NAIRN, a parish and burgh (royal) and seat of a presbytery, in the county of
Nairn, of which it is the chief place; containing, with the village of Seatown of
Delnies, 3393 inhabitants, of whom 26/2 are in the burgh, 155 miles (N. E. by E.) from
Inverness, and I67 (N. N. W.) from Edinburgh. This place,
which is of considerable antiquity, is said to have been
originally founded by King William the Lion, and derives
its name from the river Nairn, on which it is
situated. It is not distinguished by any events of historical
importance except the encampment, in its immediate
neighbourhood, of the Duke of Cumberland's army
on the day previous to the battle of CuUoden in 1746.
The older portion of the town was formerly defended by
a castle, whose foundations are covered by the sea;
such encroachment, indeed, has the sea made upon this
part of the coast, that the present town is more than
half a mile from the original site. Nairn is situated on
the left bank of the river, near its junction with the
Moray Firth, and consists of one spacious street, and
several others that are narrow and irregularly formed,
containing houses of old-fashioned appearance; and also
of some streets of recent formation in which the houses
are of better character. The streets and roads are macadamized;
the town is lighted with gas from works
established by a company in 1839, and the inhabitants
are amply supplied with water. Assemblies are held
occasionally in Anderson's hotel, which is handsomely
fitted up, and provided for the accommodation of travellers
and the visiters who frequent the town during
the summer months for sea-bathing, for which the beach
affords facility. There arc hot, cold, and shower baths,
with every requisite appendage; and the town is fast
rising into repute as a watering-place. The environs are
pleasant, and finely varied: the river, over which is a
good bridge on the Forres road, forms numerous windings
in its course to the Firth; and the scenes of interest
within short drives of the town comprise the farfamed
Cawdor Castle, Kilravock Castle, the Muir of
CuUoden, Fort-George, the blasted heath where Macbeth
met the witches, Lethen, Brodie House, Darnaway Castle,
and the l)anks of the Findhorn, including the Heronry,
Logic, Relugas, Dunphail, aVid Glenfairness.
The maritime trade consists in the importation of
coal, lime, groceries, and various other kinds of merchandise,
for the supply of the town and neighbourhood;
and in the exporti^tion of timber, fish, stones, and
grain. The number of vessels belonging to the port is
seven, and their aggregate burthen 370 tons. Nairn
harbour is formed chiefiy by a pier at the mouth of the
river; but from the accumulation of sand, it is scarcely
accessible to vessels of any large size: the pier was almost
swept away by the flood of 1829, but has been partly
restored, and now, through the assistance of the Board
of Fisheries, there is every prospect of its being rendered
more efficient than ever. A salmon-fishery is carried on
at the mouth of the Nairn, producing a rental to the
proprietors of about £70 per annum. The cod and
haddock fisheries are very extensive, affording employment
to 200 persons during the season, after which they
remove to the herring-fishery at Helmsdale, which is
their chief occupation, the boats in general returning
with cargoes that during the season yield from £50 to
£100 per man. There are houses for curing the haddocks
as speldings, of which great quantities are exported.
A considerable trade is also carried on in the
town, in which are shops well stored with merchandise
and wares of every kind; the mail and two other stagecoaches
pass and repass daily, and there are branches of
the National Bank, the British Linen Company, and the
Caledonian Bank, of which the first has a handsome
building. The market is on Friday, and is amply supplied
with provisions of all kinds. Fairs for horses and
cattle are held on the third Friday in April, which is
also a statute fair; on the 19th of June if on Tuesday,
or if not, on the Tuesday following; on the 13th of
August, or the first day after Campbelton fair; on the
fourth Friday in September; on the Friday after the
third Tuesday in October, which is also a statute fair;
and on the first Friday in November.
The government of the burgh, by a succession of
charters confirmed and extended by James VI., Charles
I., and Charles II., is vested in a provost, three bailies, a
dean of guild, treasurer, and eleven councillors, assisted
by a town-clerk and others. The provost, and the bailies
and other officers, are elected from the town council, by
a majority of their number; and the council, since the
passing of the Municipal Reform act, have been elected
by the £10 parliamentary voters. There are no minor
incorporated trades. The freedom of the burgh is obtained
by purchase: the dues of admission, besides fees,
are £8 for a merchant burgess and £1. 1. for a trade
burgess, to strangers; but the eldest sous of burgesses
are admitted for half those sums. The jurisdiction of
the magistrates, which extends over the whole of the
royalty (from two to three miles in diameter), is in
criminal cases now generally confined to petty thefts
and assaults, and in civil cases is scarcely ever exercised,
parties preferring to sue in the sheriff's court. In conjunction
with Inverness, Forres, and Fortrosc, the burgh
returns one member to the imperial parliament; the
right of election is vested in the £10 voters. The townhouse,
situated in the main street, is a neat structure
with a lofty spire, and contains a good room for the
town and county courts, which is also used for holding
public meetings. This building includes the prison for
the burgh and county, which has of late been much
enlarged and improved.
The PARISH, which is bounded on the north by the
Moray Firth, is about eight miles in length and six
miles in extreme breadth, comprising .'jOOO acres, whereof
3220 arc arable, 1,'iSO woodland and plantations, and the
remainder waste. On the north side of the river the
surface is level, but on the south side rises gradually,
and near the south angle of the parish attains a considerable
elevation at the hill of Urchany, formerly an unsightly
barren height, but which has been planted with
oak, larch, and fir, and constitutes a pleasing and conspicuous
feature in the scenery. Near the town, and
along the coast, the soil is light and sandy; in the southern
portion, a ricli heavy mould; and along the banks of
the river, a mixture of sand and clay. Considerable
improvement in the system of agriculture has taken
place; the farm-buildings are substantial and commodious,
and numerous neat cottages have been built for
the labourers. The annual value of real property in the
parish now amounts to £4596. In general the scenery
is of pleasing character; the banks of the river are
wooded with alder, and the plantations around the seats
of the various proprietors add much to the beauty of
the landscape. Geddes House is a handsome mansion:
the grounds are tastefully laid out, and embellished with
shrubberies and plantations; and from the hill of Urchany,
immediately in front of it, are some fine prospects
over the surrounding country. Viewfield, Househill,
Achareidh, Lodgehill, Firhall, and Newton, are also
good residences. For ecclesiastical purposes the
parish is within the limits of the presbytery of Nairn
and synod of Moray; the minister's stipend is £284,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £18 per annum:
patron, Mr. Brodie of Brodic. Nairn church, erected
in 1810 by assessment on the heritors, is a neat structure,
and contains 90*2 sittings; the service is performed
sometimes in the English, and sometimes in the Gaelic
language. There are places of worship for the Free
Church, the United Presbyterian Church, and Independents,
with an elegant chapel in connexion with the
Church of England. The academy, for which there is
a handsome building at the western approach to the
town, and which is in high repute, has, since the death
of the late parochial schoolmaster, been connected with
the parochial school by way of experiment; the master
has a salary of £40, and the teacher £2.5, and the fees
amount to £30. There are several other schools in the
parish, and some friendly and benevolent societies contribute
materially to the relief of the poor. On the
north side of Geddes are vestiges of the ancient castle
of Finlay; and to the east are remains of the castle
of Rait, for some time the residence of the family of
Cumyn, and apparently of great strength. At Easter
Geddes are the remains of a chapel, the place of interment
for many generations of the family of Kilravock.