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Inns, Steamers, &.c.; Objects
worthy of Observation; Beauty of the Scenery, 1.—Character of the
Surrounding Country, 2.—Origin of the Name; Situation; rslands in the Ness,
3.—Stone Bridge, 4.—Streets, 5.—Jail, 6.—Town-house, 7.—Population;
Manufactures; Trade, S —Churches, 9.—Acadeniy; Schools; Infirmary, 10.
Improvements; Public Charities; Walks; Country Seats, 11.—Antiquity of
lnrerness, 12.—Castles of Inverness; Murder of Kin; Duncan, 13.—history of
the Castle; Duke of Gordon, Heritable Keeper; Old Fort-George, 14.—The Burgh
Charters, 15.—Early disturbed State; ncient Commerce, 16.—Royal Visits;
Queen Mary's Visits, 17.—Crornwell's Fort, 18.—Form of Architecture,
19.—Ancient Politics and Manners, 20.—Magistracy, 21.—Spirit of
Irnprovenient, 22.
Principal hotels.
Caledonian (Mr. Spinks), No.
17, Church Street; Union, 18 High Street. Both these are most commodious
establishments, where every comfort and luxury can be had. Private Royal
(Miss M`Donald), 81-2 Church Street; Vine (Thomas "Mackenzie), 7 Church
Street; Commercial (Mrs. Napier), Castle Wynd. On the west side of the river
Ness, there are the Gienal yn (Harcomb), Huntly Street; Star, Grant Street (Merkinch);
Caledonian Inn, Canal Bridge (Muirtown).
The principal Lodging-houses
are—Mr. Tait's,19 Church Street; Mrs. Ilardie's, 18 Douglas Row; Mrs.
.'Donald's, 14 Douglas Row; Mrs. Robert Fraser's, 46 Church Street; Miss
M'Rae, 70 Church Street; Mrs. More's, Castle Wynd; Miss Kennedy, 9 Bank
Street; 'Mrs. M'Kenzie's, Academy Street; Mr. hlaclean's, Bridge Street; Mr.
John Clark's, Margaret Street; Mrs. Cameron, 27 lose Street; 31r. Adam
M'Donald, confectioner, (Peacock) No. 32, High Street; &c.: and, during the
shooting season, the Caledonian and Union and Royal Hotels retain a number
of rooms in the houses of private families, in which visitors may be
accommodated with beds, and with or without board as they incline.
Newspapers.
Inverness Courier office, No.
12, Bank Lane. Advertiser office, 18, Inglis Street.
Banks.
Caledonian and Savings. High
Street; British Linen Company, High Street; Bank of Scotland, Bank Street;
National, Church Street; Commercial Bank of Scotland, Church Street; North
of Scotland, Academy Street.
Post Office, 27 high
Street.—Police Office, 36 Bridge Street.
Booksellers.
James Smith, 49 High Street;
Kenneth Douglas, 2 High Street; D. Morrison, 1 Church Street; C. Keith, 21
Church Street; D. Fraser, Castle Street.
Principal Drapers.
Tartan Warehouse, D. M'Dougal,
12 Iligh Street; Andrew Smith, 20 High Street; Donald Fraser, 48 Iligh
Street; D. M'Leunan, 41 High Street; D. Matheson, 6 Castle Street. Inverness
Woollen Manufactory at helm—shop, No. 4, Bridge Street.
Coaches.
The Post-Office changes often
disturb the mail hours.
1. Mail to Perth (4 horses),
leaves the Caledonian Hotel and Union Hotel every evening at a quarter to 7
o'clock, and arrives from the south at these Inns, at 6 A.M. Fares—£2:5s.
inside, and 32s. outside.
2. Aberdeen Mail—leaves the Caledonian and Union Hotels every afternoon at 2
o'clock, and arrives every evening at half-past 7. Four horses.
Fares—inside, £2; outside, 21s.
3. North Mail, by Beauly, Dingwall, Tain, Dornoch, to Thurso in
Caithness—leaves Caledonian Hotel at 1 past 6 o'clock in the morning, and
arrives at 5 P. M., in time to join the Perth Mail. Four horses.
Fares—inside, £2:11 : 6; outside, £1:17:6 ; and to Tain, 20s. and 14s.
4. The Duke of Wellington—day stage-coach, 4 horses—in connexion with the
Highland or Perth Mail-leaves the Caledonian Hotel every lawful morning,
from April to the end of November, at 6 o'clock A.M., and arrives from Perth
at 6 P.M.. Fares—inside, 35s.; outside, 25s.
5. The Defiance—daily stage-coach, 4 horses—leaves the Caledonian Hotel, for
Nairn, Forres, Elgin, Fochabeis, IIuntly, and Aberdeen, every lawful
morning, at 6 o'clock ASS., and arrives from Aberdeen, at half-past 6
o'clock P.M.. Fares—inside, £2; outside, £1: 2s.
6. The Star—daily stage-coach, 4 horses—leaves Caledonian Hotel for Nairn,
Forres, and Elgin, at 4 o'clock r.:si. every lawful day, and stops at Elgin,
where it arrives at 9 r. rr. that night. Another coach, in connexion with
it, proceeds on from Elgin ever' morning at 7 A.M. for Aberdeen; and the
Star leaves Elgin every morning at 7 A.M. for Inverness, which it reaches at
half-past 12 o'clock A.M. Fares—inside, 16s.; outside, 10s. 6d.
7. The Caberfeigh—stage-coach, 2 horses—leaves Caledonian Hotel, every day
in summer, at 3 o'clock for Dingwall (via Kessock Terry) and Strathpeffer,
and reaches the Spa Hotel there at 6 P.M.. It leaves Strathpeffer at 8
o'clock every morning, and arrives at Inverness at 11 A.M. Fares—inside,
10s.; outside 6s.
8. The Duke of Wellington to Tain starts at 6 A.M., and from Tain at 3 P.M.;
but either this or the Caberfeigh is likely to be discontinued, or to go
only to Strathpeffer via Beauly.
Steamers.
1. The North Star, sails from
the Thornbush Pier, Inverness, for London, every alternate Monday; and from
London for Inverness every other Monday; average length of passage
sixty-three hours. Fares—cabin, £3:10s.; forecastle, £2 : 5s. N.B.—Calls at
Chanonry Point, Invergordon, Cromarty, Findhorn, Burgh-head, Banff, and
Aberdeen.
2. The Duke of Richmond sails from Kessock Ferry roadstead for Leith every
Monday morning, and the Queen on Thursday evening, calling at the same ports
as the North Star; and they leave Leith on their return voyages every
Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Fares—cabin, 16s.; forecastle, 8s.
3. The Maid of Morven leaves Kessock Ferry every Monday- and Thursday
morning, for the ports in the Moray Firth above named, and the Little Ferry
in Sutherlandshire, and returns every succeeding day. Fares-to Burgh-head,
5s. and 3s. Gd.; to Little Ferry, 10s. and 5s.
4. The Glasgow Steamers by the Caledonian Canal.-Messrs. G. and J. Bums of
Glasgow put on in summer a line of swift steamers, by which there is a daily
sailing to and from Glasgow and Oban, Fort-William, Corpach, and Inverness;
and to and from Oban, Tobermory, Staffs and Iona, and Glencoe. Fares to
Glasgow-cabin, £1; forecastle, 8s. Goods Boats (Cygnet and Lapwing) ply at
cheaper rates.
NiL-Coaches and Breaks, or Omnibuses, attend from the Caledonian and Union
Hotels, to convey passengers to and from the steamers on their departure and
arrival, charging 1s. for every passenger; and the heavy goods and luggage
are conveyed by carts, which are always in waiting. The steam offices are 9
Buchanan Street, Glasgow, and in Church Street, at the Thornbush Pier and
Kessock Ferry, Inverness, where the adver- tiseinents, which are
occasionally altered, may be seen.
Carriers of goods leave Inverness, twice a-week, for Beauly, Dingwall,
Invergordon, and Fort-George; and once a-week to Fort-Augustus, Kingussie,
Nairn, and Forres; and once a fortnight, or when the weather permits and
there is employment, to Perth, Kintail, Stratbglass, Loch Carron, and Skye;
but in the interior of the country no public carriers can be reckoned upon
except in the vicinity of the great roads; and families and sportsmen, in
the remoter districts, usually keep pony-cars, or W'hitechapel-carts, for
fetching home parcels and provisions.
A passage-boat plies every
Tuesday and Friday between Inverness and Fortrose, (fare 3d.); and in summer
another goes, on these days, between Inverness and Avoch.
The subjoined note gives
ample information as to the cost of living in Inverness, and the same prices
and rents prevail (perhaps a shade lower in the country and smaller towns)
throughout the Highlands. [Good beef sells at 5d. to 7d. per imperial lb.;
mutton from 4d. to 6d.; veal, the quality of which is, however, seldom
superior, 5d. to 6d.; pork, (of which no great quantity is exposed, on
account of the demand for cured pork for export and shipping,) 3d. to Old.
There is an abundant supply of excellent haddocks, which sell at from three
to a dozen for 6d.; good whitings about the same price; cod, from 3d. to Is.
a-piece, according to the size and quantity; superior skate, 3d. to 9d.
each. Herrings vary much in price, as boats only occasionally leave the
fishery ground to dispose of this fish so far up the Firth. They sell at
from ten to fifty for 6d. Salmon are as high as 1s. to 1s. 6d. and 2s. 6d.
per lb.; the salmon-fishers being under an engagement to send almost all
that maybe caught to the London market. Grilse sell for 4d. or 6d. per lb.
The price of oatmeal is 15s. to 20s. per boll, of 10 imperial stones, and
the same for a quarter of Angus or potato oats; of flour, about 46s. per
sack of 280 lbs.; potatoes, 8s. to 16s. a boll; hay, 6d. to Is. a stone.
Whisky is sold at 7s. to 10s. the imperial gall on; very good strong ale at
17s. or 19s. an anker, which will run five dozen of bottles ; table beer
half that sum. Fresh butter sells at 10d. per lb.; salt butter at 16s. to
21s. per stone of 23 lbs., and 16 oz. to the lb. Honey, in the comb, at 6d.
to is. per lb. Warm milk at Id., and skim-milk at a halfpenny the English
pint. A pair of fowls cost 2s. to 2s. 6d.; but they are not so large or
plumply fed as those to be seen in the southern markets. A pair of chickens
8d. to 1s. 6d.; of ducks, 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d.; geese and turkeys bring 2s.
6d. to Is.; grouse, ls. to 3s. 6d. a brace; hares, 1s. 3d. to Is. each ;
rabbits, 8d. a pair. Shop goods sell pretty much as in other provincial
towns. House rents are moderate, averaging from £30 to £50, and shops the
same. The wages of housemaids are 30s. to £3 per hall-year; average, 12.
There are generally several country houses to let in the neighbourhood of
Inverness, at from x:30 to P200 a-year, furnished and unfurnished, and with
garden-ground, offices, and grass parks, and other accommodations. The
charges of the principal inns in Inverness are much the same as those in
Edinburgh.]
1. INVERNESS, the largest
town in the Highlands, and long regarded as the northern capital—its
history, also, forming a prominent part in the scanty measure of information
that has reached us of the annals of the Highlanders in general--merits a
separate description ; more especially as this town is the most convenient
central point from which to proceed in visiting most of the interesting
scenes which it is the object of this work to delineate.
"Inverness has been strangely
underrated," So observes Dr. Macculloch (Letters on the Highlands, vol. i.),
who has even gone the length of drawing a comparison between the beauties of
its neighbourhood and that of Edinburgh. "The Firth of Forth must yield the
palm to the Moray Firth, the surrounding country must yield altogether, and
Inverness must take the highest rank. Everything is done, too, for Inverness
that can he effected by wood and cultivation; the characters of which, here,
have altogether a richness, a variety, and a freedom, which we miss round
Edinburgh. The mountain screens are finer, more various, and more near. Each
outlet is different from the others, and each is beautiful ; whether we
proceed towards Fort-George or towards Moy, or enter the valley of the Ness,
or skirt the shores of the Beauly Firth; while a short and commodious ferry
wafts us to the lovely country opposite, rich with wood, and country seats,
and cultivation. It is the boast, also, of Inverness to unite two opposed
qualities, and each in the greatest perfection: the characters of a rich
open lowland country with those of the wildest alpine scenery, both, also,
being close at hand, and in many places intermixed; while to all this is
added a series of maritime landscape not often equalled."
2. Inverness stands on a
plain at the meeting of three large openings; namely, the basins of the
Moray and Beauly Firths, and the great glen of Albyn, itself also once the
channel of the sea, and still covered throughout more than half of its
surface with the waters of a chain of inland lakes. The mountains which
skirt and hem in Loch Ness diverge at its eastern extremity, and those on
the south side, assuming an easterly direction, towards Nairnshire, and
finally subsiding into a smooth, inclined, and unbroken ridge nearly twenty
miles long, leave as the termination of the Great Glen, a wide champaign
country, which extends to the shores of the 'Moray Firth. On the north side
of the valley the mountains gradually give place to round-backed hills, with
tabular summits and rocky sides, which approach within a mile of Inverness,
terminating in the celebrated vitrified fort of Craig Phadrick, where they
are cut across by the waters of the sea as these proceed from the main firth
to fill the inner basin of the Loch or Firth of Beauly; but, resuming their
course on the Ross-shire coast, the same line of hills, softened in feature,
is prolonged along the edge of the sea towards Fortrose and the Sutors of
Cromarty. Standing thus on a beautiful plain, skirted by variously shaped
hills, which are diversified with hanging -woods, cultivated fields, and
protruding frontlets of rock, Inverness still farther possesses the
advantage of having a bank of terraced ground rising behind it on the
southern side of the town which commands the finest views, and on which some
of the newest houses and most beautiful villas of the neighbourhood have
been erected. This bank, which is about ninety feet high, forms a portion of
a great gravel terrace, or coast line, which extends from the confines of
Loch Ness, through Inverness, Nairn, and Moray shires, to the mouth of the
river Spey, having a Iine of similar height and characters opposed to it on
the Ross-shire coast, and thus indicating a former elevation of the sea, or
some other great body of water nearly corresponding with the summit level of
the Great Glen, which lies between the Lakes Oich and Lochy. The surface of
this terrace composes a second plain above that on which the town of
Inverness chiefly stands, spreading itself out till it joins the base of the
hills on the south. This plain is of various breadth, (generally from one to
two or three miles,) is highly cultivated, and adorned by numerous country
seats.
The distant mountain screens
which close in the view around Inverness are also of very varied aspect. The
serrated mountains about Loch Ness terminate in the high dome-shaped summit
of Mealfourvounie, a well-known landmark to all the country round, and to
the navigators of the adjoining firths. Towards the west the hills of
Strathconon and Strathglass, at the head of Loch Beauly, rise in clusters of
peaks, while almost the whole northern horizon is occupied by the huge
shapeless mountain of Ben Weavis, in Ross-shire, (upwards of 3700 feet in
height,) and its extensive ramifications, which are disposed in long
round-backed heathy chains, overtopping the eminences which rise from the
margin of the Firth of Cromarty. Towards the east, the waters of the Moray
Firth, stretching out into the German Ocean, conduct the eye to the dim and
distant mountain ranges of Sutherland, Caithness, and Banff shires.
3. The name of Inverness
denotes its situation as near the estuary of the river Ness, which flows
from the great inland lake, into whose waters fall those of the celebrated
cataract of Foyers. Hence the Gaelic word ess, signifying a waterfall, has
been bestowed on the whole country, as well as on the loch and river. The
course of the last is only about six miles; and it is equally " noble,
broad, clear, and strong," whether we observe it at its junction with the
sea, or where it flows from its parent lake. Its banks are fringed with rows
of trees, and many beautiful seats and villas ; and within a mile of the
town it is divided into two branches by an island, or rather a series of
islands, luxuriantly wooded. These, in ancient days, were celebrated as the
scenes of rural feasts given by the magistrates of Inverness to the King's
judges when they came here to hold assize courts. Fresh salmon, caught in an
adjoining pool, are said to have formed the chief delicacy at those
banquets; while claret, brandy, and hollands, and even the classic sack,
circulated in abundance among the guests. Their more refined descendants, a
few years ago, cut the surface of the islands into pleasure-walks, and
connected the opposite banks by chain-bridges; but a great speat or flood,
in January 1849, swept these away, and submerged the islands for some weeks.
The broad valley intervening between the eastern extremity of Loch Ness and
the sea, is diversified by the wide tabular terrace already alluded to;
which also is found, though not so distinctly marked, on the north side,
where it is broken into undulating knolls and hillocks. This higher ground,
as well as the bottom of the valley, is wholly composed of rolled stones and
gravel. A projecting portion of the flat or table-ground adjoining the east
bank of the river, formed the site of the ancient castle; and immediately
below and around it were clustered the principal and oldest streets and
houses of the town, the buildings on the western bank being but of recent
erection.
4. In the year 1685, a
handsome stone bridge, of seven ribbed arches, was erected across the river
by means of public subscriptions, and large contributions from the town's
funds. One of the arches contained a vault used as a jail, and latterly as a
mad-house, which was only closed up within the last thirty years. The
grating, or air-hole was, till lately, visible, whence the poor captive
obtained a distant view of the hills, and of the river which rolled beneath
him, whose dismal noise was only echoed by the trampling of horses and
passengers over the roof of his damp and lonely cell. It is said that this
horrible dungeon was only abandoned after a maniac confined in it had been
devoured by rats, and in 173the town-treasurer paid 12s. Scots for " burying
a man who died in the bridge vault !" A wooden bridge, described by an
officer in Cromwell's army as " the weakest, in his opinion, that ever
straddled over so strong a stream," previously existed, a few feet below the
stone one, and ushered the passengers into the town through a gateway under
one of the houses. It fell in September 1664, with upwards of 100 people on
it at the time, yet none of them were drowned. Its successor also yielded to
the flood in 1849, above alluded to, which was aggravated by certain defects
in the works of the Caledonian Canal, the banks of which gave way in several
places at the upper reach or summit-level of Loch Oich, and also in front of
the lock at Dochgarroch (the lower end of Loch Dochfour), where there was an
artificial outlet or overflow made in connection with the raising of the
level of the lake, for the surplus water to escape into the river Ness, but
which had been constructed too wide for the discharging area of the arches
of the Inverness bridge. The community of Inverness have since brought a
bill into Parliament for the reconstruction of their bridge, with improved
approaches, relying, as they obviously were entitled to do, on Government's
defraying the cost, in reparation of the damage which the town had
sustained, and the danger to life to which the inhabitants had been exposed.
5. The town occupies both
sides of the river ; but the most considerable part, both in extent and
style, of the houses lies, as already stated, on the east side. From the
stone bridge the mail^ street, divided into compartments, called Bridge
Street, High Street, and Petty Street, proceeds eastward at right angles to
the river; and from it Church Street and Academy Street diverge northwards
in a direction towards (and uniting as they approach) the harbour.
6. At the corner of Church
Street is the old Jail, built in 1791; its steeple, erected on a plan
somewhat similar to that of St. Andrew's Church in Edinburgh, is 130 feet
high, and is a remarkably handsome structure. This building cost about
£1800, and the spire £1600 more, which sums were raised by subscription, and
contributions from Parliament, and the northern counties whose criminals are
sent to the jail of Inverness for trial before the Circuit Courts of
Justiciary. Although a great improvement at the time of its erection, this
prison has now been superseded by a new jail, erected on the Castle Hill,
alongside of and in unison with the Castle, or County Rooms, a handsome
castellated structure, also recently built, after a design of Mr. Burns of
Edinburgh. From their elevated position these buildings together form one of
the most striking features of the town. With all its defects, the late jail
of Inverness must have been regarded as a palace, in comparison with the
older prison of the town, which was used after the vault in the stone bridge
had been changed into a bedlam. Thus, in the burgh records, we find that the
town-clerk, on 29th September 1709, "paid an officer 4s. 6d. Scots to buy a
cart of peats to be burnt in the Tolbooth to remove the bad scent;" and in
December 1737 the magistrates ordered the same functionary to purchase "an
iron spade to be given to the hangman for cleaning the Tolbooth:" from which
our readers can be at no loss to judge of its condition.
7. Nearly opposite the jail
is the Exchange, with the, Townhouse, (erected in 1708,) and the ancient
Cross of the burgh, at the base of which lies the Clack-na-cudden, or "Stone
of the Tubs," the famous resting-stone on which the maid-servants in passing
from the river, were wont to lay down their water-pitchers. It is reckoned
the palladium of the town, and at one time, along with the Cross, it stood
out on the side or middle of the street. In the wall above are the royal
arms, with those of the town; and within the hall are a few good paintings
of local benefactors. From the cast end of the Exchange, Castle Street
(anciently called Doomesdale Street, because it led up to the Gallows Moor)
conducts to the rising ground or terrace above mentioned. Along the banks of
the river, the greater part of the newer buildings have been erected ; and
towards the harbours a wooden bridge was constructed across the river some
years ago, which has proved of much utility.
8. The population of the town
and parish, since the year 1791, has nearly doubled. At present, according
to the census of 1841, it is 15,308,—the total number within the
parliamentary boundaries of the town being 11,575, of whom 5067 were males,
and 6508 females. In 1831, it amounted respectively to 14,324 and 9663.
About a sixth of the population depend chiefly on agriculture for
employment, and a third on trade. The parliamentary constituency of
Inverness, at the first registration under the Reform Act, was 466, and that
of the other associated burghs of Forres, Nairn, and Fortrose, 241. At
present (1850) the number of persons entitled to vote in Inverness for a
member of parliament, is 418; and in the sister burghs 300 There are no
professions practised peculiar to the burgh (but anciently its maltsters
were numerous and wealthy); and though the advantages of its situation for
manufactures and commerce are manifestly great, its trade cannot be
considered of importance, there being only two manufactories in the place,
one for bagging, and the other for woollen cloths ; besides a distillery, a
few breweries, and tan-works. But there are in Inverness two public
news-rooms, six banking-houses, including a provincial hank, several
printing establishments, and two weekly newspapers. Besides steamers, the
port possesses 230 coasting vessels of about 10,000 registered tonnage; and
it is now becoming a great and cheap resort for the repair and fitting out
of ships.
In the year 1847 an act was
obtained for deepening the channel of the river Ness and improving the
harbour; and under the plans then sanctioned, it is the intention of the
harbour trustees to dredge the river and form a wet dock and quays and
breastworks adjoining the timber bridge, and between it and the old or
Citadel Quay, which will bring the trade close to the doors of the
inhabitants, and to the east side of the river, and to a spot adjoining the
terminus of the proposed Great North of Scotland Railway. The present
Thornbush Pier, near the mouth of the river, but on the west side, it is
intended, shall be enlarged for the reception of the largest-sized steamers;
and when these operations are finished, in conjunction with the
accommodations of the Caledonian Canal basin and wharves, Inverness will
have as complete and ample a harbour as any port on the east coast of
Scotland, and one which will present peculiar facilities, from the cheapness
of labour and timber in the place for the building and repair and outfit of
vessels. The town has also lately obtained a police act, under which, and
the attendant assessment, it is watched and lighted. It is well supplied
with good haberdashery, grocery, ironmongery, wine, bookselling,
confectionary, perfumery, fruit, and other shops, and with butcher meat;
while the Inverness bread is distinguished for its good quality. The fish
market is also pretty regularly and constantly supplied, and at moderate
prices, though not with great variety. Dairy produce is abundant, and
poultry pretty much so, though not fed as for the southern markets. There is
capital salmon-fishing in the river, and permission for rod-fishing to be
had by the day or week at reasonable charges.
9. Inverness does not boast
of many public buildings erected in good taste. Oliver Cromwell destroyed
all the old ecclesiastical ones; and none have since been built with any
pretensions to beauty except the Roman Catholic and St. John's Episcopal
Chapels. The new Caledonian Bank in High Street, opposite the Exchange, and
looking up Castle Street, is unquestionably the finest building in the
north, and is deserving of notice. It embraces ample accommodation for
business, and also a large house for the manager. The design was furnished
by Mr. Mackenzie, architect in Elgin, and on a small scale in some respects
resembles the Commercial Bank, Edinburgh. Above the basement, which contains
two finely carved archways, is a large portico, with four fluted columns,
having beautifully carved Corinthian capitals, which support a massive
pediment, within which are arranged a group of allegorical figures, from the
classic chisel of Mr. H. Ritchie of Edinburgh. The centre figure is
Caledonia, holding in her hand the Roman fasces, emblematical of unity. On
the right is a figure representing the Ness, from whose side rises another
female form, symbolic of a tributary stream. On the extreme right are two
small figures rowing a bark, representing Commerce. On the left is Plenty
pouring out the contents of her cornucopia; a reaper, with an armful of cut
corn, a shepherd and sheep, emblematical of the rural interests of the
country. The group has been generally admired, as have also the foliage and
carvings in the lower compartments of the building. The Assembly or Northern
Meeting Rooms are clumsy and heavy in the exterior, but large and elegantly
fitted up within.
10. The Academy is a plain
building, with class-rooms for five masters, besides a hall in which is a
beautiful painting of the Holy Family, said to be by Sasso Ferrato, but by
some thought to be the work of Perino de Yaga; and a bust, by Westmacott, of
Hector Fraser, a teacher of considerable eminence in this place. The number
of pupils who attend this seminary is now generally from 150 to 200:
formerly the numbers were greater. There is a library and small museum
attached to it, collected by the Northern Institution, established here,
some years ago, for the promotion of Science and Literature. It is provided
with able masters. Inverness is peculiarly well supplied with public schools
for the education of the lower orders and the poor. Private schools and
academies are also numerous; and being likewise one of the towns
comprehended in the late Dr. Andrew Bell of Egmont's munificent bequest for
the purposes of education in Scotland, his trustees (the Magistrates and
Town Council) have lately opened a handsome institution near the Academy, in
which a large number of children are instructed on the -Madras or monitorial
system of Dr. Bell. A well conducted seminary has also been opened under the
auspices of the Free Church. Connected with the Academy is a fund left, in
1803, by Captain William Mackintosh, of the Ilindostan East Indianian, for
the education of boys of certain families of that name. Its whole revenue,
with its lands, is now valued at £25,000. To improve the curriculum of
instruction for those bursars, it has been proposed that the Academy and
Mackintosh funds should be united, in the hope that with the eventual
assistance of Government, the number and status of masters in the
institution may be so increased and raised, as to render it equal to some of
the Scotch colleges, and a general place of resort for the North Highlands.
A bill is now before Parliament for so far effecting these very desirable
objects.
11. Within a few minutes'
walk, by the river side, is the Northern Infirmary, a handsome structure,
and a well-conducted institution, supported by parochial collections and
private subscriptions. The Caledonian and Union Hotels are spacious and
handsome buildings. The town is well paved, watered, and lighted with gas,
and the walks around it are unrivalled for the beauty and variety of the
scenery they command; and Inverness is one of the most attractive residences
for families, and amongst the most regular and well-built provincial towns
in Scotland. The climate is mild and salubrious, and families who have been
resident in tropical countries find Inverness well adapted for their
constitution, owing most probably to its being removed from the keen winds
which blow from oft' the German ocean, and in that the air is rendered soft
and balmy by the peculiar position and form of the Great Glen, which carry
across the Atlantic vapours, and impart somewhat of the west coast character
to our climate, without its excessive moisture. The principal seats in the
neighbourhood are CulIoden, Raigmore, Muirtown, Leys Castle, Ness Castle,
Culduthel, and Dochfour; and the grounds about these are suited to extensive
estates. Leys Castle is an imposing and costly structure, in the Gothic
castellated style; a square building, with corner and entrance towers, and a
central pavilion. Most of the others are elsewhere noticed.
We may direct the stranger's
attention to the view from the castle-hill, and to a promenade recently
formed to the north of Cromwell's fort, afterwards described, along the
mouth of the river on the east side, and leading round by the sea-side, as
giving the best idea of the locality, and presenting landscapes not often
surpassed.
12. Thus far of the
statistics of the town. Its history is interesting. Inverness was frequently
visited by the Scottish sovereigns; and for many ages the annals of several
adjacent parts of the Highlands are scarcely known, except through their
connexion with this burgh.
Without recurring to the
usual list of fables which invest Inverness with an antiquity higher even
than the commencement of the Christian era, we have the authority of Adamnan,
in his Life of Columba, for stating that this saint sojourned "ad ostiam
Nessiae," with the view of converting Brudeus, King of the Picts, who
resided here; and that in this place he had several conferences with the
Scandinavian Earl of Orkney.
13. On the rising ground to
the cast of the town, called the Crown, a very old castle stood, around
which were built the first houses of the burgh ; and the spot is still shown
where the cross is believed to have stood, and a large stone with a hole in
the centre for an upright pillar, has recently been discovered underneath.
Macbeth, being by birth the Maormor (literally the Great Man) of Ross, and
having by marriage become that of Moray, very probably had possession of
this castle; but antiquaries seem now agreed that the murder of King Duncan
was not perpetrated within its walls.
Malcolm III., or Caenmore, is
said to have razed this castle, and to have built another on the eminence
already alluded to, close by the river, which continued ever after to be a
king's house and royal fortress, till blown up, in the year 1746, by the
troops of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.
14. Shaw Macduff, a son of
the sixth Earl of Fife, having come north with Malcolm IV., and assisted in
quelling an insurrection of the men of Moray, assumed the name of Mackintosh
(son of the Thaue), significant of his high birth. He acquired great
possessions, and was made heritable governor of this castle. In 1245, Sir
John Bisset of Lovat, one of the greatest neighbouring barons, was confined
in it for his supposed connexion with the murder of the Earl of Athole: he
was accused also of acknowledging the Lord of the Isles as a sovereign
prince, and doing him homage. During the minority of one of the captains of
clan Chattan, or chief of the Mackintoshes, the castle was seized by the
Cumings of Badenoch, who retained it till 1303, when it was captured by
Edward I. of England, from whom it was in turn taken for Robert Bruce. Bruce
was then wandering in the Ebudae; and, it is added, when the news of the
seizure of this fortress reached his ears, he was roused to the daring feats
which afterwards paved his way to the throne. From this period to the
accession of James I., the government of the castle was retained in the
hands of the crown. Donald of the Isles, who fought the battle of Harlaw, in
1410, with the Earl of ;liar, burned the town of Inverness on his march. The
last-named monarch again bestowed the castle on the captain of the clan
Chattan, and at the same time repaired and greatly strengthened it. He held
a court in it, to which all the northern chiefs and barons were summoned,
three of whom were executed here for treason, while Alexander, Lord of the
Isles, son of Donald, was detained in custody for a year. This lord avenged
the affront cast upon him by also setting fire to the town: but though the
inhabitants were exposed to the rapine of his followers, he was defied in
his attempts to wrest the castle from the hands of Mackintosh the governor.
This island chief was subsequently defeated by a royal army in Lochaber, and
was compelled on his knees to beg his life from the king, in presence of the
whole court at Holyrood, and was imprisoned in Tantallon Castle. His
successor, John of the Isles, invading the mainland in fulfilment of his
treaty with Edward IV., or rather, perhaps Donald Balloch of Isla, also a
party to the league with England, took the castle by surprise. His rebellion
drew upon John the forfeiture of the earldom of Ross, which, with the
sheriffdom of Inverness and Nairn, was annexed to the crown.
In the year 1508, the Earl of
Huntly obtained the appointanent of heritable sheriff of the county, and
keeper of the castle. For a short time the Regent Moray was sheriff, but
soon afterwards the Iiuntly family regained all their possessions; and it
was only in 1629 that they resigned their office to the crown, for which a
compensation was granted of £2500. At that period it was conferred for life
on Sir Robert Gordon, the historian of Sutherland.
During the period of the
civil wars, this castle was repeatedly taken by 'Montrose and his opponents,
and the whole country, even in this northern corner, then experienced all
the horrors of a hostile invasion. In 1649, its fortifications were nearly
demolished by Mackenzie of Pluscardine, Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, and
a party opposed to the Parliament. The castle chambers, decorated with
stucco busts and paintings, and hung round with tapestry, then fell sadly
into decay; and the fortress seems to have been totally lost sight of till,
in the year 1718, we read of its being again repaired. A governor's house
was at that time added to it, and the ancient part formed into barracks for
the Hanoverian soldiers. It was then called Fort-George, and, though
rendered uninhabitable by Prince Charles' troops in 1746, a large portion of
its walls remained entire till a recent period.
15. The first charter granted
to the burgh is attributed to Malcolm Caenmore. This is erroneous, there
being no Scottish records known earlier than the time of Edgar, his son.
Inverness was erected into a royal burgh by David I., and was one of the "loca
capitalia per totum reb um." It was thus one of the earliest free towns of
the kingdom, and had four charters from William the Lion, which, with
various additional grants, were all confirmed by subsequent monarchs ; and
at last confirmed and repeated by James III., whose charter, embodying eight
previous charters, is printed at full length in Wight's Treatise on the
Scotch Election Laws. The great charter of the town, however, was bestowed
by King James VI. anno 1591, a translation of which was afterwards ratified
and confirmed by the whole estates of Parliament in 1661 (Acts Charles II.
1661, c. 147, folio edit. p. 110 of vol. 7). Three of William's, and several
others of the oldest, charters are still extant; and perhaps no burgh in the
kingdom can boast of so complete and ancient a series of records as that
which is in possession of the magistrates of Inverness.
16. Prior to the invasion of
Scotland by Edward I., we find that Inverness was repeatedly visited, and
almost made a constant residence of by some of the kings ; whose presence
was continually required in repelling the incursions of the Danes and
northern Yikingr, and subduing the insurrections of the turbulent and
barbarous natives.
After Bruce's accession, and
during the feeble sovereignty of the Stuarts, Inverness was exposed to the
oppression of the constables of its own castle, besides being the constant
prey of the Islemen and Highland clans. Its annals are full of accounts of
burnings, ransackings, battles fought in its neighbourhood for its defence,
stratagems, and pecuniary imposts resorted to by the magistrates, for
keeping off or soothing its barbarous and cruel neighbours. It was evidently
the seat of a colony of busy merchants, whose names, from the earliest date,
indicate their Flemish or Saxon descent. They possessed a great share of the
scanty commerce of the country. In the year 1280, the town was resorted to
by a French count as a fit place for building a large ship, his own having
been wrecked in the Orkneys; and its exports of hides, herring, salmon,
malt, &c., were known in the ports of the Continent, and even on the shores
of the Mediterranean. Few of the wealthy burghers were Highland-men ; but to
the attacks of these restless and insatiable neighbours they were constantly
exposed. Yet it has ever been the fashion to style Inverness the capital of
the Highlands, and the metropolis of the north. It was the emporium of
commerce but the Highlanders acknowledged no capitals, no places of resort,
except the chieftain's castles and strongholds, and the open gathering
hills.
17. In this town our monarchs
frequently held their courts; those disobedient to the king's summons to
attend them being cited at the market-cross of the burgh. Here the justice
aires were always held ; and the proprietors who lived on the lines of road
conducting to the town were obliged to escort the judges, and see them safe
through their territories. It is still the town where the circuit courts of
justiciary for the trial of important criminal offences, and civil cases
appealed from the local judicatories, sit twice a-year, for the northern
counties.
One of the last royal visits
to Inverness was paid by Queen Mary, who came north to quell an insurrection
of the Earl of Huntly. The queen caused the governor of the castle, who held
it for the earl, to be hanged. This unfortunate princess is said to have
been much attached to Inverness; and the house in which she lived subsisted
till of late years. It was a curious structure, situated close by the
bridge, and at the base of that castle wall where her vassal waved his
banner and lorded it over his sovereign. Her situation so near the castle
was evidently dangerous; but the garrison was overawed by the Frasers,
Monroes, and Mackenzies, headed by the Lord Lovat, who crowded to the
queen's protection.
18. Cromwell (in 1652-7)
built a citadel and fort on the north side of the town, near the mouth of
the river. "It cost £80,000 sterling, and was nearly five years in building.
It was a regular pentagon, surrounded at full tide with water suflicient to
float a small bark. The breastwork was three storeys high, all of hewn
stone, and lined with brick inside. The sally-port lay towards the town. The
principal gateway was to the north, where was a strong drawbridge of oak and
a stately structure over it, with this motto, `Togam tuentur arena.' From
this bridge the citadel was approached by a vault seventy feet long, with
seats on each side. In the centre of the fort stood a large square building,
three storeys high: the lower storey contained the granary and magazine. In
the highest was a church well finished within a pavilion roof, surmounted by
a steeple with a clock and four bells; at the south-east stood a long
building, four storeys high, called the English Building, because built by
English masons; and opposite to it a similar one erected by Scottish
architects. The accommodations altogether would lodge 1000 men. England
supplied the oak planks and beams, Strathglass the fir; recourse was had to
the monasteries of Kinloss and Beauly, the bishop's castle of Chanonry, the
Greyfriars' Church, and St. Mary's Chapel in Inverness, for the stonework ;
and so abundant were the provisions and supplies of the garrison, that a
Scots pint of claret sold for a shilling; and cloth was bought as cheap as
in England." On the Restoration this fortress was demolished, in order
to please some of the highland chiefs, who were then deemed loyal; and,
judging from the dates of many of the older houses in the town, it is
supposed that they were built of its materials. A considerable part of the
ramparts still remains.
19. For a long time the
houses of the burgh seem to have been crowded near the castle, and along the
Church Street, which was commanded by it. They were erected in the old
Flemish style, with large courts and arched gateways, and gables turned
towards the street. Even in the middle of last century, a great proportion
of the houses were thatched with heather and straw, and few of the ceilings
or rooms in them were plastered. Formerly most of the neighbouring
proprietors had houses in Inverness, to which they resorted in the winter
season; and hence the society partook of a high aristocratic character. Till
within these few years, several of the streets had a very picturesque,
though irregular, appearance, from the hanging balconies, and round turnpike
stairs and towers which projected in front of the houses.
20. The Invernessians were
such staunch Jacobites, that open obstruction was given by the magistrates
to the proclamation of George I.'s accession to the throne; and they stirred
up the people to a riot. So greatly, too, was Episcopacy rooted in the minds
of the people of this town, that, in 1691, when the settlement of a parish
minister was ordered under the established Presbyterian Church, armed men
were stationed by the burgh rulers at the church door to prevent his
admission, and Presbyterianism had to be enforced by the aid of a regiment
sent north for that express purpose.
So late as the period of the
Disarming Act, men in all parts of the Highlands appeared on Sundays as if
fully accoutred for war; and, seventy years ago, only three ladies with
straw bonnets were to be seen in the High Church of Inverness. It appears,
by the town records, that the streets were for the first time cleaned at the
public expense in 1746, by order of the Duke of Cumberland. From the
cheapness of foreign wines, spirits, and ale, dissipation prevailed here,
and in all the northern towns, even to the end of last century, to a degree
almost inconceivable. Now, no distinctions can be perceived in the dress,
manners, or modes of living of the inhabitants of the burgh from those of
other towns in Scotland. Indeed, the people of Inverness are usually
regarded as more advanced in refinement than most of their neighbours ; and
their pronunciation is generally considered better than in any other part of
Scotland.
21. The town is ruled by a
provost, four bailies, a dean of guild, a treasurer, and fourteen
councillors. The magistrates walk to church on Sundays, preceded by their
lictors, as in the days of ancient Rome; and, till lately, when required,
they attended in a body the funerals of the inhabitants.
22. Trade, by means of the
Caledonian Canal, is reviving. Living is not dear. The spirit of industry
and speculation has called forth several companies for the employment of
capital and the embellishment of the town. Steam-boats and coaches have
rendered it a great thoroughfare. Access is easily had from Inverness to all
parts of the country; and its inns, for elegance and comfort, are nowhere
surpassed in Scotland. |
