Alness – Summary Table

Alness

HMC = Sixth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts

Name	Value	Date	Grid Ref	Map Sources	Other forms, comments etc
Alness	(¼ davach)	1556	NH 6569	Blaeu(Moray)	Ex bishopric. Kirktoun rent was 2½m + ¼ mart in CWMF (68) 1556 so probably ¼ davach.
2 Culmalochies	(1 davach)	1475-6	NH 6568	Roy(FC)	= Teaninich House. Extending to 10m in RMS II (1227) 1475-6. ER XVII p 669 1539 suggests 2 halves were Milntoun & Ovir but documents like RMS III (382) 1526 suggest Nethir & Ovir. RMS V (1331) 1587 ‘Daach’. See below.
Contullich	1 davach	1379	NH 6370	RHP 4188	CWMF (11), linked with the ‘fortyr’ of Ardach. In GD93/123 1590 it ia also linked to Achvaiche. CWMF (113) 1587, (123) 1590. RS36/2/369v 1608. Divided into Over & Nether.
Ardoch			NH 6172		‘Fortyr’ of Contulich and probably included in its valuation.
Fyrish	(1 davach)	1476-9	NH 6169	Blaeu(Moray)	A little under 8 bovates in 1504. A davach’s bondage silver in ER 1539 & RMS V (1331) 1587. Davach in GD305/1/32/4 1673. See below.
(Mains of) Novar	¼ davach	1589	NH 6168	Blaeu(Moray)	Taynowar was ¼ of Fyreis in GD93/120 of 1589.
Assynt	1 davach	1631	NH 5967	Blaeu(Moray)	RMS V (148) 1580-1 (original 1566) links Inchecultir. Assin in RS37/4/287v 1631. Ex bishopric.
Inchculter		1586			CWMF (109). Possibly part of Assynt?
Boath More Veag	½ davach ¼ davach	1582 1609	NH 5773 NH 5673 NH 5674		See below. GD93/100 = CWMF (100). Ex bishopric in RMS V (586). GD297/217 No 60 1609. RS37/1/141v 1619. Retours (Ross) (90). Ex bishopric.
Acharn		1586	NH 5873	Blaeu(Moray)	Achcharne in CWMF (109).
Lealty/Lealdie   Wester	(¼ davach) ¼ davach	1595   1678	NH 6073		RMS VI (265) 1595. Ex bishopric. I am not sure if this was all reckoned part of the davach of Moultavie. See below. GD176/576 1678.
Moultavie	1 davach	1372-1382	NH 6371		GD297/180 1439/40, RMS II (1978) 1490. Davach in SC29/1/1 f40r & f40v 1558 & RSS VII (486) 1575-6. GD176/616 suggests Lealty & Delinreich (Dalreoch below) were part of Multovy. Belnaha was another ⅛ or oxgate.
Dalreoch			NH 6273		Part of Moultavie?
Culcairn	1 davach	1673	NH 6066	Roy(FC) Thomson(1826)	GD305/1/32/4. No. of bovates suggests 1 davach in ER XII pp 664-5 1504. Ex earldom. There is another Culcairn at NH 6771 in Roskeen parish (q.v. & footnote).
Newton			NH 6166		GD93/119 of 1588 refers to part of an oxgang of Newtoune of Culcairne. I assume Newton was part of the davach of Culcairn.
Culcraggie	(1 davach) 1 davach	1475-6 1632	NH 6469	RHP 4188	Ex Earldom. ‘Extending to 10m’ in RMS II (1227) of 1475-6. 16s bondages in 1539 & 1574-5 in ER. See below.
Ceann an Locha (Kinloch)	¼ davach	1619	NH 5475	Roy(FC) Thomson(1826)	East end of Loch Morie. See below.
Cille Mhuire			NH 5277	Roy(FC) Thomson(1826)	=Kildermorie. Ex bishopric. With Auchnacullane (Achadh nan Cuilean) in RSS VIII (2506) 1584. Retours (Ross) (105) 1653.
Achadh nan Cuilean			NH 4978	Roy(FC)	Ex bishopric. With Kilteremore (Cille Mhuire) in RSS VIII (2506) 1584. Retours (Ross) (105) 1653.
Ruighe Ferquhar E & W Refarquhars	⅛ davach	1609	NH 5272		Ex bishopric. See below. E & W = ⅛ davach in GD297/217 No 60 1609 & RS37/1/141v 1619, Retours (Ross) (90) 1642.
Wester Glen	1 davach	1662			Includes following 3 properties. See below.
Kinlochglass	(¼ davach)	1566	c. NH 5370		Ex bishopric, ’33s 4d old rent’ (=2½m) in RMS V (586) 1583 on original of 1566 suggests ¼ davach. ½ davach with Balnacoull in 1582 (GD93/100). See below.
Balnacoul	(¼ davach)	1566		Blaeu(Moray)	Ex bishopric.Blaeu marks near E end of Loch Glass. ’33s 4d old rent’ (=2½m) in RMS V (586) 1583, on original of 1566, suggests ¼ davach. ½ davach with Kinlochglass in 1582 (GD93/100).
Auchnagaul	½ davach	1582	NH 5668		Ex bishopric. GD93/100. ‘5m old rent’ in RMS V (586) 1583 on original of 1566 suggests ½ davach by then. GD103/1/127 1630 on original of 1623.
Candvochtrach	(¼ davach?)	1586	NH 4874?		CWMF (168) 1619. Candwachterach with an Extent of 40s in Retours (Ross) (90) 1642.  See below.
Ballavulich			NH 5866	OS 6″ LXIV	There is more than one Ballavulich and I don’t think this is the one described as a ½ davach in the charters. See under Balavulich in Urray parish. There is also a Ballveulich in Knockbain.
Total	9⅜ + davachs

 

 

Culmalochies

Macgill p 310, No 787, 1661, for ‘burne of Teaninich, of old callit the burne of Dargane’. RS38/5/344v 1686 gives ‘over halff davach off Coulmealachie’.

 

Fyrish

RS37/7/254v 1656 refers to ‘the laichest [lowest] quarter lands of the davach lands of Fyreiss’ – and gives bounds.

 

Boath

Boath was divided in two – both parts ex bishopric. Beg (or Little) appears in a succession of documents from the Ross of Pitcalnie papers in Sixth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts: Boithebege (HMC p 716 No 4, 1543), Boith Beg (No’s 6 & 7, 1548, No 10 1563), Lytill Both (No 14, 1587). The two Boaths total ¾ davach which seems a little unlikely so we may be missing a ¼ davach here.

 

Lealty/Lealdie

RMS VI (265) 1595 Reddendo implies ¼ davach. GD176/576 1678 describes Wester Lealdie as a quarterland of the davach of Multovy. GD1/400/2/3 Section J p 4, 1678. East of Lealty is Cnoc Curuidan (OS Explorer 438) which is associated with St Curitan (PNRC p 82).

 

Culcraggie

GD1/498/4 1589 refers to the ‘laich quarter’ (also RS37/7/2v 1648). See RS36/2/359r 1608 for 1 oxgate + yair. RS37/5/33v 1632 & RS37/6/161v 1638

give 3 bovates. The latter document refers to a pendicle called Aucharin (Acharn?) and a bovate called Baddandarran with a piece of land called Binnachan.

 

Ceann an Locha (Kinloch Morie)

‘2 Kanlochis’ in CWMF (109) 1586. ‘Twa Kenlochis’ in Macgill pp 267-8 No 679, 1586. Two Caindlochis in HMC p 717 No 14, 1587.

Canlochmore in HMC p 716 No 4, 1543; Kendlochmore in HMC p 716 No 6, 1548; Kenlochmoir in HMC pp 716-7 No 10, 1563 & RS37/1/141v 1619 (¼ davach in latter). Candlochmoir ¼ davach in Retours (Ross) (90) 1642. Probably = ¼ davach Cauldlach Moir in GD297/217 No 60 1609.

Roy(FC) shows Kenloch on S. side of river, Thomson on N. side.

Although there is a little ambiguity I think all these references are to the settlements at the east end of Loch Morie, one north, one south of the river. The ending ‘more’, ‘moir’ etc may not mean ‘big’ but refer to the loch (Morie) and the need to distinguish it from Loch Glass. (See Kinlochglass below).

 

Ruighe Ferquhar/Riserquharis

Roiarchireachtrach & Rearchirorthrach in HMC p 716 No 4, 1543; Rewfarquhare Earththraich & Rewfarquhare Oichthraich in HMC p 716 No 6, 1548; Eistir & Westir Reinfarquharris in HMC pp 716-7 No 10, 1563; two Rinferquharis in HMC p 717 No 14, 1587. (Although Easter & Wester latterly the earlier names must have been Over & Nether from Gaelic uachdarach and iochdarach.

Riserquharis in Retours (Ross) (90) is also a corruption of Ruighe Farquhar. The next item in the list is Candwachterach which Watson (PNRC p 84) says is in Alness parish. CWMF (109) 1586 bears this out. (See Candvochtrach below).

 

Wester Glen

RS38/1/43v 1662 refers to the wester davoch of Glennis called Auchnigaull Belnaconell and Keandlochglesh. RS38/4/333v 1675 is similar.

 

Kinlochglass

Kendloch, 1 oxgang ex-bishopric in Retours (Ross) (106) 1653. We are not told which loch, or even which parish, this Kinloch refers to but it is described as within the late bishopric of Ross. Kinlochglass was ex-bishopric and the settlement at the SE end of Loch Glass was known as Kinloch in OS 6″ 1st Series Ross-shire (Mainland) Sheet LXIV 1875. The attribution is not certain but the single, unqualified, place-name ‘Kinloch’ suggests to me that it is not by Loch Morie. However this retour may only refer to half the property. RMS V (586) 1583 on original of 1566, gives 2½m as the ‘old rent’ of Candlochglass which suggests ¼ davach extent. It gives the same rent for Balnacoule. In GD93/100 1582 Balnacoull & Kennochtclasche are given together as a half-davach so they must have been ¼ of a davach each.

For kirklands of Kinlochglass see also PSAS Vol 41 1906-7 No 127 1630 on original of 1623.

Kinlochbrebner may be an alternate name.

 

Candvochtrach

PNRC p 84. Canoichthrach in HMC p 716 No 4, 1543; Canochthraich in HMC p 716 No 6, 1548; Kayndwochtherache in HMC pp 716-7 No 10, 1563; Caindwochtriach in HMC p 717 No 14, 1587. CWMF (109) 1586. Candwochtraweth in GD297/217 No 60 1609. Keandowchtrach in RS37/1/141v 1619.

This ‘upper head’ was somewhere near the west end of Loch Glass. OS 6″ 1st Series Ross-shire (Mainland) Sheet LI 1875 marks a settlement called Ceann na Macharach at the NW end of Loch Glass. (It is not named in the 2nd edition).  CWMF (168) 1619. Retours (Ross) (160) 1696 with Boginduiry (Kiltearn) – GD93/291 1696 says half of the moss of Bogindurry.

The marches between Corravachie (head of Loch Glass, Kiltearn parish) and Kanochbrach are referred to in CWMF (297) 1701. Also Cianuachturich in CWMF (335) 1732.