Rothesay Victorian Toilets - men's urinals.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail link to Glasgow. At the centre of the town is the 13th-century ruin Rothesay Castle, unique in Scotland for its circular plan.


Etymology

In modern Scottish Gaelic, Rothesay is known as , meaning 'town of Bute'. The
English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
name, which was written as ''Rothersay'' in 1321, ''Rosay'' around 1400, and ''Rothissaye'' around 1500, originally referred to the castle. Since the castle was surrounded by a moat connected to the sea, the name may have originally meant 'Rother's Isle' (the Old Norse suffix means "isle"), or it may be an alteration of the Gaelic word , meaning 'fort'.


History

The old town centred on Rothesay Castle, which was built in the 13th century. The castle has long stood in ruins, but it is nevertheless picturesque, and was a focal point for tourists as soon the town began developing into a seaside resort. Rothesay was 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 ...
in the civil parish of Rothesay, which was located in the former county of Bute. The county historically included the islands of Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae and Arran. Rothesay Town Hall and County Buildings overlooks the castle. During the Victorian era, Rothesay became a popular tourist destination. In particular, it was hugely popular with Glaswegians going "doon the watter" (literally “down the water” – a reference to the waters of the Firth of Clyde). Its wooden pier was busy with steamer traffic. It was home to one of Scotland's many hydropathic establishments, which were in vogue at the time. It also had an electric tramway, the Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway, which ran across the whole island of Bute and carried passengers to one of the island's largest beaches (the tramway closed in the mid-1930s). A war memorial designed by Pilkington Jackson was erected in 1922. The Winter Gardens building, erected in 1923, was a centre of many activities in Rothesay in the mid-20th century, hosting some of the best-known
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
entertainers of the day. Rothesay Pavilion, opened in 1938, was another popular attraction. It was an example of
International Modernist International style may refer to: * International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture *International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art *International Style (dancing), a term used in ...
style architecture, and was designed by the Ayr architect,
James Andrew Carrick James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
. Although it later fell into disrepair, it remains a major landmark on the seafront today, and is currently undergoing a complete restoration. During World War II, Rothesay Bay was the home port of , which was the depot ship for the 7th Submarine Flotilla and the training facility for virtually all the British submariners who served during the war. In 1941 and 1942, the Officer Concentration Station Rothesay was also located here. By the 1960s, Rothesay's heyday as a tourist mecca had largely ended. Inexpensive foreign package holidays had become more popular with UK residents. The Winter Gardens building was closed and lay in disuse for decades. However, it was redeveloped in the 1990s, and is now open as a tourist information and exhibition centre.


Duke of Rothesay

The heir to the British throne (currently William, Prince of Wales) is known in Scotland as the
Duke of Rothesay Duke of Rothesay ( ; gd, Diùc Baile Bhòid; sco, Duik o Rothesay) is a dynastic title of the heir apparent to the British throne, currently William, Prince of Wales. William's wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, is the current Duchess of R ...
. This practice was begun in the late 14th century by Robert III of Scotland, who regularly resided at Rothesay Castle, and first granted the title to his son David in 1398. At that time, the name ''Rothesay'' referred to the whole island of Bute, rather than to the town (which was known as Bute-town). The island of Bute (along with the island of Arran) was under the control of Robert III because he had inherited it from his Stewart ancestors. They had owned it ever since King Alexander III of Scotland (having received it from Norway under the Treaty of Perth of 1266) assigned it to Robert III's great-grandfather, Alexander Stewart. The two islands were privately owned by the Stewart family until Robert II (Alexander Stewart's grandson and Robert III's father) inherited the throne from
his mother ''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ire ...
, after which the islands became the property of the Crown. Once Robert III had conferred this title on his son, the title continued to be given to every heir of the Scottish throne thereafter. Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the heir to the British throne was always also formally considered “heir to the Scottish throne” and so acquired the title. Unlike the title's English equivalent (
Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning British monarch, previously the English monarch. The duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created in England and was established by a ro ...
), the title Duke of Rothesay does not come with any land attached to it in the form of a
Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...
. That is because control of the land was instead given to Robert III's half-brother and to the latter's descendants, who acquired the title
Marquess of Bute Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute. Family history John Stuart ...
in the 18th century. The current marquess remains the main landlord of the island; his principal seat, Mount Stuart, lies a few miles to the south of Rothesay Castle.


Modern times

Rothesay was granted a multimillion-pound harbour development project just in time for the arrival of the next generation of lower-firth ferries and . In August 2018, the Donald Campbell Bluebird hydroplane held trials on
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 ...
. It was the first time the vehicle had been in the water since it was recovered from Coniston Water in the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
after the 1967 accident in which Campbell was killed.


Culture

Rothesay has hosted the
National Mòd National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...
twice: in 1908 and 1952.List of Mod's places
for each year on Sabhal Mòr Ostaig website


Sport

The most successful sporting club on the island is the
Bute Shinty Club Bute Shinty Club is a shinty club from Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland. It has a reserve team which is in South Division Two. History The club has been reconstituted on several occasions since its formation in 1906. There was Bute Camanachd an ...
, which has competed at the highest level of the sport (the Marine Harvest Premier League). The Bute club was promoted to the Premier League in 2006 by winning the South Division One competition. It is also a multiple-time winner of the
Balliemore Cup The Balliemore Cup is a knock-out cup in the sport of shinty. It is the Intermediate Championship run under the auspices of the Camanachd Association and only first teams competing in the National, North Division One and South Division One are eli ...
. The town has an amateur
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club, Rothesay Brandane A.F.C. (nicknamed "''The Danes''".) It was founded in 1946. They played in the
Scottish Amateur Football League The Scottish Amateur Football League (SAFL) is Scotland's oldest football league competition for amateur teams in Scotland. Although the League officially records itself as having been founded in 1909, when Scottish Football League club Queen's ...
starting in 1947, reached the semi-final of the Scottish Amateur Cup in 1948–49, and won the league in both the 1963–64 and 2000–01 seasons. In 2004, they transferred into the
Caledonian Amateur Football League The Caledonian Amateur Football League is a football (soccer) league competition for amateur clubs in Scotland. It was formed in 1983 by inviting what were deemed to be top amateur clubs from across central Scotland with good facilities with hig ...
Division 2, and, having won promotion after the 2007–08 season, they currently play in Division 1. They also had a youth team for ages 15 and under, called the Rothesay Brandane Rovers. (In the 19th century, the town had a different football club called the Bute Rangers F.C., which competed for the Scottish Cup.) The Bute County
Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
Club plays in the Western District Cricket Union Championship. The island has three golf courses: the 18-hole Rothesay Golf Club is on the outskirts of the town; the 9-hole Bute Golf Course is near the sands of Stravannan Bay on the west coast of the island; and the rather unusual 13-hole
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 ...
Golf Club sits on the hills behind the town. There are also two putting greens on the town's seafront. The town hosts the High School of Glasgow rugby camp every summer. For bowling enthusiasts, Bute boasts four greens: Ardbeg, Craigmore, Kingarth and Rothesay. The oldest of them, the Rothesay Bowling Club, was established in the 1860s. The Bute Bowling Association runs many local club competitions. It also runs an open tournament each August, in which both ladies and gentlemen may compete; as of 2014, that tournament was in its 57th year.


Education

Rothesay currently has three primary schools: St Andrews Primary School, Rothesay Primary School, and North Bute Primary School. It has one
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
,
Rothesay Academy Rothesay Academy is a secondary school in the town of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. Feeder schools Rothesay Academy has 3 associated primary schools: Rothesay Primary School and St. Andrew's Primary in Rothesay and North Bute Primary in Port Ba ...
. In 2007, a Rothesay Primary and Rothesay Academy formed a joint campus school, and the building that previously housed Rothesay Academy was closed.


Notable people

*Prof Eleanor Campbell
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
FRS FRSC FInstP: scientist ( physical chemistry) *
Nathanael Chalmers Nathanael Chalmers (22 August 1830 – 2 December 1910) was a New Zealand pastoralist, explorer, politician, planter, sugar miller and magistrate. He was born in Rothesay, on the island of Bute, Scotland on 22 August 1830. He was a member of ...
: explorer * Johnny Dumfries: former Formula One racing driver and
Marquess of Bute Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute. Family history John Stuart ...
* Thomas Gillies: New Zealand lawyer, judge and politician *
Angela Haggerty Angela Haggerty is a former journalist, who briefly held a new editor position at the ''Sunday Herald'' and online for the activist website CommonSpace. She has been a contributor on Scottish TV and radio, particularly discussing Scottish indepen ...
: journalist and social commentator * George Leslie:
colourist In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is ...
painter * Ian Jenkins: politician *
Ashley Lilley Ashley-Anne Lilley is a Scottish actress and singer. She made her debut in the 2008 film '' Mamma Mia!''. Early life Lilley was born in Rothesay, Bute. At the age of 12, she won a place with the National Youth Music Theatre. At 15, she enrolle ...
: actor (Ali in ''Mamma Mia'') *
Sir William Macewen Sir William Macewen, (; 22 June 1848 – 22 March 1924) was a Scottish surgeon. He was a pioneer in modern brain surgery, considered the ''father of neurosurgery'' and contributed to the development of bone graft surgery, the surgical trea ...
: pioneer in brain surgery * Sheina Marshall: zoologist * Troy Kennedy Martin: writer of Z-Cars *
Jim McAlister James Duncan McAlister (born 2 November 1985 in Rothesay) is a retired Scottish footballer, who is most known for being club captain for Greenock Morton, making 361 appearances for the club. Although predominantly right-footed, McAlister pla ...
: footballer (
Greenock Morton F.C. Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish Professional sports, professional Association football, football Football team, club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of t ...
,
Dundee F.C. Dundee Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland, founded in 1893. The team are nicknamed "The Dark Blues" or "The Dee". The club plays its home matches at Dens Park. The club was formed after a merg ...
and
Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, th ...
) * John McIndoe: printer * Billy McIsaac: keyboardist for
Slik Slik were a Scottish pop group of the mid-1970s, most notable for their UK number 1 hit " Forever and Ever" in 1976. Initially glam rock, the band later changed their style to soft rock/bubblegum. It was the first band with whom singer and g ...
, PVC2, and
the Zones ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
*
Peter Monie Peter William Monie Order of the Star of India, CSI (30 March 1877 – 11 December 1946) was a British administrator in India who later became a clergyman and was first honorary general secretary of Toc H, from 1925 to 1935. Monie was born i ...
: civil servant * Jane Ross: Scottish international footballer; reserve forward for Team GB's squad at the London 2012 Olympic Games *Prof Martin Smellie
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
(1927-1988): biochemist *
John Tiffin Stewart John Tiffin Stewart (18 November 1827 – 19 April 1913) was a notable New Zealand civil engineer and surveyor and mapper. He was born in Rothesay, Bute, Scotland, in 1827 and was married to the social activist Frances Stewart. Career in New ...
: civil engineer *
Matthew Stewart Matthew or Matt Stewart may refer to: *Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (1516–1571), father of Henry Stewart, King of the Scots *Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox (1460–1513), Scottish nobleman *Matthew Stewart (mathematician) (1717–1785 ...
: mathematician * John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute: First Scottish Prime Minister of Great Britain (buried in St Mary's Chapel, Rothesay). *
John McLean Thompson John McLean Thompson FRSE FLS (1888–1977) was a 20th-century Scottish botanist. Life He was born in Rothesay on the isle of Bute in western Scotland on 22 July 1888, the son of Hugh Thompson. He was educated at Rothesay Academy then studied ...
: botanist * Sir Graham Watson: Liberal Democrat politician; member of the European Parliament *
Lena Zavaroni Lena Hilda Zavaroni (4 November 1963 – 1 October 1999) was a Scottish singer and a television show host. At ten years of age, with her album ''Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)'', she was the youngest person in history to have an album in the top ...
: singer; child star


Climate

Like the rest of Scotland — and the British Isles in general - Rothesay has a maritime climate, with cool
summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
s and mild winters. Because of its island location, the risk of severe
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
is mitigated by the surrounding waters. Temperatures can range from as high as (recorded in August 1975), to as low as (recorded in January 1982).


Gallery

File:Rothesay (269966214).jpg, Rothesay File:Rothesay harbour - geograph.org.uk - 1491302.jpg, Rothesay harbour File:Rothesay gardens - geograph.org.uk - 799343.jpg, Rothesay gardens File:Rothesay Isle Of Bute - panoramio.jpg, Rothesay Isle Of Bute - panoramio File:Scotland Rothesay bordercropped.jpeg, The sea front at Rothesay


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Coventry, Martin (2008) ''Castles of the Clans''. Musselburgh. Goblinshead. * Johnston, James B (1892
“Place-Names Of Scotland”
Edinburgh: David Douglas. Archive.org. Retrieved 12 May 2018. * Watson, W. J. (2004) ''The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. . First published 1926.


External links


National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE
(selection of archive films about Rothesay)
Bute at War
Rothesay's role during World War II as the home port of HMS ''Cyclops'' and the 7th Submarine Flotilla.
Caladonian MacBrayne, Rothesay page - website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothesay, Argyll And Bute Towns in Argyll and Bute Burial sites of the Stuart of Bute family Firth of Clyde Marinas in Scotland Towns and villages in Buteshire Towns on Scottish islands Isle of Bute Parishes in the County of Bute