SNIZORT, a parish, in the Isle of Skye, county of
Inverness, 7 miles (N. N.W.) from Portree; containing
3220 inhabitants, of whom eighty- seven are in that part
of the quoad sacra parish of Steinscholl which is within
Snizort. This parish is bounded on the east by the
sound of Rasay, and on the west by Loch Snizort. It is
about twelve miles in extreme length and nearly six miles
in breadth, comprising an area of 37,000 acres, of which
the far greater part is hill and moorland pasture. The
surface is marked with flat hills of moderate elevation,
partly covered with green pasture, and partly with heath:
in the south-east is a mountainous ridge called the Storr,
whose isolated peak, rising to a great height above the
adjacent hills, and broken into irregular forms, has a
strikingly romantic appearance. Between the hills are
some small valleys, the principal of which, namely,
Glenhaltin, Glenhinistil, and Glen-Uigg, not only afford
luxuriant pasturage, but contain also large tracts of rich
arable land. There are numerous springs of excellent
water; and of the several rivers, which, when swollen
with rains, flow with an impetuous course, the principal
one falls into the bay of Snizort. The coast is indented
with small bays; the most important are, that of Snizort,
which intersects the pari.>ih for nearly five miles, and the
bay of Uigg, forming a semicircular basin a mile and a
half in circumference, on the w-est. The shore is bold
and rocky, exce])t at the heads of the bays, where it is
generally low and sandy; and on the east side of the
coast is a bcautilul cascade, where the water has a fall of
ninety feet from the |)rojecting rock into the sea, and
under which is a naturally formed foot-path in the cliff,
whence this interesting cascade may be seen with singular effect.
Husbandry is generally in a very imperfect state, and
a large proportion of the improveable land is still a
barren waste. The larger farms are under tolerably good
management, and on these impfoved implements of agriculture
are in use; but in all the smaller allotments the
old and inefficient modes are yet practised. The chief
dependence of the inhabitants is on the rearing of blackcattle,
sheep, and horses. At the head of Loch Snizort
is a fishing-station, where salmon are taken; and cod
and ling are found off the coast, many tons of which are
sent annually to Glasgow and Liverpool. Herrings were
formerly caught in abundance; but very few of late have
visited this part of the coast. At the bay of Uigg is a
receiving-house for letters, and the packet from Harris
arrives there weekly, to convey the mails thence to their
destination; facility of communication is also afforded
by a good road which passes through the whole length
of the parish to Portree. The annual value of real property
in Snizort is £2958.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs this place is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Skye and synod of Glenelg.
The minister's stipend is £158. 2. 11., of which more
than one half is paid from the exchequer; with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £15 per annum: patron, the
Crown. The church, situated at the head of Loch Snizort,
built about the year 1800, and originally containing
only 450 sittings, has been enlarged, and now contains
sittings for 750 persons. There is a place of worship
for members of the Free Church; also a preachingstation
on the south side of the bay of Snizort, in which
are 400 sittings. At Uigg is a place of worship for
Baptists. The parochial school is well conducted; the
master has a salary of £30, with a house, an allowance
of £2 in lieu of garden, and the fees. There are other
schools, supported by the General Assembly and societies
for the education of the poor, the masters of which have
salaries of £'20 each; and in the district of Borvie is a
school endowed by the late Donald Mc Dermid, Esq.,
with the sum of £1000, from which the master receives
a salary of £35 per annum: he also possesses a house and garden.
On a small island formed by the river Snizort near
its influx into the sea, are the ruins of the ancient church,
supposed to have been originally the cathedral of the
Isle of Skye: it is now appropriated only as a place of
sepulture. There are numerous cairns in the parish, in
some of which have been found the coffins of the chieftains
over whose remains they were raised: in the cairn
of Ina was discovered, on the lid of a stone coffin, the
handle of a military weapon resembling a sword; and
within the coffin was an urn of burnt clay, elaborately
carved, but without any inscription. While digging
peat on the farm of Sheader, there was discovered in
the moss a small box of ancient weapons, on one of
which, when cleared from rust, appeared the name of
"Bocchus", supposed to have been sheriff of Ross, which
included the Isle of Skye when the Macdonalds were
Earls of Ross. This weapon was probably the sword of
state usually placed before him while holding his courts.
There are also remains of Druidical circles, and several
circular forts. Among the rocks on the eastern coast is
a large perpendicular mass of stone, 360 feet in circumference
at the base, and about 300 feet high, tapering
gradually toward the summit, and forming a natural
obelisk of strikingly romantic appearance.