The County of Bute ( gd, Siorrachd Bhòid), also known as Buteshire, is a historic county and

registration county A registration county was, in Great Britain and Ireland, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census information. In Scotland registration counties are used for land registration pur ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The county comprises a number of islands in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

, between the counties of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

and

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of ...

, the principal islands being Bute, Arran,

Great Cumbrae Great Cumbrae ( sco, Muckle Cumbrae; gd, Cumaradh Mòr; also known as Great Cumbrae Island, Cumbrae or the Isle of Cumbrae) is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is ...

and

Little Cumbrae Little Cumbrae ( sco, Wee Cumbrae, gd, Cumaradh Beag) or Little Cumbrae Island is an island in the Firth of Clyde, in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The island is known locally as Wee Cumbrae. Etymology The Gaelic name ''Cumaradh'' means "place of th ...

. The

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

is Rothesay, located on the Isle of Bute. Buteshire had its own elected

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

from 1890 to 1975.

Local government councils

Town Hall & Sheriff Court, Rothesay (geograph 3571144)

Buteshire had its own elected local government council from 1890 to 1975. Bute County Council was based at the Rothesay Town Hall and County Buildings. However, in 1975 this system was superseded and Buteshire was divided for administrative purposes between the

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

districts of

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

(which administered the

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent is ...

) and

Cunninghame Cunninghame ( gd, Coineagan) is a former comital district of Scotland and also a district of the Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996. Historic Cunninghame The origin of the name (along with the surname ''Cunningham'') is uncertain. The endi ...

(which administered Arran and the

Cumbraes The Cumbraes are a group of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The islands belong to the traditional county of Bute and the modern unitary authority of North Ayrshire. The main islands in the group are: * Great Cumbrae * Little Cumbrae L ...

). The Scottish regions were abolished in 1996, and this divide of the historic county continued, with both districts which administered historic Buteshire becoming

council areas For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" ( gd, comhairlean), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Ga ...

(Cunninghame under the name "

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east a ...

").

Geography

Buteshire consists of two main islands in the

separated by the

Sound of Bute In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

- Arran (also including the much smaller

Holy Island Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bles ...

Hamilton Isle Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

and

Pladda Pladda ( gd, Pladaigh) is an uninhabited island off the south coast of the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest co ...

off the south-east coast) and Bute (including the small isle of

Inchmarnock Inchmarnock ( gd, Innis Mheàrnaig) is an island at the northern end of the Sound of Bute in the Firth of Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The island is privately owned. Geography Inchmarnock lies to the west of the Isle of Bute at the no ...

off its west coast) - and also the

between Bute and

on the mainland, comprising

and the islets of

The Eileans The Eileans are two small, low-lying islands located in Newtown Bay, Millport on the island of Great Cumbrae, Scotland. (). The name is an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic, ''eilean'' meaning "island". Unusually for the west coast of Scot ...

, Broad Islands, Castle Island and Trail Island. Arran is Scotland's 7th largest island and is a popular tourist destination, often referred to as 'Scotland in miniature' due to the wide variety of scenery and geographical features that can be found here. The island is roughly peanut-shaped, being flatter in the south and more mountainous in the north, culminating in

Goat Fell Goat Fell (marked as Goatfell by the Ordnance Survey; Scottish Gaelic: Gaoda Bheinn) is the highest point on the Isle of Arran. At 874 metres (2,867 ft), it is one of four Corbetts on the island. The mountain, along with nearby Brodic ...

, the tallest mountain in Buteshire at 874 metres (2,866 ft). It is separated from the

Kintyre peninsula Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north ...

Kilbrannan Sound Kilbrannan Sound (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Caolas Branndanach'') is a marine water body that separates the Kintyre Peninsula of Scotland from the island of Arran. Kilbrannan Sound is the western arm of the Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde i ...

. Bute is in contrast is a much flatter though somewhat hilly island, especially in the north; it is separated from the

Cowal peninsula Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrocha ...

by the narrow

Kyles of Bute The Kyles of Bute ( gd, Na Caoil Bhòdach) form a narrow sea channel that separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the Scottish mainland. The surrounding hillsides are roughly wooded, and ov ...

. A number of lochs lie in the centre of the island, most notably

Loch Fad Loch Fad is a freshwater loch on the Isle of Bute in Scotland. Its name means "long loch" in Scottish Gaelic. It lies on the Highland Boundary Fault. Its surface area is , fairly large for a freshwater loch on an island in Scotland. It is the ...

Loch Quien ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...

and

Loch Ascog Loch Ascog is a small reservoir on the east coast of the island of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The loch supplies water to the town of Rothesay and the fishing rights are held by the Isle of Bute Angling Association. ...

Transport

Bute is connected by ferry to

Wemyss Bay Wemyss Bay (; ) is a town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Inverclyde in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the traditional county of Renfrewshire. It is adjacent to Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire. The town and villages have always ...

on the mainland; a ferry also connects the island with the Cowal peninsula from the north-east of the island. An A-road runs along Bute's east coast and loops around the island's southern half; the northern half of the island is less well-served and can mostly only by traversed by foot or bike. Arran is also connected to the Scottish mainland by ferry; from the north one can reach Tarbert and

Claonaig Claonaig ( gd, Claonaig, ) is a hamlet on the east coast of the Kintyre peninsula in western Scotland, linked to Lochranza on the Isle of Arran by the CalMac ferry in the summer months. Claonaig is a hamlet south of Skipness and the locati ...

Kintyre Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately nor ...

, and from Rothesay ferries depart for

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the ' Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

in Ayrshire and

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

further down the Kintyre peninsula. A road goes around the edge of the island, with a B road cutting east–west across. A ferry also connects Great Cumbrae with

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

in Ayrshire. Millport - Great Cumbrae

Parliamentary constituency

There was a Buteshire constituency of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

from 1708 to 1800 and of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

from 1801 to 1918. Between 1708 and 1832 it was an alternating constituency with

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded ...

: one constituency elected a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) to one parliament then the other elected an MP to the next. Between 1832 and 1918 it was a separate constituency, electing an MP to every parliament. The population of Buteshire in 1841 was 15,740. In 1918 the constituency was combined with the Ayrshire North constituency to form the Bute and Northern Ayrshire constituency, a constituency which straddled the boundary between the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Bute and Ayrshire. In 1983, eight years after Scottish local government counties had been abolished, the Bute and Northern Ayrshire constituency was divided between the

constituency and the Cunninghame North constituency. In 2005, both constituencies were enlarged as part of the

Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies was undertaken between 2000 and 2007 by the four boundary commissions for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the UK Parliament. The changes for England, Wales and Northern Ir ...

. The name "Argyll and Bute" was retained, while the enlarged Cunningham North was named

North Ayrshire and Arran North Ayrshire and Arran is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the south-west of Scotland within the North Ayrshire council area. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-pa ...

. Constituencies with similar boundaries to the pre-2005 constituencies, and also called

and Cunninghame North, are used by the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

Civil parishes

* North Bute * Rothesay *

Kingarth Kingarth ( sga, Cenn Garad; gd, Ceann a' Gharaidh) is a historic village and parish on the Isle of Bute, off the coast of south-western Scotland. The village is within the parish of its own name, and is situated at the junction of the A844 and ...

* Cumbraes or

* Kilbride, Arran *

Kilmory, Arran Kilmory ( gd, Cill Mhoire) is a small village on the south coast of the Isle of Arran, located on the coastal road between Lagg and Kildonan. Kilmory is also the parish of the western side of the Isle of Arran. History Southwest of the village ...

Lochranza Lochranza ( gd, Loch Raonasa) is a village located on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The population, somewhat in decline, is around 200 people. Geography Lochranza is the northernmost of Arran's villages and is located in ...

List of places

Towns and places in Buteshire include:

Arran

Blackwaterfoot Blackwaterfoot ( gd, Bun na Uisge Dubh ) is a village on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Kilmory. It is located in the Shiskine valley in the south-west of the island. It is one of the small ...

Brodick Brodick ( , gd, Tràigh a' Chaisteil ("Castle Beach") or ''Breadhaig'') is the main village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is halfway along the east coast of the island, in Brodick Bay below Goat Fell, the tallest ...

Catacol Catacol ( gd, Catagal) is a small village on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. Geography Catacol is located on the north west side of the island, just a few miles along the coastal road from Lochranza that continues on to Blackwaterfoot. It derives ...

Cladach ''Note: ''Cladach'' is a general Scottish Gaelic word for "beach" or "shore" and occurs in many Scottish placenames'' Cladach ( gd, An Cladach) is a tiny settlement on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Kilbride. ...

* Corrie *Corriegills, Arran * Dippen * Kildonan * Kilmory *Kings Cross, Arran * Lagg *

Lamlash Lamlash ( gd, An t-Eilean Àrd) is a village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It lies south of the island's main settlement and ferry port Brodick, in a sheltered bay on the island's east coast, facing the Holy Isle. L ...

Machrie Machrie ( gd, Am Machaire) is a village on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. Machrie Bay can be found on the West Coast. The village is within the parish of Kilmory. It is most well known for its Standing Stones that are a loca ...

Pirnmill Pirnmill ( gd, Muileann nam Piùirneachan) is a small village on the north-west coast of the Isle of Arran, Scotland. The village is situated on the Kilbrannan Sound, facing Grogport on the Kintyre peninsula. Located within the parish of Kilmo ...

* Sannox *

Shiskine Shiskine ( gd, An t-Seasgann) is a small village on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Kilmory. Sitting further up the "Shiskine Valley" from the village of Blackwaterfoot, the village takes its ...

Sliddery Sliddery ( Gaelic: ''Slaodraidh'') is a tiny hamlet located on the Southwest coast of the Isle of Arran in Scotland. The village is situated near the Ross road between Lagg and Blackwaterfoot. The name Sliddery is thought to have been derived ...

Whitefarland Whitefarland ( gd, An Aoirinn) is a clachan on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is located approximately to the south of Pirnmill Pirnmill ( gd, Muileann nam Piùirneachan) is a small village on the north-west coast of t ...

* Whiting Bay

Bute

* Ardbeg *

* Kilchattan Bay *

Port Bannatyne Port Bannatyne ( gd, Port MhicEamailinn) is a coastal village on the Isle of Bute, Firth of Clyde, Scotland that is home to many steamers. Port Bannatyne developed into the 1900s as a quieter and more unusual alternative to Rothesay. It is a pop ...

Rhubodach Rhubodach is a small settlement on the north-eastern shore of the Isle of Bute, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The name Rhubodach may come from the Gaelic ''Rubha a' Bhodaich'' which translates as ''old man's point'' or ''promontory'' or alternati ...

* Rothesay

The Cumbraes

* Millport

Gallery

File:RothesayCastleNW.JPG,

Rothesay Castle Rothesay Castle is a ruined castle in Rothesay, the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in western Scotland. Located at , the castle has been described as "one of the most remarkable in Scotland", for its long history dating back to the beginni ...

, Bute, with the 16th century forework in the centre, and the 13th century "Pigeon Tower" on the right File:Brodick Castle Main Building East 01.jpg,

Brodick Castle Brodick Castle is a castle situated outside the port of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was previously a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The castl ...

, Arran File:Meikle Kilmory Farm Bute - geograph.org.uk - 1529884.jpg, Kilmory Castle is incorporated into Meikle Kilmory Farm, Bute File:Machrie Moor Stone Circle - geograph.org.uk - 94982.jpg, Machrie Moor Stone Circle, Arran File:Isle of Arran OS OpenData map.png, Isle of Arran File:Blaeu - Atlas of Scotland 1654 - ARANIA - The Isle of Arran.jpg, Blaeu Atlas. Arania File:Blaeu - Atlas of Scotland 1654 - BUTHE INSULA - The Isle of Bute.jpg, Blaeu Atlas. Buthe Insula File:Shire of Bute.jpg, Shire of Bute. by H. Moll File:Kerrycroy Bay Bute - geograph.org.uk - 1529785.jpg, Kerrycroy Bay, Bute File:Bute, Ardbeg Junction - geograph.org.uk - 61360.jpg, Ardbeg, Bute File:Lighthouse, Holy Island, Arran - geograph.org.uk - 185791.jpg, Lighthouse on Holy Island File:Scotland, Pladda Island and Ailsa Craig, seen from Isle of Arran.JPG, The isle of Pladda as seen from Arran, with Ailsa Craig in the distance File:MachrieMoorStones.jpg, Machrie Moor Standing Stones on Arran File:Goatfell from Brodick Harbour.jpg, Goat Fell on Arran, the highest point of Buteshire

References

External links

*
NLS map of Buteshire
John Thompson's Atlas of Scotland. 1832. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bute, County of Former counties of Scotland Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)