Inveraray

Inveraray
Scottish Gaelic: *Inbhir Aora^[1]*
Scots: *Inverera^[2]*
Inveraray Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Aora; Scots: Inverera;
	Inveraray's Main Street (the A83), looking northeast to Loch Fyne
	Inveraray Location within Argyll and Bute
Population	570 (2022)
OS grid reference	NN 09600 08500
• Edinburgh	75 mi (121 km)
• London	383 mi (616 km)
Council area	Argyll and Bute;
Lieutenancy area	Argyll and Bute;
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	INVERARAY
Postcode district	PA32
Dialling code	01499
UK Parliament	Argyll and Bute;
Scottish Parliament	Argyll and Bute;
	List of places UK Scotland 56°13′51″N 5°04′24″W / 56.230808°N 5.0732468°W

Inveraray (/ˌɪnvəˈrɛəri/ or /ˌɪnvəˈrɛərə/; Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Aora pronounced [iɲɪɾʲˈɯːɾə] meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Argyll, and ancestral seat to the Duke of Argyll. Known affectionately as "The Capital of Argyll"

During the Second World War the Combined Operations Training Centre, located close to the town, was an important military facility.^[6]

Coat of arms

The town's coat of arms depicts a net cast out over the ocean, entangled in which are five herrings and the Latin motto "SEMPER TIBI PENDEAT HALEC" (possible English translation: "may a herring always hang to thee").^[7]^[8]

Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, in his 1909 book A Complete Guide to Heraldry, notes the following:

There is no doubt of its ancient usage. ...and the blazon of the coat, according to the form it is depicted upon the Corporate seal, would be for the field: "The sea proper, therein a net suspended from the dexter chief and the sinister fess points to the base; and entangled in its meshes five herrings," which is about the most remarkable coat of arms I have ever come across.^[9]

Inveraray Castle

In 1744 the third Duke of Argyll decided to demolish the existing castle and start from scratch with a new building. The castle was 40 years in construction, and the work was largely supervised by the Adam family, still renowned to this day as gifted architects and designers. The end product was not a castle in the traditional sense, but a classic Georgian mansion house on a grand scale, Inveraray Castle.

Over the years the castle has played host to numerous luminaries; Queen Victoria visited it in 1874, and the Royal connection was further cemented when her daughter, Princess Louise, married the heir to the Campbell chieftainship, the Marquess of Lorne, in 1871,^[10] illustrating the elevated position of the Argyll family in the social order of the times.

Rebuilding the town

In 1747, William Adam had drawn up plans for the creation of a new Inveraray. By 1770, little had been done, and the fifth Duke set about rebuilding the town in its present form. Some of the work on the rebuilt Inveraray was done by John Adam. The Inveraray Inn (formerly known as the New Inn, Great Inn, Argyll Arms Hotel and Argyll Hotel) on Front Street being his, as well as the Town House. Much of the rest of the town, including the church, was designed and built by the celebrated Edinburgh-born architect Robert Mylne (1733-1811) between 1772 and 1800.^[11]

The end product was an attractive town which included houses for estate workers, a woollen mill, and a pier to exploit herring fishing, which was to grow in later years to play a major role in the town's economy. The finished product is one of the best examples of an 18th-century new town in Scotland, and the vast majority of the properties in the centre of Inveraray are considered worthy of protection because of the town's architectural significance.

Tourist attractions

In addition to the castle, the Georgian Inveraray Jail in the burgh is now a museum. Other attractions include the Argyll Folk Museum at Auchindrain. The Celtic Inveraray Cross can also been seen in the town. The Clyde puffers VIC 72, Vital Spark. The Bell Tower dominates the town, and contains the second-heaviest ring of ten bells in the world.^[12] The bell tower is open to the public, and the bells are rung regularly.

Dun Na Cuaiche, Tower

Is a folly of a ruined watch tower overlooking Inveraray and Loch Fyne. Built 1747-48 by William Douglas, at a contract price of £46 for the mason work, commissioned by the 3rd Duke of Argyll. ^[13]

Media

In autumn 2014, PBS premiered a series, Great Estates of Scotland. Inveraray was featured in one episode, as was the present Duke of Argyll, head of the Campbell clan.^[14]

Gallery

Inveraray, viewed from the B839 on the Eastern side of Loch Fyne, above St Catherines
Aray Bridge on Loch Fyne from Inveraray. The spires of Inveraray Castle can just be seen on the left. The hill behind the bridge is Dun Corr Bhile
Inveraray reflections
Main street of Inveraray
Archway from Inveraray town
Aray Bridge
Inveraray 1844 from Waverley Novels vol. iv