Ardchattan is one of the grandest and wildest of the parishes in this part of Argyllshire ; within its limits are some great Highland estates, Lochnell, Barcaldine, Inverawe and others,
though here as too often has happened with other ancient Scottish properties, the old lords of the soil have been forced to part with their ancestral domains. Excellent arable soil is found here, light and dry, and the appearance of the landscape at harvest time is proof that for oats, barley, potatoes, and similar crops, it could not readily be surpassed. Many noble mountains rise around the traveller as he surveys the scenery near Loch Etive, especially the two magnificent heights of Buacbail Etive, the 'keepers of Etive,' forming a grand background in the vicinity of that Loch. The fine old ruined building of Ardchattan Priory, of the Benedictine order of monks, attracts many visitors, its venerable walls harmonizing well with the surrounding scenery. Whether King Robert the Bruce lived here for a time, and held a Parliament after his disastrous defeat at the battle of Methven, is matter of considerable doubt.1
This website started as part of the Heritage Lottery Funded All Our Stories, Dualchas Agus Duthchas project, aimed at exploring our local history, and the people who have lived here over the centuries.
This site is just a skeleton, so far, the start of the outline of the information and the topics we would like to gather and share.
It uses a wiki system (like wikipedia). We invite anyone with ideas, information, images, records, questions or memories to contribute and add their piece to the Ardchattan heritage jigsaw.
By collaborating we can build a wonderful encyclopedia of our local history.
The catalogue of the material that is physically or digitally held by the Ardchattan Parish Archive, and that has been indexed, so far will have its own website and again, this is very much work in progress. The catalogue is still being created, and then it will be uploaded.
Please choose a topic below and enjoy your exploration through the topics, places, events of interest around the parish. This is the Start of our journey together, learning more of the people, places, traditions, geography, events, industry : from the Big Bang to the Present Day.
Some of the pages have a few notes to give you some ideas as to how the page can develop; most are still empty.. but this will be an organic process.. probably quite chaotic for the first year or so, but order will surely come in time. The more people who share their images, memories and information the more interesting it will become.
We look forward to your contribution. share here
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Here is the start of a google map of the area, please add photos of the area if you have them, from any date.
