County of Nairn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Scotland |
| County town | Nairn |
| Area | |
• Total | 200 sq mi (518 km2) |
| Ranked 31st of 34 | |
| Chapman code | NAI |
TheCounty of Nairn, orNairnshire, (Scottish Gaelic:Siorrachd Inbhir Narann) is ahistoric county,registration county andlieutenancy area ofScotland. The county was named afterNairn, its only town. The county was used for local government until 1975 when the area was redesignated as theNairn District, one of the eight districts of the two-tierHighlandregion. Nairn district was abolished in 1996 when Highland became a single-tiercouncil area.
The county bordersInverness-shire to the west and south,Moray to the east, and has a coastline along theMoray Firth to its north.
The area that would become Nairnshire was anciently part of theProvince of Moray, ruled by theEarls or Mormaers of Moray, sometimes as avassal of the Scottish crown, and at other times as a separate kingdom. The province was finally absorbed into theKingdom of Scotland during the 12th century.[1] In order to secure the Scottish crown's authority over the area, it was divided intoshires, being areas administered by asheriff. The old province of Moray was broadly split into the three shires ofElginshire, Nairnshire, and the mainland parts ofInverness-shire.[2]
It is not known exactly when the shire of Nairn, administered by theSheriff of Nairn, was created; there is some evidence that the area was initially included in Inverness-shire, but from the reign ofWilliam the Lion (reigned 1165–1214) there was a separate shire of Nairn.[3] There was also a short-lived shire to the east centred onForres, which in the early 14th century was grouped with Nairn, before later being united instead with Elginshire.[4]
Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. In 1667Commissioners 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. Following theActs of Union in 1707, the English term 'county' came to be used interchangeably with the older term 'shire'.[5]
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Elected county councils were established in 1890 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). Nairnshire County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at theTown and County Buildings in Nairn, the county's courthouse (built 1818) which also served as the meeting place for the commissioners and for the town council of theburgh of Nairn.[6][7]
The 1889 Act also led to a review of boundaries to eliminateexclaves. There were several such changes affecting the boundaries of Nairnshire, which had five detached parts: three small areas surrounded by Elginshire, a larger area of moorland atDunmaglass surrounded by Inverness-shire, and the small village ofUrquhart on theBlack Isle, surrounded byRoss and Cromarty. Each of these areas was transferred to the county which surrounded them. Parish and county boundaries were also adjusted such that each parish was in a single county, with the exception of the parish ofCroy andDalcross, which was exceptionally allowed to continue to straddle Inverness-shire and Nairnshire. The boundary changes all took effect in 1891.[8][9]
In 1927 Nairnshire, along with many of Scotland's other counties, was granted acoat of arms by theLord Lyon King of Arms, the governor of Scotland's heraldry. The arms was as follows:Or, a chevron gules, between two water-bougets in chief and a stag's head cabossed in base sable, three mullets argent. The motto was "unite and be mindful".[10]
Nairnshire was the second least populous of the Scottish counties at the1921 census, with fewer than 9,000 people.[11] Due to its low population, theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1929 combined the county councils of Nairnshire and neighbouring Moray (as Elginshire had been renamed in 1919) for most purposes in 1930. The two councils continued to be elected as separate bodies, but operated together as the "Joint County Council of Moray and Nairn", serving the combined area of the two counties.[12] Nairnshire County Council did perform some roles alone after 1930, notably acting as thedistrict council for the parts of Nairnshire outside the burgh of Nairn.[13][14]
Local government was reformed in 1975 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which replaced Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tierdistricts. A new Nairn district was created covering the same area as the pre-1975 county. Nairn District Council was a lower-tier district level authority subordinate to theHighland Regional Council.[15] Alieutenancy area covering the same area as the new district was created at the same time.[16] Throughout the district council's existence a majority of the seats were held byindependents.[17] The district council met at the Town and County Buildings, as the old county council had done, with its offices in the adjoining building at 4 Courthouse Lane.[18][19]
Further local government reforms in 1996 under theLocal Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw the regions and districts created in 1975 abolished and replaced with single-tiercouncil areas. The former Highland region became one of the new council areas.[20] TheNairn lieutenancy area continues to be defined as the pre-1996 district of Nairn.[21] The boundaries of the historic county of Nairnshire (as it was following the 1891 boundary changes) are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being aregistration county.[22]
TheHighland Council has a number ofarea committees for debating local matters. One of the committees is called the Nairnshire Committee, comprising the councillors who represent theNairn and Cawdor ward, which broadly corresponds to the pre-1975 county.[23][24][25]
Nairnshire is about 22 miles in length and 15 miles in breadth (35×24 km); comprising an area of 200 square miles (520 km2), or 128,000 acres.[26] The county consists of a flattish coastal region where the vast majority of the population live, with a sparsely populated hilly interior, rising to the foothills of theGrampian Mountains in the south. These moorlands reach 634 m (2,080 ft) atCarn nam Bain-tighearna, on the county march (boundary) just east ofSlochd summit on the A9. There is no old-established name for these heights, but they have been termed the "Nairnshire Hills".[27] The coast forms an arc shape, with theWhiteness Head peninsula in the west andThe Bar peninsula in the east. The main rivers are theRiver Nairn and theFindhorn, which both follow deeply incised courses across the general slope northwards.[28] The chief bodies of water areLoch Loy,Cran Loch,Clunas Reservoir,Loch of Boath andLoch Kirkcaldy.
Nairn can be seen from several distant points such asBen Rinnes, a peak that is a common point of distant view to such places asInverness-shire andLongman Hill inBanffshire. To the north, Nairn is bounded by theMoray Firth.[29]
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Civil parishes are still used for some statistical purposes, and separate census figures are published for them. As their areas have been largely unchanged since the 19th century this allows for comparison of population figures over an extended period of time.
The county consisted of theroyal burgh ofNairn (chartered in 1476), the four parishes ofArdclach,Auldearn, Dyke & Moy and Nairn; and most of the parish ofCawdor (also known as Calder), and parts of those of:Croy &Dalcross;Moy & Dalarossie; Petty; and Urquhart & Logie Wester.[26][9][30]
The parliamentary constituency for the Westminster Parliament isInverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey and the MP isDrew Hendry of the Scottish National Party.
The parliamentary constituency for theScottish Parliament isInverness and Nairn, represented byFergus Ewing MSP.
TheAberdeen–Inverness railway line runs through the north of the county west–east.
Local government areas ofScotland, in use 1975 to 1996 | ||
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| Borders |  | |
| Central | ||
| Dumfries and Galloway | ||
| Fife | ||
| Grampian | ||
| Highland | ||
| Lothian | ||
| Strathclyde | ||
| Tayside | ||
| Island areas1 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
