Rosneath
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 View from caravan site at Castle Point, looking northwest across Rosneath Bay to the pier and village | |
  Rosneath Location withinArgyll and Bute | |
| Population | 1,260 (2020)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NS 25447 83210 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Helensburgh |
| Postcode district | G84 |
| Dialling code | 01436 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 56°00′36″N4°48′05″W / 56.009950°N 4.8013940°W /56.009950; -4.8013940 | |
Rosneath (Scottish Gaelic:Ros Neimhidh) is a town[2] inArgyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of theGare Loch, 2 miles (3 kilometres) northwest of the tip of theRosneath Peninsula. It is about 2.4 miles (4 kilometres) by road from the village ofKilcreggan, which is sited on the southern shore of the peninsula, on theFirth of Clyde.
The Gare Loch narrows at Rosneath to under half a mile (around 600 metres) at a place known as theRhu Narrows, after the village ofRhu on the eastern shore of the loch.[3]
Rosneath Bay to the south of the town curves eastward to Castle Point, near the site of the formerRoseneath Castle, in the grounds of the formerRosneath House which are now occupied by Rosneath caravan park. The coast turns south past Culwatty Bay to Rosneath Point at the tip of the peninsula, which was directly north of theGreenock Princes Pier railway station, 2 miles (3 kilometres) distant on the southern shore of the Firth.
The Rosneath area has been settled from at least 600 onwards, whenSt. Modan, a travelling missionary, founded a church there. The nameRosneath may have its roots in this era, being derived from theGaelicRos Neimhidh,[4] meaning "promontory of consecrated ground". The name has historically been spelled asRoseneath (notably in both theFirst andNew (or Second) Statistical Accounts of Scotland).[citation needed] A more visible example is Roseneath Street in Greenock, which looks over theRiver Clyde to Rosneath Point, and dates from around 1870.[5]
Later, the area was heavily fortified, with Rosneath's own castling joining those of nearbyFaslane and Shandon (located atFaslane andShandon), all of which are long since gone. Rosneath village did not yet fully exist by this time; instead, Rosneath parish was home to many free-standing dwellings, the occupants of which were, for the vast bulk of the area's history, employed in agriculture and fishing. Frequent shipping services toGlasgow, Greenock and beyond were vital for the local economy.
Rosneath Castle was ruined and rebuilt many times; the final rebuilding, asRosneath House, came in 1803–06, three years after the previous building burned down.[6] Located further uphill from previous versions, it belonged to theDuke of Argyll, whose family retained it untilPrincess Louise died in 1939. In stark contrast to the earlier castles, it was in theRomanesque Revival style.[7]
From 1941 to 1945, Rosneath was home to an importantnaval base known asRosneath naval base, thanks to its location in the well-sheltered natural harbour of the Gare Loch. The Americans used Rosneath Castle as a base of operations.[8] The castle was then abandoned and the remains demolished in 1961.
The Rosneath Peninsula was formerly in the traditional County ofDunbarton until local government reorganisation moved it into the Argyll and Bute council area in 1996.
At the 2001 census, its population was 931. Rosneath lies approximately 44 mi (71 km) fromGlasgow by road. It is situated on the B833, a shoreside minor thoroughfare that serves the peninsula.[9]
Media related toRosneath at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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