KILMUIR, a parish, in the Isle of Skye, county
of Inverness, 18 miles (N. by W.) from Portree; containing,
with nearly all of the quoad sacra parish of
SteinschoU, 362.5 inhabitants. This place, which forms
the northern e.xtremity of the Isle of Skye, derived its
name from the dedication of its church to the Virgin
Mary. Its early history is involved in great obscurity;
but it is generally supposed to have been inhabited, in
common with the adjacent districts, by the ancient
Caledonians, or the Picts, and subsequently by a colony
of Norwegians, whom the tyranny of Harold Harfager,
their king, induced to quit their native country and to
settle here. From this and the surrounding islands the
settlers made frequent piratical incursions upon the
coast of Norway. For the suppression of these, the
king, in concert with his allies, assembled a powerful
fleet, which he sent against his revolted subjects; and
he ultimately succeeded in annexing the islands to the
crown of Norway. After the defeat of the Norwegians
in the battle of Largs, by Alexander III., the Western
Isles were ceded to the kingdom of Scotland, but were
still under the government of the lords of the Isles, who
exercised a kind of sovereignty independent of the crown.
Of these chieftains the most important were the Macdonalds,
descendants of Somerled, Lord of Argyll, between
whom and the Macleods of Dunvegan, and other
clans, feuds prevailed to such an extent as to induce
James v., in 1540, to arm a fleet to reduce them to subjection.
The king in person visited the different islands
of the Hebrides, and in the parish of Kilmuir was met by
a number of chiefs who claimed relationship with the lords
of the Isles. In 1 " 1 5, Sir Donald Macdonald sent a strong
body of his vassals from this and neighbouring parishes
to the battle of Sheriffrauir; but neither he nor Macleod
of Dunvegan could be prevailed upon to join the
forces of the Young Pretender at the battle of CuUoden.
Of this family was the heroic Flora Macdonald, who, in
the disguise of a servant, conducted Prince Charles from
Long Island to Monkstadt, in this parish, and was sent
as a prisoner to the Tower of London, from which, however,
she was released at the intercession of Frederick,
Prince of Wales. Her remains were interred in the
burying-ground of Kilmuir.
The PARISH is bounded on the north, east, and west
by the sea, and on the south by the parish of Snizort.
It is about sixteen miles in length, varying from six to
ten miles in breadth, and comprising about 30,000 acres,
of which 5000 are arable, nearly the same quantity meadow
and pasture, and the remainder chiefly moorland,
hill pasture, and waste. The surface is intersected by
a range of hills, the highest of which has an elevation
of 1200 feet above the level of the sea; and there are
several smaller hills, covered with verdure, and of picturesque
appearance. Within the bosom of a mountainous
height, of precipitous acclivity on the west, and
on the north-east inaccessible on account of rugged
rocks and masses of columnar basalt, is a fertile plain
of singular beauty, designated Quiraing, of sufficient
extent to afford standing-room to 4000 head of cattle,
and which was formerly resorted to as a place of safety
in times of danger. The coast is indented with numerous
bays, the principal of which are Cammusmore,
Duntulm, Kilmaluag, and Altivaig; but Duntulm alone
affords safe anchorage. The chief islands off the coa.st
are lasgair or Yesker, Fladdachuain, Tulm, Trodda, Altivaig,
and Fladda: of these, Fladdachuain, about threequarters
of a mile in length and 300 yards in breadth,
was the site of a Druidical temple. The isles are uninhabited,
affording only pasture for cattle. There are
some small lakes, in which black and yellow trout are
found: one lake has been lately drained, and converted
into good arable ground.
The land in cultivation is principally a tract about
two miles in breadth, along the shores; and the soil in
that part is tolerably fertile: the system of husbandry,
however, is still in a very imperfect state. The chief crops
produced are oats and potatoes. In general the sheep
reared in the pastures are of the black-faced, Cheviot,
and small Highland breeds; the cattle are of the Highland
breed, with the exception of a few milch-cows
of the Ayrshire. There is no village of any importance:
a post-office, under that of Portree, has been established,
from which letters are conveyed to the Kilmaluag and
SteinschoU districts by a private runner. A road along
the south-east boundary of the parish was opened about
the year 1830, and is kept in repair by statute labour.
Ecclesiastically the parish is within the bounds of the
presbytery of Skye, synod of Glenelg. The minister's
stipend is £158. 6. 8., with a manse, and a glebe valued
at £10 per annum; patron, the Crown. Kilmuir church
was built in 1810, and contains 700 sittings. The parochial
school is well attended; the master has a salary
of £30, with a house and garden, and the fees average
£3 per annum. There is also a school, the master of
which has a salary of £15, with a house and a portion
of land, supported by the Society for Propagating Christian
Knowledge; and another school is maintained by
the Gaelic School Society. In the parish are some interesting
remains of the once magnificent castle of Duntulm,
the ancient residence of the Macdonalds, situated
on a lofty rock overlooking the bay of that name. There
are also vestiges of Culdee cells, and numerous remains
of ancient forts supposed to be chiefly Danish.