TAIN, a parish and burgh (royal), the county-town in
the county of Ross-and-Cromarty, 30| miles (N. by E.)
from Inverness, and 201 (N. by W.) from Edinburgh; containing,
with the village of Inver, Sl'iS inhabitants, of
whom 2*287 are in the burgh. This place, the name of which
is of uncertain derivation, appears to have attained a
considerable degree ot importance
at a very early period; and the ancient town,
according to an old document preserved among the
records of the Northern Institution at Inverness, was
first erected into a burgh by charter of Malcolm Canmore.
The surrounding lands were annexed to the see
of Ross, of which St. Duthus was bishop about the year
1200; and to that saint was dedicated a chapel near the
town, which had the privilege of sanctuary. In 1306
King Robert Bruce, then in his greatest difficulties,
sent his queen and daughter for safety to the stronghold
of Kildrummy, in Marr, from which, when
threatened with a siege, they escaped, and took refuge
in the sanctuary of St. Duthus, at this place; but the
Earl of Ross, violating the sanctuary, seized their
persons, and delivered them to the English. About
the year 1427, Mc Niell, Lord of Criech, in Sutherland,
having a feud with Morvat, Lord of Freswick, in Caithness,
the latter was defeated, and fled with his attendants
to the chapel of St. Duthus, whither they were
pursued by Mc Niell, who set fire to the chapel, and put
the whole party to the sword. James V., in the year
1527, made a pilgrimage to the chapel, then in ruins,
to which he walked barefoot; and the path that was
made for him upon that occasion still retains the appellation
of the King's Causeviay. The ruins of this ancient
chapel yet remain, consisting chiefly of the roofless
walls, combining great strength and rude simplicity of
architecture; they are situated on an eminence near
the sandy plain on which the ancient town stood. A
memorial of the saint is preserved in the device of the
town seal, and in the names of numerous localities in the parish.
The TOWN stands near the head of the hay of Tain
in Dornoch Firth, and though irregularly built, contains
some substantial houses. Many improvements have
been effected: several of the streets have been straightened
by the removal of ancient houses, which have given
place to others of better appearance, particularly towards
the east, to which the town has been considerably extended.
A handsome building has been erected, in which
public meetings are held. Though within a short distance
of Dornoch Firth, the numerous shoals and sandbanks
on the coast preclude the possibility of forming a
harbour; and the town consequently has but little trade,
except what it derives from its situation in the centre of
a wide agricultural district, of which it is the principal
mart. An iron-foundry for the manufacture of cast-iron
goods of every sort for domestic use, is carried on for
the supply of the surrounding country; there are also
extensive ale breweries, and several mills for grinding
meal, sawing timber, carding wool, and for dyeing. The
markets, which are abundantly supplied with provisions
of all kinds, and with fish from the village of Inver, are
held on Tuesday and Friday. Fairs are held annually,
for ponies, cattle, and agricultural produce, on the first
Tuesday in January, the third Tuesday in March, the
second Wednesday in July, the third Wednesday in
August, the third Tuesday in October, and the Tuesday
before Christmas. Facility of communication in every
direction is afforded by good roads. After the destruction
of its ancient charters, the burgh obtained from
James VI. a charter confirming all its former privileges
and immunities as a royal burgh, and which was ratified
and extended by Charles II. in 16/5. The government
is vested in a provost, three bailies, a dean of guild, a
treasurer, and nine councillors: the fees paid for admission
as a burgess vary from £1. 10. to £5. 5., but the
only privilege is freedom to trade. Assisted by the
town-clerk, who acts as assessor, the magistrates exercise
civil and criminal jurisdiction within the royalty;
but very few cases of the former kind, and none of the
latter, have been tried within the last few years. Tain
is associated with Dingwall, Dornoch, Kirkwall, and
W^ick, in returning a member to the imperial parliament.
The town and county hall, a handsome building erected
in 1825, was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1833,
and has not been rebuilt; the gaol is used for the whole
of the surrounding district.
The PARISH, which is bounded on the north, and
partly on the east, by Dornoch Firth, is nearly ten miles
in length from north-east to south-west, and, including
the peninsular projection into the Firth at Meikle Ferrv,
is four miles and a half in breadth, though the average
breadth is less than three miles. Its surface is naturally
divided into three distinct portions. That on the shore
of the Firth is flat and sandy, and scarcely fifteen feet
above the level of the sea. About a quarter of a mile
towards the south-west, the land rises to a ridge nearly
fifty feet in elevation, forming a fine tract of table-land,
on which the town is built, and behind which is a highlycultivated
and richly-wooded district. Beyond this is
the upland portion, consisting of a chain of hills, of
which the highest, called the Hill of Tain, is 780 feet
above the sea. The Firth, in that part immediately
below the town, is at high water five miles broad, but
at ebb-tides is diminished to about three miles; towards
the north-west it is greatly contracted by the projection
of the headlands at the ferry, after which it assumes the
appellation of the Firth of Tain. There are no rivers of
any importance. In the uplands are numerous springs,
some of which are slightly chalybeate. The number of
acres in the parish has not been ascertained; but it is
estimated that more than .5000, belonging originally to
the corporation, have been divided into lots, and brought
under tillage. Though various, the soil is generally fertile,
and well adapted for the growth of wheat, of which
considerable quantities are raised. Much waste land
has been reclaimed by draining, and now produces the
usual crops of grain; and great improvement has taken
place within the last few years, in the system of agriculture,
and by the inclosing of lands. The plantations are,
Scotch fir, of which much is exported for props in coalmines,
and larch, elm, ash, beech, and birch; all the
species thrive well, and there are many trees of venerable
and stately growth. The substrata are chiefly
white and red sandstone, and large boulders of gneiss
and granite occur in some places, one of which, called
the Stone of Morangie, contains about 1500 cubic feet.
There are extensive quarries of white sandstone in the
Hill of Tain. The annual value of real property in the
parish is £.54/5.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs this place is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Tain and synod of Ross.
The minister's stipend is £281. 5. 7-, with a manse, and
a glebe valued at £9 per annum; patron, the Marchioness
of Stafford. The old church of St. Duthus, founded by
Thomas, Bishop of Ross, and made collegiate for a provost
and eleven prebendaries, at length became dilapidated;
and in 1815, the present church was built, at
the eastern extremity of the town, and nearly in the
centre of the parish. It is a neat structure containing
1200 sittings. One-half of the congregation still speak
the Gaelic language only; and for their use the ancient
church, though the interior has suffered some trifling
mutilation of its ornaments, might be fitted up at a trifling
expense. The members of the Free Church have
a place of worship. Tain parochial school is also the
burgh school. The Academy, for which a handsome
and spacious building was erected by subscription in
181 2, is under the management of a rector, and two
masters for the ancient and modern languages; it has
au endowment of about £'iOO i)cr annum, in addition to
the fees, and is well attended. There are a Gaelic school
at Inver, and various other schools; several friendly
societies, and a masonic lodge. The sum of £500 was
left to the parish by a Mr. Robertson, the interest to be
regularly distributed at Christmas for the relief of reduced
householders; and there is also a sum of £300,
left to tlie poor by the late George Murray, Escj., of
Westfield.