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ST JOHN'S ARPAFEELIE, TORE
Posted by PAULM594 on 28-Jul-2013 10:26:25
Arpafeelie Episcopal Church of St John, Knockbain Description: Arpafeelie Episcopal Church of St John Category: B Date Listed: 25 March 1971 Historic Scotland Building ID: 7987 OS Grid Coordinates: 261020, 850498 Latitude/Longitude: 57.5232, -4.3223 Location: Arpafeelie, Highland IV1 3XD Locality: Knockbain County: Highland Country: Scotland Postcode: IV1 3XD 1810-16. Reconstructed Alexander Ross, 1879. Gothic. Orientated east/west rectangular with gabled porch to SW and small vestry NE. Rubble with broached and stugged or broached and droved dressings. East gable with slightly advanced centre bay with large 3-light simpe perpendicular traceried window, the lower half of which is blind, flanked by blind Y-traceried windows; blind cusped window in gable end; cross finial. 3 simple geometric traceried windows west elevation and 2 east. 2 similar windows with rose window and small double belfry on west gable. Stained glass in east window; pine fittings; font from St Andrew's Well Street, London. Drystone dyked enclosure. References: Groom, ORDNANCE GAZETTER OF Scotland, iv (1883), p. 447. EPISCOPAL YEAR BOOK (1918) p. 225. National Monuments Record of Scotland. Kockbain, a coast parish of SE Ross-shire, whose church stands 1 mile S of Munlochy, and 5¾ miles N by W (via Kessock Ferry) of Inverness, under which there is a post office of Knockbain. Containing also the hamlets of Kessock, Munlochy, and Charleston, each of the two former with a post office under Inverness, it consists of the two ancient parishes of Kilmuir-Wester and Suddie, united in 1756; and it took the name of Knockbain (Gael. enoc-b n, 'white knoll') from the eminence on which its modern church was built. It is bounded NE and E by Avoch, SE by the Moray Firth, S by the Beauly Firth, SW and W by Killearnan, and NW by Urquhart. Its utmost length, from N to S, is 6 miles; its breadth varies between 1¾ and 5¼ miles; and its area is 12, 649 acres, of which 538 are foreshore and 75¾ water. The shore-line, 8 miles long. in the N is deeply indented by Munlochy Bay, and everywhere is fringed by a narrow, low, flat strip- of old sea-margin, from which the surface rises rather rapidly to 633 feet at Ord Hill, 400 at Craigiehow, 482 at Drumderfit Hill, and 566 near Upper Knockbain in the extreme N. The rocks belong to the Old Red Sandstone formation; and the soil is extremely various, comprising sandy or clayish loam, alluvium, gravel, and peat, with here and there a pretty strong pan. Great improvements have been effected since 1850 in the way of reclamation, redraining, building, wire-fencing, etc.; and a largish proportion of the entire area is under plantations. On the Drumderfit ridge above Munlochy are numerous cairns; and a large one on the western part of the ridge is believed to commemorate the Battle of Blair-na-coi ('field of lamentation'), in which, in 1340, the Macdonalds were routed by a night attack of the townsfolk of Inverness. Other antiquities are a vitrified fort on Ord Hill; an earth fort on Craig-caistal, Lundie; 'James's Temple' on Drumderfit; hut circles at Taerdore, Arpafeelie; stone circles at Muirton, Belmadnthie, and the 'Temple;' and cremation burial mounds discovered at Drumnamarg in 1881. General John Randall Mackenzie, who fell at the battle of Talavera in 1809, was a native. Allangrange House, 2 miles SW of Munlochy, is the seat of James Fowler Mackenzie, Esq. (b. 1833; suc. 1849), who holds 2742 acres in the shire, valued at £1693 per annum. Other mansions, noticed separately, are Belmadnthie and Drynie; and the property is divided among 6, 1 holding an annual value of over £4000, 3 of between £1000 and £2000, and 2 of between £400 and £600. Knockbain is in the presbytery of Chanonry and synod of Ross; the living is worth £297. The parish church, enlarged about 1816, contains 750 sittings. There are a Free church and Arpafeelie Episcopal church, St John's (1816; 200 sittings); and Drumsmittal public, Munlochy public, Upper Knockbain public, and Arpafeelie Episcopal schools, with respective accommodation for 120, 140, 117, and 89 children, had (1881) an average attendance of 76, 62, 55, and 58, and grants of £66, 16s., £35, 17s., £42, 4s., and £50, 5s. Valuation (1860) £5176, (1882) £10, 049, 14s. 9d. Pop. (1801) 1859, (1841) 2565, (1861) 2485, (1871) 2155, (1881) 1866, of whom 1071 were Gaelic-speaking.?Ord. Sur., shs. 83, 84, 1881-76. "KILMUIR WESTER AND SUDDY, an united parish in S.E. of county Ross, now known as Knockbain." Pre-history The earliest evidence of human settlement in the area that we now call ?Killearnan? lies in the Neolithic, bronze- and iron-age structures that can be found throughout the area: examples being the chambered tombs at North & South Kilcoy, Carn Glas, the Temple and Carn Iurnan; the hut circles at Cnoc na h-Eireachd; and the Redcastle crannog. Surprisingly, no Pictish, Celtic or early medieval sites have been verified ? although several are assumed, such as the site of the parish church and possible early Culdee chapels at Chapleton and Artafallie. There are also several sites of unknown provenance, including the ?mound? on Gallowhill, the ?castle? at Coulmore and the ?lost cairns? at Croftcrunie. The Estates Documentary sources date from medieval times. In 1179 William I built a motte at ?Etherdouer? as part of a line of fortifications protecting the fertile royal estates in Moray against the uprisings of the MacWilliams and MacHeths of Orkney and Caithness. As reward for his role in quelling these incursions, Sir John Bysset of the Aird was granted custody of the motte in 1212. Sir John?s Bysset?s heirs in 1294 granted land at ?Culcolli? to Sir David de Graham, thus creating the two estates of Etherdouer and Culcowy that today (as Redcastle and Kilcoy) still comprise the greater proportion of Killearnan. By the 14th century, the lands of Kilcoy and Etherdouer (with its castle, now known as the Reidcastell) had, through marriage, become part of the ?Ardmeanach? (Black Isle) owned by the Black Douglas Earls of Ross, whose principal residence was Ormond Castle, near Avoch. On the executions of the Black Douglases by James II in 1455, the Killearnan estates were annexed back into royal ownership and remained in the possession of the Stuarts until the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots in 1567. In 1568 the Earl of Moray, Regent to the infant James VI, granted the Reidcastell to Kenneth Mackenzie, 10th Baron of Kintail, for ?valiant actions?. Meanwhile, Kilcoy remained in royal possession, sub-let to Sir Robert Stuart. However, in 1616, Sir Robert sold Kilcoy to raise money to settle the gambling debts of his uncle. The purchaser was Alexander Mackenzie of Kinnock, a grandson of Kenneth Mackenzie of Kintail. Thus, by the early 17th century the Mackenzies had gained possession of both Redcastle and Kilcoy ? establishing lairdships and cadet branches of the clan that remained in ownership of the estates for 222 years (8 generations to 1790) and 351 years (12 generations to 1967) respectively. In 1682 the Mackenzies of Kilcoy sold the ?lands of Allan? (recorded from the 15th century as ?Meikle Allan?) to Simon Mackenzie of Findon, who became the first laird of the estate now known as Allangrange, part of which lies within Killearnan. Within the Kilcoy estate there was also a castle at Tore, although it is probably best described as a mansion house. Its history is vague but it may have been medieval and was probably re-built circa 1650. It is shown on William Roy?s military map of 1750 and seems no longer to have been required by the Mackenzies from circa 1805 and was demolished by 1870 - not being shown on the 1st series Ordnance Survey maps of 1872. Much of the stone from Tore castle seems to have been re-cycled into the Tore Mains farm steadings. The Mackenzies were royalists. In consequence, Oliver Cromwell?s parliamentarian forces pursued them in 1649 when Redcastle was sacked and burned. It was rebuilt in circa 1665 and became a Burgh of Barony in 1680. Although it is rumoured that Prince Charles Edward visited Redcastle in 1745 and attempted to persuade the Killearnan-based Mackenzies to join the Jacobites, they played no part in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. It is not clear exactly when a castle was first built on the Kilcoy estate. It is first recorded in a charter of 1618 but it is thought that it may have been in existence by 1590. The Mackenzies of Kilcoy occupied the castle continuously until 1813 when Colin Mackenzie, who lived and worked in London, removed the roof to save taxes. By 1845 the castle had become ruinous but it was repaired in 1890 by Col John and Isabella Burton-Mackenzie who had inherited the estate in 1869. The Burton-Mackenzies also owned Belmaduthy House in Knockbain where they and their descendants generally lived until it was destroyed by fire in 1935. Although the family moved to Kilcoy, growing debts eventually required the estate to be sold off. The castle was bought by the Eagle Star Insurance Company but they sold it to Ian and Anne Robinson who effected modernisations. After Ian?s death in 1991, Anne sold the castle to its present owners, Mr & Mrs Nicolas McAndrew. The Redcastle Mackenzies became bankrupt in 1790 and the estate was judicially sold to James Grant of Sheuglie (Glen Urquhart). The Grants prospered from sales of wood and quarry stone and generated a handsome profit when they sold the estate to Sir William Fettes in 1825. Sir William also reaped riches by selling wood for pit props until his death in 1836. His trustees sold the estate in 1839 to Col Hugh Baillie of Tarradale, the neighbouring estate to the west. In 1841 William Burn was commissioned to convert Redcastle from an austere L-tower into a Scots baronial mansion. On the death of Hugh Baillie?s son, Henry, Redcastle was inherited by James Baillie of Dochfour. It remains in the ownership of the Baillies of Dochfour, although they have not lived in it since WW2 when it was requisitioned by the RAF for use as a munitions store. Today, it lies in ruins. Little is known of the original Meikle Allan or the house, known as Allanbank, which was replaced when Simon Mackenzie built Old Allangrange House in the style of a Georgian mansion in 1760. After major alterations in 1907 carried out by Robert Scarlett Fraser-Mackenzie (Chief of the Clan Mackenzie), it became known as New Allangrange. Elizabeth Cameron, the well-known botanical artist, and her husband purchased the house in 1950 and the produce of the estate briefly sustained the Black Isle Frozen Foods Company. The Black Isle Brewery is now at Allangrange Mains. The Churches Although there is no known physical evidence, it is thought that early Christian ?Culdee? cells were established at Chapleton and Artafallie. These seem to have been dedicated to St Andrew but medieval charters also refer to a St Palmer?s chapel. It is probable that the name ?Killearnan? refers to a monastic ?Cill? (cell) founded by St Iurnan or St Ernan in the 7th century. The parish church is thought to be sited on Pictish foundations, although the earliest visible foundations of the present building date to circa 1390. In 1238 Pope Gregory IX established a prebend at Chanonry, thus founding the parish of Etherdouer that was later to become known as Killearnan. There was also a Knights Hospitallers ?hospital? at Spital Shore, first recorded in 1299. One wall with a triple-lancet window was recorded still standing in 1882 but there are no visible remains today. The Mackenzies of Redcastle, Kilcoy and Allangrange (jointly, the heritors of the parish) were Episcopalian. Whilst not actively promoting the Reformation of 1560-1690, they were slow to embrace it. In consequence, the parish church and the manse regularly fell into disrepair and several visiting presbyterian ministers were ?rabbled?. There were also periods in which no minister was in post because of disputes with the Presbytery of Chanonry over patronage. Only in 1719 did the parish admit its first truly Presbyterian minister, Rev John McArthur ? but he had to work without a Kirk Session (which was not created until 1744) and endure an ?uninhabitable? manse (as did many of his successors until 1891 when both the church and the manse were renovated). At the ?Disruption? of 1843, almost all the congregation followed their minister, Rev Donald Kennedy, and joined the Free Church of Scotland, whose fine church at Newton crossroads was opened in 1866. Although only a minority of the Free Church congregation defected to the United Free Church in 1900, a corrugated iron church was erected at Kilcoy in 1908. This building transferred on the merger of the United Free Church with the Church of Scotland in 1933. It subsequently became the parish church hall and was eventually sold in 1985. In 1999 the congregations of Killearnan and Knockbain parish churches formally linked. In 2000, the Free Church also linked, with Maryburgh. The Killearnan Economy Historically, the livelihood of the population of Killearnan has always depended on subsistence farming. Medieval records refer to land taxes of 2 merks per year payable by the feudal landlords of Redcastle to the monks of Beauly Priory, acting as the King?s agents. After the annexations of 1455 the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland show the annual rentals payable, for example in 1478 the Kilcoy estate was valued at £39 Scots.
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