The
Kilmartin Glen has
standing stones and other monuments dating back to around 3000BC, and is one of the most significant areas for
Neolithic and
Bronze Age remains in mainland
Scotland. In 563AD
Iona Abbey was founded, becoming one of the most important early
Christian sites in Scotland. The
Gaelic kingdom of existed between the 5th and 9th centuries. Its territory covered north-eastern parts of
Ireland in what later became
County Antrim, part of the mainland of
Great Britain in what is now western
Scotland, and numerous islands in the
Inner Hebrides. A fortress at
Dunadd in the Kilmartin Glen, northwest of the modern town of
Lochgilphead, served as the main seat of the kingdom. Dál Riata fragmented in the 9th century during the
Viking Age; the part in Ireland was absorbed into the kingdom of
Ulaid, the islands came under the control of the
Kingdom of the Isles, and the part on mainland Britain was united in 843AD with the
Pictish kingdom to its east under
Kenneth MacAlpin to become the
Kingdom of Alba. The name Argyll (), meaning 'coast or borderland of the Gaels', came to be used for the part of the former Dál Riata territory on mainland Britain. The name distinguished the area from the , meaning 'islands of the foreigners' which was used for the Kingdom of the Isles, ruled by
Old Norse-speaking
Norse–Gaels. Further corroboration of this claim appears in
The Scots Magazine from 1793. Given that the MacTavishes were documented at Dunardary for 900 years prior to that reference, their presence in the region can be traced back to approximately 893 AD. Argyll was divided into several lordships or
provinces, including
Kintyre,
Knapdale,
Lorn,
Cowal, and a smaller Argyll province which covered the area around Inveraray between
Loch Fyne and
Loch Awe (the latter sometimes described by later writers as "Argyll proper" or "Mid-Argyll" to distinguish it from the wider area). The term "North Argyll" was also used to refer to the area later called
Wester Ross. It was called North Argyll as it was settled by missionaries and refugees from , based at the abbey of
Applecross. The position of abbot was hereditary, and when
Ferchar mac in tSagairt, son of the abbot, became the
Earl of Ross in the 13th century, the region of North Argyll gradually became known as Wester Ross instead. Alba evolved into the kingdom of Scotland, but lost control of Kintyre, Knapdale and Lorn to
Norwegian rule, as was acknowledged in a treaty of 1098 between
Edgar, King of Scotland and
Magnus Barefoot,
King of Norway. In 1266, the
Treaty of Perth re-established the Scottish crown's authority over the parts of Argyll which had been under Norwegian rule, along with the former Kingdom of the Isles, which together became the semi-independent
Lordship of the Isles. By this time, the rest of the area under Scottish rule was divided into
shires, administered by
sheriffs. The shires covered different territories to the provinces, and it was the shires which subsequently evolved into Scotland's counties rather than the older provinces. Following the Treaty of Perth, the Argyll provinces were initially placed in the
shire of Perth. In 1293, two new shires were created within Argyll; the
Sheriff of Kintyre, covering just that province, and the
Sheriff of Lorn, covering Lorn, Knapdale, and Mid-Argyll (which probably included Cowal at that time). The earliest reference to a
Sheriff of Argyll was in 1326. The position appears to have been a re-establishment or renaming of the position of the Sheriff of Lorn. The post subsequently became a hereditary position held by members of
Clan Campbell. Despite the creation of the shires, much of the area remained under the practical control of the Lord of the Isles until 1476, when
John MacDonald, last Lord of the Isles,
quitclaimed Kintyre, Knapdale, and Mid-Argyll to full Scottish control. In 1481, Knapdale was added to the shire of Kintyre which then became known as
Tarbertshire, being initially administered from
Tarbert. The
Scottish Reformation coincidentally followed the fall of the Lordship of the Isles. The MacDonalds (the clan of the former Lords of the Isles) were strong supporters of the former religious regime. The Campbells, by contrast, were strong supporters of the reforms. At the start of the 17th century, under instruction from
James VI, the Campbells were sent to the MacDonald territory at
Islay and
Jura, which they subdued and added to the shire of Argyll. Campbell pressure at this time also led to the sheriff court for Tarbertshire being moved to
Inverary, where the Campbells held the court for the sheriff of Argyll. Tarbertshire was subsequently abolished by an act of parliament in 1633, being absorbed into the shire of Argyll. The act also confirmed the town of Inveraray's position as "head burgh" of the enlarged shire. , built 1820 and used as the sheriff court and meeting place for the Commissioners of Supply In 1667,
Commissioners of Supply were established for each shire, which would serve as the main administrative body for the area until the creation of county councils in 1890.
David II had restored MacDougall authority over Lorn in 1357, but
John MacDougall (head of the MacDougalls) had already renounced claims to Mull (in 1354) in favour of the MacDonalds, to avoid potential conflict. The
MacLeans were an ancient family based in Lorn (including Mull), and following the quitclaim, they no longer had a Laird in Mull, so themselves became Mull's Lairds. Unlike the MacDonalds, they were fervent supporters of the Reformation, even supporting acts of
civil disobedience against king
Charles II's
repudiation of the
Solemn League and Covenant.
Archibald Campbell (Earl of Argyll) was instructed by the
privy council to seize Mull, and suppress the
non-conformist behaviour; by 1680 he gained possession of the island, and transferred shrieval authority to the sheriff of Argyll. In 1746, following
Jacobite insurrections, the
Heritable Jurisdictions Act abolished
regality, and forbade the position of sheriff from being inherited. Local governance was brought into line with that of the rest of the recently unified
Great Britain, and the English term "county" came to be used interchangeably with the term "shire". In 1890, elected county councils were created under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. The 1889 Act also led to parish and county boundaries being adjusted to eliminate cases where parishes straddled county boundaries. The parish of
Small Isles straddled Argyll and Inverness-shire, with the islands of
Muck,
Rùm,
Canna, and
Sanday being in Argyll but
Eigg in Inverness-shire. The whole parish was placed in Inverness-shire in 1891. The parishes of
Ardnamurchan and
Kilmallie both also straddled Argyll and Inverness-shire; the county boundary through Kilmallie was adjusted to follow
Loch Eil in 1891. In 1895 these two parishes were both split along the county boundary; the part of Ardnamurchan in Inverness-shire became a new parish of
Arisaig and Moidart, leaving the reduced Ardnamurchan parish wholly in Argyll, whilst the part of Kilmallie in Argyll became a new parish of
Ardgour. Argyll was abolished as a county for local government purposes in 1975, with its area being split between
Highland and Strathclyde Regions. A
local government district called
Argyll and Bute was formed in the
Strathclyde region, including most of Argyll and the adjacent
Isle of Bute (the former County of Bute was more extensive). The
Ardnamurchan,
Ardgour,
Ballachulish, Duror,
Glencoe,
Kinlochleven, and
Morvern areas of Argyll were detached to become parts of
Lochaber District, in Highland. They remained in Highland following the 1996 revision. In 1996, a new
unitary council area of
Argyll and Bute was created, with a change in boundaries to include part of the former Strathclyde district of
Dumbarton. The historic county boundaries of Argyll are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being a
registration county.
County council Argyll County Council held its first meeting at the
courthouse in Inveraray on 22 May 1890, when over three hours were spent debating where the council should meet thereafter, with proposals put forward in favour of meeting in
Lochgilphead,
Inveraray,
Oban,
Dunoon, or even
Glasgow (despite the latter being outside the county). It was decided to meet at Dunoon between May and September and at Oban for the rest of the year. The council did subsequently hold meetings in more places than just those two towns, meeting occasionally at all the towns which had been suggested at that first meeting. The council also appointed a clerk who was based in Lochgilphead at its first meeting, beginning the practice of having the council's main offices in that town. The clerk's offices were initially at the County Offices which formed part of Lochgilphead's courthouse and police station on Lochnell Street, which had been built in 1849. In 1925 the council bought the former Argyll Hotel at 5 Lochnell Street for £2,700, converting it to become their offices. The hotel had been built in 1887, and was renamed County Offices. The Lochgilphead building was not large enough to house all the council's staff, and some departments remained in other towns throughout the county council's existence, with the county treasurer being based in Campbeltown, the health department in Oban, and the education offices in Dunoon. After the county council's abolition in 1975, the building at 5 Lochnell Street became the sub-regional office of
Strathclyde Regional Council, being renamed "Dalriada House", whilst the new
Argyll and Bute District Council established its headquarters at nearby
Kilmory Castle. ==Geography==