Beauly
Encyclopedia
Beauly is a town of the Scottish
county
of Inverness-shire
, on the River Beauly
, 10 miles west of Inverness
by the Far North railway line
. Its population was 855 in 1901. The town is now within the Highland council area.
The land around Beauly is fertile and the town historically traded in coal, timber, lime, grain and fish.
Beauly is the site of the Beauly Priory
, or the Priory Church of the Blessed Virgin and John the Baptist, founded in 1230 by John Byset
of the Aird, for Valliscaulian monk
s. Following the Reformation
, the buildings (except the church, now a ruin) passed into the possession of Lord Lovat
.
Beauly is also the site of Lovat Castle
, which once belonged to the Bissets, but was presented by James VI, to Hugh Fraser, 5th Lord Lovat and later demolished.
sold the castle to Ann Gloag
of the Stagecoach Group
to pay off debts. In 2002, the Beauly railway station
, built in 1862 and closed in 1960, was renovated and reopened.
In January 2010, the Scottish government approved controversial plans for a power line upgrade that will begin in Beauly and end in Denny, Falkirk
. The new power line, part of a plan to carry electricity generated by wind farms on the Western Isles, was called "the most significant grid infrastructure project in a generation" by Jim Mather MSP
. The 220 kilometres (136.7 mi) line will consist of a network of 600 pylons
, ranging in height from 42 to 65 m (137.8 to 213.3 ).
, its shinty
team, who have won the Camanachd Cup
three times and have been World Champions once.
To the south-east of Beauly is the church of Kirkhill, Highland
containing the vault of the Lovats as well as a number of sept
s of the Mackenzie
s, including Seaforth and Mackenzies of Gairloch
.
Three miles south of Beauly is Beaufort Castle
, the chief seat of the Lovats, a modern mansion in the Scottish baronial style. It occupies the site of a fortress erected in the time of Alexander II
., which was besieged in 1303 by Edward I
. This was replaced by several castles in succession, of which one, Castle Dounie ,was taken by Oliver Cromwell
and burned by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland in 1746, the conflagration being witnessed from a neighbouring hill by Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
, before his capture on Loch Morar
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
county
Counties of Scotland
The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....
of Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...
, on the River Beauly
River Beauly
The River Beauly is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness.It is about 25 km long, beginning near the village of Struy, at the confluence of the River Farrar and the River Glass...
, 10 miles west of Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
by the Far North railway line
Far North Line
The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick.- Route :...
. Its population was 855 in 1901. The town is now within the Highland council area.
The land around Beauly is fertile and the town historically traded in coal, timber, lime, grain and fish.
Early years
Beauly Priory
Beauly Priory was a Valliscaulian monastic community located at "Insula de Achenbady", now Beauly, Inverness-shire. It was probably founded in 1230. It is not known for certain who the founder was, different sources giving Alexander II of Scotland, John Byset, and both...
, or the Priory Church of the Blessed Virgin and John the Baptist, founded in 1230 by John Byset
John Byset
John Byset the Elder, Lord of the Aird was a Scottish or Scoto-Irish nobleman who is the progenitor of the Bissett family of the Glens of Antrim in Northeast Ireland or Ulster. Born in Scotland, a significant portion of what is known of his life is probably legendary and the certain details are...
of the Aird, for Valliscaulian monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s. Following the Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
, the buildings (except the church, now a ruin) passed into the possession of Lord Lovat
Lord Lovat
Lord Lovat is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser. The title descended in a direct line for nine sequential generations until the death of the ninth Lord in 1696. He was succeeded by his great-uncle, the tenth Lord...
.
Beauly is also the site of Lovat Castle
Lovat Castle
Lovat Castle is a ruined castle in northern Scotland, near Beauly, Highland. The castle once stood on the right bank of the River Beauly. Originally known as Beauly Castle, it was built by the Bissets in the 11th-12th century...
, which once belonged to the Bissets, but was presented by James VI, to Hugh Fraser, 5th Lord Lovat and later demolished.
Recent history
In 1994 Simon Fraser, 15th Lord LovatSimon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat
Brigadier Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat and 4th Baron Lovat DSO, MC, TD was the 25th Chief of the Clan Fraser and a prominent British Commando during the Second World War...
sold the castle to Ann Gloag
Ann Gloag
Ann Gloag, OBE , is a Scottish business woman and charity campaigner.-Biography:Educated at Caledonian Road Primary School and Perth High School, she qualified as a nurse and during a 20 year career worked as a burns unit sister.-Stagecoach:Gloag founded bus company "Gloagtrotter" in October 1980...
of the Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
to pay off debts. In 2002, the Beauly railway station
Beauly railway station
Beauly railway station serves the village of Beauly in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is the first stop after leaving Inverness station, heading north on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line and the Far North Line.-History:...
, built in 1862 and closed in 1960, was renovated and reopened.
In January 2010, the Scottish government approved controversial plans for a power line upgrade that will begin in Beauly and end in Denny, Falkirk
Denny, Falkirk
Denny is a town in the Falkirk council area of Scotland, formerly in the county of Stirlingshire. It is situated west of Falkirk, and north-east of Cumbernauld, adjacent to both the M80 and M876 motorways...
. The new power line, part of a plan to carry electricity generated by wind farms on the Western Isles, was called "the most significant grid infrastructure project in a generation" by Jim Mather MSP
Jim Mather
Jim Mather is a Scottish National Party politician, former Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism and until the 2011 election, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Argyll and Bute ....
. The 220 kilometres (136.7 mi) line will consist of a network of 600 pylons
Electricity pylon
A transmission tower is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes...
, ranging in height from 42 to 65 m (137.8 to 213.3 ).
Other attractions
The town is known for the Beauly Shinty ClubBeauly Shinty Club
Beauly Shinty Club is a shinty club from Beauly, Scotland. The club was founded in 1892. The club has two sides, the first team competing in Marine Harvest North Division One and the second team in North Division Three.-History:...
, its shinty
Shinty
Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...
team, who have won the Camanachd Cup
Camanachd Cup
The Camanachd Association Challenge Cup AKA the Camanachd Cup or Scottish Cup is the premier prize in the sport of shinty...
three times and have been World Champions once.
To the south-east of Beauly is the church of Kirkhill, Highland
Kirkhill, Highland
Kirkhill is a village, located 2 miles east of Beauly, close to the south opening of the Beauly Firth, and 10 miles west of Inverness, in Inverness-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland....
containing the vault of the Lovats as well as a number of sept
Sept (social)
A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...
s of the Mackenzie
Clan MacKenzie
Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...
s, including Seaforth and Mackenzies of Gairloch
Gairloch
Gairloch is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch on the northwest coast of Scotland. A popular tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a golf course, a small museum, several hotels, a community centre, a leisure centre with sports facilities, a local...
.
Three miles south of Beauly is Beaufort Castle
Beaufort Castle, Scotland
Beaufort Castle is a castle in northern Scotland, near Beauly. It is the traditional seat of the chiefs of the Clan Fraser.-History:The original castle was built by the Byset family. The castle came into the hands of the Fraser's in the late 13th century...
, the chief seat of the Lovats, a modern mansion in the Scottish baronial style. It occupies the site of a fortress erected in the time of Alexander II
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...
., which was besieged in 1303 by Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
. This was replaced by several castles in succession, of which one, Castle Dounie ,was taken by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and burned by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland in 1746, the conflagration being witnessed from a neighbouring hill by Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat , was a Scottish Jacobite and Chief of Clan Fraser, who was famous for his violent feuding and his changes of allegiance. In 1715, he had been a supporter of the House of Hanover, but in 1745 he changed sides and supported the Stuart claim on the crown of Scotland...
, before his capture on Loch Morar
Loch Morar
Loch Morar is a freshwater loch in Morar, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is the fifth-largest loch in Scotland, with a surface area of and the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, with a maximum depth of ....
.