KILDALTON, a parish, in the district of Islay,
county of Argyll, 14 miles (E. by S.) from Bowmore;
containing, with the village of Port-Ellen and the former
quoad sacra district of Oa, 3315 inhabitants, of whom
904 are in Port-Ellen.- This parish, which is supposed
to have taken its name from one of the step-sons of the
Macdonalds, who was buried in the church, forms the
south-eastern portion of the isle of Islay, and is bounded
on the north-east by the sound of Islay, and on the
south-west by the Atlantic Ocean. It is twenty-four
miles in length and seven in breadth; the number of
acres has not been ascertained, and only a very small
portion of the parish is arable. The surface is broken
by a range of hills extending from south-west to northeast,
and increasing in elevation towards the sound of
Islay; of these, Benvigory and Mc Arthur's Head are the
highest. To the north-west of the hills is a large extent
of level ground, gradually coming into cultivation; and
the valleys, which intersect the parish from east to west,
are in general fertile, yielding good crops of oats, barley,
and potatoes. There are numerous excellent springs in
various places, but no rivers of any importance; also
several small lakes, in most of which are found trout of
large size, and in some pike. The coast extends for
more than fifty miles; it is generally low and rocky, and
is indented with bays, the principal of which are Port-
Ellen, Lagamhulin, Lochknock, Lochintallin, Ardmore,
Kenture, Aross, Claigean, Ardtealla, and Proaig. The
most prominent headlands are, Mc Arthur's Head on
the north, Ardmore Point on the east, and the Mull of
Oa on the south. In different parts the rocks are perforated
with caverns of romantic appearance, one of
which is about 300 feet in circumference, and nearly 200
feet in depth: the sea flows into this cavern through
two apertures, one of them a lofty arch of considerable
span, and the other a narrow fissure in the rock. There
are also numerous small islands near the coast, the chief
of which are Texa, EUan-nan-Caorach, Ellain-Imergay,
the Ardelisters, and a cluster of islands in the bay of Ardraore.
In this parish the soil, is extremely various. The
system of agriculture is improving; and within the last
few years considerable tracts of land have been brought
into cultivation under the auspices of the proprietor,
W. F. Campbell, Esq., of Islay, who has also formed
plantations of large extent. These consist of oak, ash,
fir, plane, horse-chesnut, and beech, which are all in a
thriving state; and in the north-east of the parish are
many acres of brushwood. Numbers of black-cattle of
the native breed, and sheep, are reared in the pastures;
and great attention is paid to their improvement. The
annual value of real property in the parish is £4562.
The principal substrata are slate, granite, whinstone, and
limestone; and in some parts indications of ironstone
are observed, with appearances of lead and copper ore;
but the slate and limestone only are wrought. A neat
shooting-lodge has been erected by Mr, Campbell, in
which he occasionally resides during the season. There
are five distilleries, employing about forty persons.
Fairs for black-cattle are held at Port-Ellen, in the beginning
of June, July, August, September, and November;
and a runner from the post-office at Bowmore conveys
letters three times a week to a receiving-house at Lagamhulin.
Ecclesiastically the parish is within the bounds of the
presbytery of Islay and Jura, synod of Argyll. The
minister's stipend is £158. 6. 8., of which two-thirds are
paid from the exchequer; with a gratuity of £5 from
the heritor, a manse, and a glebe valued at £25 per annum:
patron, the Crown. Kildalton church, situated
nearly in the centre of the parish, is a neat structure,
erected in 1816, and enlarged in 1830, containing 600
sittings. A church has been built at Oa, in the southwest.
The parochial school is well attended; the master
has a salary of £25, with a house and garden, and the
fees average £10 per annum. A school is supported by
the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, who
allow the master a salary of £16, with a house and some
land; and there is another school, to the master of which
the Gaelic Society pay £20. In Oa is a parliamentary
school with a salary of £30; and at Kenture, Lagamhulin,
and Kintraw are General Assembly schools. The
poor have the interest of a bequest of £100 by Major
Mc Neill. There are remains of several churches, consisting
chiefly of the roofless walls: near the ruins of
the old church of Kildalton are two crosses of grey
granite, one of which is richly ornamented with sculpture.
Vestiges of three ancient forts may be seen in the
parish at the Mull of Oa, near Port-Ellen, and at the bay
of Lagamhulin: the first is supposed to have been
erected by the Danes; the fort near Lagamhulin, called
Dun-naom-haig, is thought to have been built by the
Macdonalds, and was the last stronghold that they possessed.