BASS-ISLE, an isle, in the parish of North-Berwick,
county of HADDINGTON. It is situated in the mouth
of the Firth of Forth, about a mile and a half from the
shore; the circumference of the rocky isle is full a mile,
and its height above the surface of the sea 420 feet.
On the north it is lofty and precipitous; on the south
somewhat conical, sloping moderately down to the base:
it is only accessible on the south-east. Pasture is
afforded for about thirty sheep, and the rock is the
resort of myriads of sea-fowl. Its history is of considerable
interest: it was purchased by government in October
1671, and converted into a state prison for the Covenanters,
a purpose which it served during the reigns of
Charles II. and James II. After the Revolution, it held
out for several years against the new dynasty, amidst
numerous and vigorous enterjjriscs for its reduction,
and was signalized as the last place in Great Britain
that yielded to the rule of William and Mary. In I701
the king ordered the fortifications to be demolished,
and in I706 the Bass was granted by the crown to
President Sir Hew Dalrymple for one Scots penny,
reserving the power of re-fortifying the rock, should
government at any time deem it expedient to do so.
The fort and the dungeons are all unroofed, and the
chief interest of the isle arises from its historical associations,
these crumbling ruins speaking of seventeen years'
solitude and suffering, endured by above fifty of Scotland's
sons, who, some for a longer and some for a
shorter part of that period, here endured a painful imprisonment
and e.xile for their zeal as Covenanters. See
North Berwick.