Edinbane (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

: ''An t-Aodann Bàn'' the fair hill-face) is a small village on the island of Skye,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Location

Edinbane lies on the A850 road at the foot of the

Waternish Waternish or Vaternish ( gd, Bhàtairnis) is a peninsula approximately long on the island of Skye, Scotland, situated between Loch Dunvegan and Loch Snizort in the northwest of the island, and originally inhabited and owned by Clan MacNeacail/M ...

Peninsula on the Isle of Skye,

, from

Portree Portree (; gd, Port Rìgh, ) is the largest town on, and capital of, the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is the location for the only secondary school o ...

and from

Dunvegan Dunvegan ( gd, Dùn Bheagain) is a village on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is famous for Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chief of Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan is within the parish of Duirinish, and Duirinish Parish Church is at Dunvegan. In 2011 i ...

. The name ''An t-Aodann Bàn'' is said to be taken from the white bog cotton plants that can be found on the hill sides. The village is based around the crofts with a small primary school and pottery. Notable buildings in Edinbane village are the former Gesto Hospital (c. 1870), the Edinbane Inn (c. 1900) and Edinbane Lodge, a stone-built hunting lodge built in 1543.

History

There has been a settlement here since before 1600, but it was Kenneth MacLeod of Greshornish (1 December 1809, died unmarried in 1869) who founded the village.

Kenneth MacLeod of Greshornish

Kenneth McLeod's family had farmed land in the Gesto area of Skye for over 500 years. At the age of 15 he went to India, with his fare paid out and one golden guinea in his pocket, given him by Mrs MacDonald of Waternish. After a year's work, he took the river boat down to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. On the way he went ashore and visited a place where an auction of the contents of a sugar factory was in progress. With his precious Guinea, he bought a copper boiler, which he sold in Calcutta for £30. He now returned to the derelict sugar factory and bought it for very little. This set him on the ladder to making a fortune in India planting

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

Returning to Skye, he endeavoured to buy the

tack TACK is a group of archaea acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota, the first groups discovered. They are found in different environments ranging from acidophilic th ...

of Gesto but MacLeod of MacLeod was not prepared to sell. Kenneth then bought Orbost, Isle of Skye, Edinbane, Skirinish, Greshornishy, Tote and Skeabost and much of

. He ensured that the village had a tradesman from each of the important crafts. He set up the first hospital on Skye in Edinbane, aptly named Gesto. It is now boarded up. File:Edinbane Lodge in late 1930's.png, Edinbane Lodge in 1930s. Edward Langdale Hilleary on right of picture

Edinbane Lodge

Edinbane Lodge is the oldest coaching inn on the Isle of Skye, dating from 1543.John MacInnes (2018) ''The Hillearys of Edinbane''. Dunblane: John MacInnes Associates Originally known as Tigh A Linne it operated as one of three change houses for travellers on their way between Portree and Dunvegan. It was purchased by Kenneth MacLeod of Greshornish in the 1860s and converted into a hunting lodge. In 1920 the Lodge was purchased by Edward Langdale Hilleary, a wealthy London businessman, and his wife Edith (née Robertson), niece of Kenneth MacLeod. In 1927 Edward Langdale Hilleary constructed a small hydro plant on the Abhainn Coishletter just behind the Lodge. The scheme supplied electricity to the nearby Gesto hospital and also powered the Lodge. Among other uses, Edinbane Lodge has served as the land court for the surrounding area, where people were tried for various offences including sheep rustling and more serious crimes. If found guilty and sentenced to death, the accused were hanged in the garden grounds.

Wind farm fire

On 24–25 April 2019, a major fire burned of forestry at Edinbane wind farm.

References

External links

BBC - Domesday Reloaded - Edinbane, Hebridean TownshipRenewables Map - Edinbane Wind FarmEdinbane Lodge
{{Authority control Populated places in the Isle of Skye