Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

NAIRN'other hand, Shaw, in his History of the Province of Moray(and he was well acquainted with the district, as he wasfor fifteen years minister of the adjoining parish ofCawdor), says that no Danish fort or any tradition of itexisted. The existence of the royal burgh is said todate from the time of AVilliam the Lyon, according tocharter mention in the reign of Alexander II. , when theking granted certain lands to the Bishop of Moray ' inexcambium illius terre apud Invernaren quam DominusRex Willelmus, pater mens, cepit de episcopo Moraviensiad firmanduni in ea castellum et burgum de Invernaren.'The castle stood in what was known as the Constabularygarden near High Street, and in the 13th century thesheriffs of Nairn were ex officio keepers of it. In 1264Alexander de Moravia, the then sheriff, was repaid bythe royal treasurer for expense incurred in plasteringthe hall, in placing locks on the doors of the keep, andin providing two cables for the drawbridge. In the14th century the office of sheriff and constable of thecastle became hereditary in the family of Cawdor, andwith them it remained till the abolition of hereditaryjurisdictions in 1747, when the then thane claimed£3000 as compensation for the first office, and £500 forthe second. The lands and town itself were granted'by Robert I. to his brother-in-law, Hugh, Earl of Ross,and they probably continued in the possession of thatfamily till the forfeiture of John, Earl of Ross and Lordof the Isles, in 1475. At that period the tenure of thelands in Nairnshire, which had been formerly heldunder the Earls of Boss, was changed to a crown-holding; and a similar change very probably took placewith regard to the town of Nairn, which then begins tobe styled in records the king's burgh and the roj'alburgh of Nairn ; unless it may be thought that theterms of Robert I. 's grant of the earldom of Moray toThomas Randolph (which cannot easily be reconciledwith the Earl of Ross's charter) are sufficient to provethat Nairn, as well as Elgin and Forres, was then of therank of a royal burgh.' The town stands across theline marking the division between the highlands andlowlands which intersects High Street about RoseStreet. The part of the town NE of this was inhabitedby Saxon-speaking fishermen, the part to the SW bj'Gaelic-speaking Highlanders, and hence the story thatJames VI., when twitted, after his accession to theEnglish throne, about the inferior importance ofthe towns of his old kingdom, replied that, howeverthat might be, he had a town in Scotland ' sae lang thatthe inhabitants of the one end did not understand thelanguage spoken at the other ; ' and when Dr Johnsonpassed through the town 170 years later, he found nogreat change had taken place, for he says : At Nairnwe may fix the verge of the Highlands ; for here I firstsaw peat fires, and first heard the Erse language.' Heis otherwise very hard on the town, for he says': Wecame to Nairn, a royal burgh, which, if once it flourished,is now in a state of miserable decay ; but I know notwhether its chief annual magistrate has not still thetitle of Lord Provost.' In the Covenanting troubles ofthe 17th century the burgh does not seem to have takena very active part, or to have suffered much, though,after the battle of Auldearn, Montrose's men burnedand destroyed Cawdor's house in the town. The Dukeof Cumberland spent the night of 14 April in theLaird of Kilravock's town-house here, and the nightfollowing at the old house of Balblair not far off. Tothe W of the town, between Balblair and Eildrummie,are the fields where the Royalist army encamped, wherethey held their rejoicings on the Duke of Cumberland'sbirthday, the 15th April, and where they were when theHighlanders attempted their night surprise. The onlydistinguished native of the town is Lieutenant-ColonelJames Grant, C.B. (b. 1827), son of a former parishminister. Colonel Grant accompanied Speke in hisjourney to the sources of the Nile in 1863, and gave anaccount of the expedition in his Walk across Africa.Streets, etc.—The principal street, High Street, extendsfrom the river south-westward for about 4 mile,and contains now a number of very good buildings.92NAIRNFrom it the older streets branch off, but along the sea,and on the W side there are large numbers of handsomevillas, many of them built for the purpose of being letto visitors, but others built by their proprietors as seasideresidences for themselves. The county buildings,near the middle of the NW side of High Street, wereerected in 1818, and greatly improved in 1870. Theyhave a good front and spire, and, besides providingaccommodation for the county offices, contain a largecounty hall, used also as a court-room. The prisoncells erected behind have, since the passing of thePrisons' Act, become almost useless. The public hallwas projected in 1865, and built by a joint-stock companyat a cost of about £1200. It contains a large hall,with accommodation for 800 persons, supper-rooms, andante-rooms. On the SE of the town the railway crossesthe river Nairn by a handsome stone bridge of fourarches, each with a span of 70 feet and 34 feet high.A little farther down the river is the bridge for thegreat coast road. It was originally built by Rose ofClava in 1632, but has since been very extensively repairedin consequence of damage received in heavy floodsin 1782 and 1829. The parish church is a very plainbuilding, erected in 1811, and containing 902 sittings.It is at present (1884) proposed to erect a new one at thecorner of Seabank Road at a cost of over £6000. Thenew Free church to the S is a fine building. Early FrenchGothic in style, erected in 1880-81 at a cost of £7000,and containing 1200 sittings. There is a handsome spirewith clock and bell. The U. P. church, erected in 1851-52, contains 512 sittings. The Congregational church,erected in 1804 at a cost of £575, contains 416 sittings.St Colnraba's Scottish Episcopal church is an EarlyEnglish edifice of 1857, containing 225 sittings ; and StMary's Roman Catholic church (1864) contains 150.There is also a small English Episcopal church. Atthe SW end of the town is Rose's Academical Institution,built by subscription on ground given by CaptainRose, and supported partly by endowment, and partlyby subscriptions and fees. It is managed by a body ofdirectors elected by the subscribers. Near it is amonument erected by old pupils as a memorial of MrJohn Strath, who for 40 years held the oflice of parochialschoolmaster. Church Street and the Monitory publicschools, with respective accommodation for 300 and 400pupils, had (1883) an average attendance of 270 and 287,and grants of £249, Is. and £251, 2s. 6d. There arealso some private schools. The Town and CountyHospital, to the W of the town, was erected by subscriptionin 1846, and is supported by donations andsubscriptions. It is managed by directors chosen bythe subscribers. The museum calls for no particularmention. There is a cemetery E of the town.Two large bathing establishments possess all kindsof artificial baths, cold, tepid, and warm. The MarineHotel salt-water baths are open to the public at allseasons. Near the sea-shore is a large swimmingbath,erected in 1872-73 at a cost of £1200. The mainbuilding is a square measuring 91 feet each way, coveredwith a glass roof. The plan of the bottom has been soingeniously managed, that, while the depth of waterslopes gradually from 1 foot 3 inches to 6 feet, yet thereis a swimming course all round of about 100 yards.Water is pumped from the sea by a centrifugal pumpworked by steam, and the bath when full holds 140,000gallons. A large number of bathing coaches ply on thebeach during the summer months.A wharf and harbom- were constructed at the mouthof the river in 1820, according to a plan by Telford, theprinciple being to increase the depth of the river, andby straightening its course from the bridge downwardsto increase the scour, and so prevent the silting upof the opening. Inclusive of a sum paid for injury tothe neighbouring salmon fishings, the operations cost£5500, but so great was the damage done by the flood of1829 that only very small vessels and fishing boatsfrequented the place. Fresh works, on a similar plan,were afterwards again constructed ; a breakwater ofwood and stone, 400 yards long, was extended from the