A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Ulva, one of the Argyllshire Hebrides, in Kilninian an and Kilmore parish, on the W coast of Mull, lying between Loch Tuadh and the entrance of Loch na10½ miles WSW of Aros, under which there is at the office of Ulva Ferry. Of eight houses here, all but the grocer's were destroyed by fire in June 1880. The island is separated on the W from Gometra by so narrow a strait that, except as seen on its very shores, they appear to be one island; on the N and NE, from Mornish in Mull by Loch Tuadh, which decreases eastward from a breadth of 1¾ mile to a shallow and very narrow strait; on the SW, from Torosay in Mull by Loch-na-Keal, 1½ mile broad; and on the S from Little Colonsay by a sound 1 mile broad. Its length, from E to W, is 5 miles; and its maximum breadth is 21/3 miles. The island is distinguished for grand basaltic colonnades and picturesque combinations of these with amorphous masses of trap. Its surface rises from the shore in successive ranges of terraces to an extreme altitude of 1400 feet. Its rocks are a dark bluish trap, now columnar, and now amorphous; and an amygdaloid, abounding in analcime and mesotype, now above the trap, now below it, and now interposed between two ranges of its columns. Some low but well-formed colonnades occur along the shores. The upper ranges seldom exceed 20 feet in height, but are very numerous; and they preserve little or no continuity, but exist in detached parts which in numerous places resemble fragments of walls and ruined towers. 'The ranges,' says Dr Macculloch, 'are often as regular as those of Staffa, although on a much less scale; and pass gradually from that regularity of form into the most shapeless masses. In many places they afford elegant and picturesque compositions, which, although passed every day by the crowds who visit Staffa, appear to have been unnoticed. If either their numbers, extent, or picturesque appearance be considered, they are more deserving of admiration than even those of the Giant's Causeway; and had they been the only basaltic columns on this coast, they might have acquired the fame which they merit. But Ulva is eclipsed by the superior lustre of Staffa; and, while the mass of mankind is content to follow the individual who first led the way, its beauties will probably be still consigned to neglect.' From 1473 and earlier the island was possessed by the Macquarries, whose last and sixteenth chief was visited here by Dr Johnson in 1773. Near his old mansion stands Ulva House, a large modern building, the seat of Francis William Clark, Esq., who owns 8000 acres in Argyllshire, valued at £1525 per annum. The quoad sacra parish of Ulva was disjoined, as a parliamentary church district, from the Mull parish of Kilninian and Kilmore in 1828, and was made a parochial erection by the General Assembly in 1833. Comprehending the islands of Ulva, Gometra, Colonsay, and Staffa, with a portion of the mainland of Mull, it is in the presbytery of Mull and the synod of Argyll. The minister's stipend is £153. The church, built in 1827, contains 320 sittings. Pop. of q. s. parish (1871) 222, (1881) 166; of island (1837) 168, (1851) 204, (1871) 71, (1881) 53.
(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)
| Linked entities: | |
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| Feature Description: | "one of the Argyllshire Hebrides" (ADL Feature Type: "islands") |
| Administrative units: | Argyll ScoCnty |
| Place: | Ulva |
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