SLEAT, or SLATE, a parish, in the Isle of Skye,
county of Inverness, 16 miles (S. by W.) from Broadford;
containing 2706 inhabitants. This parish, the
name of which is supposed to be of Danish origin, is
situated in the south-eastern part of the island, and is
twenty-five miles in length and five in average breadth,
comprising 24,056 acres. About 1335 acres are arable,
3956 green pasture, 18,265 hill pasture, and 500 wood.
It is chiefly a peninsula. The northern part, reaching
to Kyle-Rhea, a.ferry that separates Skye from the main
land of Glenelg, comprehends but a small proportion of
the area compared to the southern or peninsular district,
which is connected with the northern by a narrow
isthmus formed by the approximation of an arm of the
sea on the east, called Loch-in-daal, and another on the
west, called Loch Eishart. The whole of the eastern
boundary is washed by the channel which extends between
Skye and the counties of Ross and Inverness;
and though the shore is not so deeply indented here as
in many other parts of the island, it is yet far from regular
in its outline, particularly in the southern portion.
The interior displays considerable variety of scenery;
the eastern side, where most of the cultivated ground is
situated, is ornamented with the thriving plantations of
Armadale Castle, and exhibits specimens of superior
husbandry in its arable and pasture lands. Westward
are tracts of low bleak moorland, forming a contrast to
the bold elevations of Strath, and especially to the lofty
and pinnacled range of Cuillin beyond. The lakes are of
small extent, and principally in the moorlands; they
contain trout, which are sometimes taken by anglers.
The paucity of fish in these waters is compensated by
the supply of various kinds in the neighbouring seas,
comprehending herrings, cod, ling, skate, mackerel, salmon,
flounders, and others.
Towards the middle of the parish the soil is mossy,
furnishing the inliabitants with plenty of good peat for
fuel. In the jjortiou under tillage it is clayey, but on
account of the humidity of the climate and the wetness
of the ground, the crops are late. The farmers consist
partly of a superior order called tacksmen, who hold
their lands by lease, generally for fifteen years, and partly
of crofters or small tenants, who hold at will, and cultivate
mere allotments of ground. These two classes are
so entirely different in circumstances, and in the results
of their agricultural labour, that they form a perfect
contrast to each other. The tacksmen pursue a regular
system of husbandry, including a rotation of crops; pay
much attention to the rearing of sheep and cattle; and
have conveaient and comfortable farm-buildings. The
crofters, on the contrary, are chiefly anxious to raise
potatoes, which having planted in the spring, and manured
with sea- ware, they leave home, and proceed to
the south in search of employment, there being but little
demand for labour in the parish. At the end of harvest
they return; appropriating their summer earnings to
the payment of their rent, and the relief of those who
are sick or infirm; and remaining throughout the winter
entirely unoccupied. Most of this class have cattle and
sheep grazing on the hills; but these being far too numerous
for the quantity of pasture, they are lean and
stunted, and contribute only in a small degree to the
means of subsistence. The crofters are thus extremely
poor; they are all clad in home-made apparel, rarely
taste butchers' meat, and consider oatmeal a luxury; a
depressed state arising from over-population, and the
consolidation of several tracts and their conversion into
sheep-farms. The annual value of real property in the
parish is £'2097.
The substrata consist of gneiss, intersected with trap
dykes. The stone used in building the castle of Armadale,
the seat of Lord Macdonald, proprietor of the
parish, was brought from quarries in the adjoining parish
of Strath; freestone being employed for the more massive,
and granite for the ornamental portions. Armadale
Castle, built about thirty or forty years since, is particularly
admired for its hall and staircase, which are beautifully
finished, and the latter ornamented with a window
of stained glass by Egginton of Birmingham, containing
a fine figure of Somerled, Lord of the Isles, the founder
of the family, represented in full Highland costume.
The rooms are all commodious and well proportioned,
and some of them exceedingly handsome. Several good
roads connect different parts of the parish; and a parliamentary
road runs through it, communicating between
Armadale and Broadford. Steam-boats plying between
Glasgow and Portree touch here every day in summer,
and once a fortnight in winter. The chief produce exported
consists of herrings and cod sent to the district of
the Clyde, of sheep sent to the Falkirk trysts, and of
black-cattle. Ecclesiastically this place is in the presbytery
of Skye, synod of Glenelg, and in the patronage
of the Crown: the minister's stipend is £158, of which
£96 are paid by the exchequer; with a manse, built
about half a century since, and a glebe valued at £6 per
annum. The church, situated at Kilmore, near the
centre of the parish, is a plain structure bearing the date
1631; it has latelj' been repaired, and contains sittings
for about 500 persons. The members of the Free Church
have a place of worship. Sleat parochial school affords
instruction in the usual branches; the master has a
salary of £30, with a house and fees. There is an Assembly's
school at Tormore. Another school is supported
by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge;
and a school has been established by the Gaelic
School Society, at the ferry of Kyle-Rhea. An ancient
building called Dun-scaich, situated on the west side of
the parish, and another, called the Castle of Knock, on
the east, are supposed to have been at a remote period
residences of the barons of Sleat. Sir John Macpherson,
who held a high appointment in India, was born here.
The place confers on the Macdonald family the title of
barons of Sleat.