Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in

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) ...

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 ...

. It is on the western shore of

Loch Fyne Loch Fyne ( gd, Loch Fìne, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Soun ...

, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former

royal burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

, the traditional county town of Argyll, and ancestral seat to the

Duke of Argyll Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerfu ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the

Combined Operations Training Centre The Combined Operations Training Centre, also known as No.1 Combined Training Centre, Inveraray was a military installation on the banks of Loch Fyne near Inveraray in Scotland. History The centre was established in October 1940. Each of the se ...

, located close to the town, was an important military facility.

Coat of arms

The town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

depicts a net cast out over the ocean, entangled in which are five herrings and the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

motto "SEMPER TIBI PENDEAT HALEC" (possible English translation: "may a herring always hang to thee").

Arthur Charles Fox-Davies Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (28 February 1871 – 19 May 1928) was a British expert on heraldry. His ''Complete Guide to Heraldry'', published in 1909, has become a standard work on heraldry in England. A barrister by profession, Fox-Davies worke ...

, 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.

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 Inveraray Castle (pronounced or ; Scottish Gaelic ''Caisteal Inbhir Aora'' ) is a country house near Inveraray in the county of Argyll, in western Scotland, on the shore of Loch Fyne, Scotland's longest sea loch. It is one of the earliest ex ...

. Over the years the castle has played host to numerous luminaries;

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

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, 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. 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 Inveraray Jail, formerly County Buildings, is a municipal structure in Church Square, Inveraray, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The structure, which was the headquarters of Argyll County Council as well as a jail and a courthouse, is a Category A l ...

in the burgh is now a museum. Other attractions include the Argyll Folk Museum at

Auchindrain Auchindrain ( gd, Achadh an Droighinn: 'thorn field') lies on the A83, south of Inveraray in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is the only township to survive substantially unaltered from amongst the many hundreds that existed across the Scottish ...

. The Celtic ''Inveraray Cross'' can also been seen in the town. The

Clyde puffer The Clyde puffer is a type of small coal-fired and single-masted cargo ship, built mainly on the Forth and Clyde canal, and which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides of Scotland. Built between 1856 and 1939, these stu ...

s VIC 72, ''

Vital Spark The ''Vital Spark'' is a fictional Clyde puffer, created by Scottish writer Neil Munro (writer), Neil Munro. As its captain, the redoubtable Para Handy, often says: "the smertest boat in the coastin' tred". Background Puffers seem to have been ...

''. The Bell Tower dominates the town, and contains the second-heaviest ring of ten bells in the world. The bell tower is open to the public, and the bells are rung regularly. In autumn 2014,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

premiered a series, ''Great Estates of Scotland''. Inveraray was featured in one episode, as was the present

, head of the Campbell clan.

Gallery

File:Inveraray, Scotland, UK (RLH).jpg, Inveraray, viewed from the B839 on the Eastern side of Loch Fyne, above St Catherines File:Inveraray Bridge - Loch Fyne.jpg, Aray Bridge on Loch Fyne from Inveraray. The spires of

can just be seen on the left. The hill behind the bridge is Dun Corr Bhile File:Inveraray reflections (4941986874).jpg, Inveraray reflections File:Inveraray panoramic.jpg, Main street of Inveraray File:Archway from Inveraray town - geograph.org.uk - 382209.jpg, Archway from Inveraray town File:Inveraray - panoramio.jpg, Aray Bridge

References

External links

Website for The Inveraray InnWebsite for Inveraray CastleWebsite for Inveraray Jail
*Engraving of
view of Inveraray
by

James Fittler James Fittler (October 1758, in London – 2 December 1835) was an English engraver of portraits and landscapes and an illustrator of books. He was appointed by King George III to be his marine engraver. Life Fittler was born in London in Octo ...

in the digitised copy o
Scotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland
1804 at National Library of Scotland {{DEFAULTSORT:Inveraray Towns in Argyll and Bute Highlands and Islands of Scotland Former county towns in Scotland Royal burghs