cowal coast from Blairmore to Tighnabruaich, on Bute at Kilchattan Bay, and around the Dunbartonshire peninsula of Rosneath.
Clans
Clan Campbell
Robert the Bruce received support from Clan Donald (who like the MacDougalls descended from Somerled) and from the Campbells of Lochawe which boosted their power at the expense of the MacDougalls. In the 17th century, clan power struggles in Argyll intensified, especially during the English Civil War's spillover into Scotland in the 1640s. Clan Campbell suffered but defeated rivals like the Lamonts and MacDonalds. Despite the Campbell Chief's execution, Clan Campbell remained dominant. The 1692 massacre of the MacDonalds of Glencoe by a Campbell regiment showed the close ties between Clan Campbell and the government. The Jacobite risings in 1715 and 1745 were desperate attempts by clans to regain influence, but the clan system was undermined by centralised control and socio-economic changes. Clan Campbell, under the first Dukes of Argyll, secured local influence and patronage, but by the late 18th century, Argyll's political role had diminished, becoming more of a tourist attraction than a political hub.
