by Angus Martin
The establishment of a Kintyre Antiquarian Society was proposed at a meeting in the Argyll Arms Hotel, Campbeltown, on 22 June 1921. At the conclusion of the meeting, a steering-group – comprising John Ronald Moreton Macdonald of Largie (convener), Mr Duncan Colville (interim secretary), Sheriff J. Macmaster Campbell, Colonel Charles Mactaggart, and Mr Latimer MacInnes – was appointed to draw up a constitution. (1)
That constitution was presented and adopted at the inaugural meeting on 13 July. In summary, the Society was to promote the study of the archaeology of Kintyre and adjacent islands; to investigate the history and antiquities of the area; and to preserve and publish relevant records and documents.
The office-bearers were: President, J. R. M. Macdonald of Largie; Vice-Presidents, Sheriff Macmaster Campbell, Colonel Charles Mactaggart, and Lindsay Galloway; Hon Secretary and Treasurer, Duncan Colville; Council, Mrs T. L. Galloway, Latimer MacInnes, Dean of Guild Neil McArthur, Major W. Macalister Hall of Torrisdale, Mrs Macneal of Lossit, Archibald Dunlop Armour and Rev Norman Mackenzie. (2)
Of these, Macmaster Campbell, Mactaggart, MacInnes and Colville would power the research engine of the Society in the early decades of its existence, with original published works on archaeology, history, place-names and local dialect.
The undoubted scholarly talents of two of the founding members, Macdonald of Largie and Lindsay Galloway, were almost immediately annulled: by the time of the Society’s annual general meeting on 2 November 1921, both were dead. Macdonald, a product of Eton and Oxford, was the author of a three-volume History of France, and Galloway, a distinguished mining engineer and protégé of Lord Kelvin, in 1873 graduated M.A. at Glasgow University with first class honours in mathematics and natural philosophy, ‘a very rare distinction’. (3)
The first field excursion organised by the Society, on 23 July 1921, was to the forts at Dunskeig, near Clachan, the cairn at Carnmore and the cist and standing stones above Ballochroy, and was conducted by A. O. Curle, Director of the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh.(4) The first lecture, ‘Something About Campbeltown Cross’, delivered to the Society in February 1922 by Colonel Mactaggart, appeared in instalments in the Campbeltown Courier and was subsequently published as a booklet, using the original newspaper type, which set a pattern for the future.
Since the end of the Second World War, the volume of historical and archaeological papers published by the Society has declined markedly, largely owing to the high proportion of lectures which rely on illustrative content and for which there is no written record, but also to the exhaustion of subjects available for local research. This deficit has, however, in great measure been compensated for by the Society’s journal, The Kintyre Magazine, which is published twice a year, in spring and autumn.
The Kintyre Magazine made its first appearance in April 1977, under the editorship of Mrs Peggy Hunter, Southend, and has appeared continuously ever since. After number 23, Mrs Hunter was succeeded as editor by Mr A. I. B. Stewart, who retired in spring 1998, after number 43, and was replaced by Mr Angus Martin, who continues in the role and has become the longest-serving editor in the journal’s history.
The Magazine publishes an eclectic mix of articles – on history, archaeology, genealogy, natural history, biography, memoir, art, science, place-names, local dialect, and much else – and the roll of past contributors includes Ronald Black, Moira Burgess, Eric R. Cregeen, Jo Currie, Michael Davis, Enid Gauldie, Iain Hamilton, Per Kvaerne, F.S. Mackenna, Andrew McKerral, Hector MacMillan, Adam McNaughtan, Angus MacVicar, Carol McNeill, Islay Manley, Naomi Mitchison, Tommy Ralston, Keith Sanger and Jack G. Scott.
In 1970, the scope of the Kintyre Antiquarian Society was extended by the incorporation of ‘Natural History’ into its title, at the suggestion of Dr J. A. ‘Jack’ Gibson, Kilbarchan, a naturalist who was made an honorary member of the Society through his association with Duncan Colville, with whom he collaborated on several studies of Kintyre birds and mammals, (5) including The Breeding Birds of Kintyre (1958) and Atlas of Kintyre Vertebrates (1975).
The Society, in its present form, organises monthly lectures – from October until March, annually – which are held in the Ardshiel Hotel, Campbeltown, and publicised by notices in the Campbeltown Courier and by posters displayed in town. These meetings are open to the public at an admittance charge of £2.50.
The Society’s journal, the Kintyre Magazine, costs £1.50p and is sold at meetings and in Kintyre shops. It is also available by subscription and is posted worldwide.
Walks to places of archaeological and historical interest are organised, weather permitting, within the membership, by Mrs Elizabeth Marrison, and are announced at the monthly meetings and intimated by e-mail to those interested.
Sources.
1. Campbeltown Courier, 25/6/1921.
2. Ib., 23/7/1921.
3. Ib., 8/10/1921, obituary.
4. Ib., 30/7/1921.
5. Kintyre Magazine No. 75, pp. 31-32, obituary by A. Martin.
Lectures delivered to Kintyre Antiquarian Society and subsequently published in the Campbeltown Courier, with selected other articles, which are all available on microfilm at Campbeltown Public Library.
Abbreviations: adv = advertised; del = delivered; pub = published.
‘Something About Campbeltown Cross’, Col Charles Mactaggart, del 1/2/1922, pub 18/2 & 25/2/1922. Adv for sale as booklet on 8/4/1922 at 6d.
‘A Ramble Through the Old Kilkerran Graveyard’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 25/10/1922, pub 2/12 – 23/12/1922. Adv for sale as booklet on 20/1/1923 at 1s 2d.
‘The Origin and Romance of the Distilling Industry in Campbeltown’, Duncan Colville, del 10/1/1923, pub 20/1 – 17/3/1923.
‘The Story of Gigha’, J. Macmaster Campbell, no date of del, but pub 14/4 – 5/5/1923.
‘Life in Campbeltown in the 18th Century’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 11/10 & 21/11/1923, pub 10/11 & 17/11 & 8/12 – 22/12/1923. Adv for sale as booklet on 12/1/1924 at 1/6d.
‘Leslie’s March through Kintyre and its Place in History’, Rev John MacRae, pub 12/4/1923.
‘The Island and House of Sanda’, J. Macmaster Campbell, del 13/11/1924, pub 29/11 – 13/12/1924 & 21/3 – 18/4/1925. Adv for sale as booklet on 23/5/1925 at 1/6d.
‘The Lowland Church of Campbeltown from its Foundation in 1654, till the Disruption’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 3/12/1924, pub 17/1 – 31/1/1925. Adv for sale as booklet on 9/5/1925 at 1s.
‘The Forts and Chapels of Knapdale and Kintyre’, John C. Guy, no del date, but pub 30/5 – 13/6/1925.
‘Some Relics of Old Kintyre; The Ugadale Brooch; Lowland Church Baptismal and Communion Plate and its Donor; A Great Scotsman; The Herd’s Horn; The Beggar’s Badge; Romantic History of the Campbell Endowments; Old Campbeltown Tolbooth and the Town Guard’s Muskets’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 17/12/1925, pub 23/1 – 8/2/1926.
‘The Story St. Ciaran’, J. Macmaster Campbell, no del date, but pub 3/4/1926.
‘St. Kieran’s Cave, Campbeltown’, report on the excavations by Norman Morrison, pub 10/4/1926.
‘The Great Marquess’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 9/11/1926 & pub 4/12 – 25/12/1926 & 1/1 & 8/1/1927.
‘Church Affairs in Kintyre, 1655-1700. Based on the Records of the Presbytery of Kintyre During that Period’, Angus J. MacVicar, del 2/2/1927, pub 26/2 –12/3/1927.
‘The Ninth Earl and His Times’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 23/11 & 6/12/1927, pub 10/12/1927 & 7/1 – 28/1/1928.
‘The Correspondence of Lieutenant-General Campbell of Kintarbert, 1762-1837’, J. Macmaster Campbell, del 28/4/1928, pub 5/5 – 16/6/1928 & 4/4, 30/5, 6/6, 20/6 & 27/6/1931; (2) del 27/1/1932, pub 20/2 – 5/3/1932.
‘The Scottish “Resurrectionists”’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 16/11/1928, pub 5/1 – 19/1/1929.
‘Church Life in Kintyre from 1660-1700, gleaned from the Presbytery Records of that period’, A. J. MacVicar, del 7/12/1928, pub 2/2 – 16/2/1929; (2) del 22/2/1929, pub 2/3, 9/3 & 30/3/1929.
‘Education in Kintyre, 1638-1707. Excerpts from the Kintyre Presbytery Records’, A. J. MacVicar, del 5/3/1930, pub 5/4/1930.
‘Pressganged: The Diary of a Campbeltown Bailie (1793-1802)’, Duncan Colville, del 16/4/1930 & 22/4/1931, pub 7/2 & 26/9 & 10/10/1931.
‘Kintyre Presbytery’s Records. Gleanings by the Clerk’, A. J. MacVicar, del 25/2/1931, pub 1/8 & 8/8/1931.
‘Burnside Independent Chapel, an old-time religious body’, Duncan Colville, del 22/4/1931, pub 9/1/1932.
‘Annals of Killean’, D. J. Macdonald, pub 25/6, 9/7, 23/7, 30/7 & 20/8/1932.
‘Antiquities of Killean and Kilchenzie’, D. J. Macdonald, pub 8/10, 15/10 & 5/11/1932.
‘Surnames Common Throughout Kintyre, Islay and Arran in the 17th Century’, A. J. MacVicar, with comments by Prof W. J. Watson, Celtic Chair, Edinburgh University & Rev Kenneth Macleod D.D., del 25/8/1931 & pub 12/11/1932.
‘The Mediaeval Church of Kilkerran’, J Macmaster Campbell, del 30/11/1932 & pub 17 – 31/12/1932, 7/1/1933, 12/5, 26/5 & 2/6/1934.
‘The Romance of Druidism’, Dr N. Morrison, del 8/2/1933, pub 25/2, 11/3 & 25/3/1933.
‘The Rev Dr John Smith of Campbeltown: His Life and Work’, A. J. MacVicar, pub 10 – 24/2/1934.
‘Archaeology in Kintyre: Excavations at Keil Cave’, J Harrison Maxwell, del 6/4/1934 & pub 14/4/1934; 2nd report del 22/8/1934, pub 1/9/1934, with photographs of artefacts pub 8/9/1934.
‘Dialect of South Kintyre’, Latimer McInnes, pub 8/12/1934, 5/1, 26/1, 16/3 & 6/4/1935.
‘Celtic Art – Its Relation to the Kilkerran Crosses’, J. Macmaster Campbell, del 29/3/1935, pub 13/4 – 27/4/1935.
‘A Survey of the Place Names of the Burgh of Campbeltown’, Duncan Colville, pub 3/4, 10/4, 1/5, 8/5 & 25/5/1937.
‘The Place-Names of Southend’, pub 8/1 – 29/1, 12/2, 26/2 & 5/3/1938 (booklet pub as The Place-Names of the Parish of Southend in 1938 and revised by A. Martin and reissued in 2009).
‘Early Crafts and Industries of Kintyre’, James H. MacKenzie, pub 23/4 – 7/5, 28/5 – 18/6 & 2/7 – 16/7/1938.
‘Dunaverty and the Passing of Clann Iain Mhor’. J. B. Cunningham, pub 13/8 –10/9, 24/9, 1/10 – 15/10, 5/11, 26/11, 3/12, 31/12/1938, 7/1 – 21/1, 4/2 –4/3/1939.
‘Extracts from the Minutes of the Town Council of Campbeltown (1762-1813)’, J. Macmaster Campbell, pub 29/7 & 5/8/1939.
‘Origin of Place Names in Campbeltown [Parish]’, pub 20/4, 8/6, 13/7, 9/11/1940, 19/4/1941, 13/6 – 11/7/1942 (booklet pub as The Place-Names of the Parish of Campbeltown in 1943 and revised by A. Martin and reissued in 2009).
‘The MacEachrans of Killellan’, Andrew McKerral, pub 2/11/1940.
‘Campbeltown in 1811-1837’, James H. Mackenzie, pub 5 & 12/6/1943.
‘Campbeltown Cross’, Andrew McKerral, pub 5/1/1945.
That constitution was presented and adopted at the inaugural meeting on 13 July. In summary, the Society was to promote the study of the archaeology of Kintyre and adjacent islands; to investigate the history and antiquities of the area; and to preserve and publish relevant records and documents.
The office-bearers were: President, J. R. M. Macdonald of Largie; Vice-Presidents, Sheriff Macmaster Campbell, Colonel Charles Mactaggart, and Lindsay Galloway; Hon Secretary and Treasurer, Duncan Colville; Council, Mrs T. L. Galloway, Latimer MacInnes, Dean of Guild Neil McArthur, Major W. Macalister Hall of Torrisdale, Mrs Macneal of Lossit, Archibald Dunlop Armour and Rev Norman Mackenzie. (2)
Of these, Macmaster Campbell, Mactaggart, MacInnes and Colville would power the research engine of the Society in the early decades of its existence, with original published works on archaeology, history, place-names and local dialect.
The undoubted scholarly talents of two of the founding members, Macdonald of Largie and Lindsay Galloway, were almost immediately annulled: by the time of the Society’s annual general meeting on 2 November 1921, both were dead. Macdonald, a product of Eton and Oxford, was the author of a three-volume History of France, and Galloway, a distinguished mining engineer and protégé of Lord Kelvin, in 1873 graduated M.A. at Glasgow University with first class honours in mathematics and natural philosophy, ‘a very rare distinction’. (3)
The first field excursion organised by the Society, on 23 July 1921, was to the forts at Dunskeig, near Clachan, the cairn at Carnmore and the cist and standing stones above Ballochroy, and was conducted by A. O. Curle, Director of the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh.(4) The first lecture, ‘Something About Campbeltown Cross’, delivered to the Society in February 1922 by Colonel Mactaggart, appeared in instalments in the Campbeltown Courier and was subsequently published as a booklet, using the original newspaper type, which set a pattern for the future.
Since the end of the Second World War, the volume of historical and archaeological papers published by the Society has declined markedly, largely owing to the high proportion of lectures which rely on illustrative content and for which there is no written record, but also to the exhaustion of subjects available for local research. This deficit has, however, in great measure been compensated for by the Society’s journal, The Kintyre Magazine, which is published twice a year, in spring and autumn.
The Kintyre Magazine made its first appearance in April 1977, under the editorship of Mrs Peggy Hunter, Southend, and has appeared continuously ever since. After number 23, Mrs Hunter was succeeded as editor by Mr A. I. B. Stewart, who retired in spring 1998, after number 43, and was replaced by Mr Angus Martin, who continues in the role and has become the longest-serving editor in the journal’s history.
The Magazine publishes an eclectic mix of articles – on history, archaeology, genealogy, natural history, biography, memoir, art, science, place-names, local dialect, and much else – and the roll of past contributors includes Ronald Black, Moira Burgess, Eric R. Cregeen, Jo Currie, Michael Davis, Enid Gauldie, Iain Hamilton, Per Kvaerne, F.S. Mackenna, Andrew McKerral, Hector MacMillan, Adam McNaughtan, Angus MacVicar, Carol McNeill, Islay Manley, Naomi Mitchison, Tommy Ralston, Keith Sanger and Jack G. Scott.
In 1970, the scope of the Kintyre Antiquarian Society was extended by the incorporation of ‘Natural History’ into its title, at the suggestion of Dr J. A. ‘Jack’ Gibson, Kilbarchan, a naturalist who was made an honorary member of the Society through his association with Duncan Colville, with whom he collaborated on several studies of Kintyre birds and mammals, (5) including The Breeding Birds of Kintyre (1958) and Atlas of Kintyre Vertebrates (1975).
The Society, in its present form, organises monthly lectures – from October until March, annually – which are held in the Ardshiel Hotel, Campbeltown, and publicised by notices in the Campbeltown Courier and by posters displayed in town. These meetings are open to the public at an admittance charge of £2.50.
The Society’s journal, the Kintyre Magazine, costs £1.50p and is sold at meetings and in Kintyre shops. It is also available by subscription and is posted worldwide.
Walks to places of archaeological and historical interest are organised, weather permitting, within the membership, by Mrs Elizabeth Marrison, and are announced at the monthly meetings and intimated by e-mail to those interested.
Sources.
1. Campbeltown Courier, 25/6/1921.
2. Ib., 23/7/1921.
3. Ib., 8/10/1921, obituary.
4. Ib., 30/7/1921.
5. Kintyre Magazine No. 75, pp. 31-32, obituary by A. Martin.
Lectures delivered to Kintyre Antiquarian Society and subsequently published in the Campbeltown Courier, with selected other articles, which are all available on microfilm at Campbeltown Public Library.
Abbreviations: adv = advertised; del = delivered; pub = published.
‘Something About Campbeltown Cross’, Col Charles Mactaggart, del 1/2/1922, pub 18/2 & 25/2/1922. Adv for sale as booklet on 8/4/1922 at 6d.
‘A Ramble Through the Old Kilkerran Graveyard’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 25/10/1922, pub 2/12 – 23/12/1922. Adv for sale as booklet on 20/1/1923 at 1s 2d.
‘The Origin and Romance of the Distilling Industry in Campbeltown’, Duncan Colville, del 10/1/1923, pub 20/1 – 17/3/1923.
‘The Story of Gigha’, J. Macmaster Campbell, no date of del, but pub 14/4 – 5/5/1923.
‘Life in Campbeltown in the 18th Century’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 11/10 & 21/11/1923, pub 10/11 & 17/11 & 8/12 – 22/12/1923. Adv for sale as booklet on 12/1/1924 at 1/6d.
‘Leslie’s March through Kintyre and its Place in History’, Rev John MacRae, pub 12/4/1923.
‘The Island and House of Sanda’, J. Macmaster Campbell, del 13/11/1924, pub 29/11 – 13/12/1924 & 21/3 – 18/4/1925. Adv for sale as booklet on 23/5/1925 at 1/6d.
‘The Lowland Church of Campbeltown from its Foundation in 1654, till the Disruption’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 3/12/1924, pub 17/1 – 31/1/1925. Adv for sale as booklet on 9/5/1925 at 1s.
‘The Forts and Chapels of Knapdale and Kintyre’, John C. Guy, no del date, but pub 30/5 – 13/6/1925.
‘Some Relics of Old Kintyre; The Ugadale Brooch; Lowland Church Baptismal and Communion Plate and its Donor; A Great Scotsman; The Herd’s Horn; The Beggar’s Badge; Romantic History of the Campbell Endowments; Old Campbeltown Tolbooth and the Town Guard’s Muskets’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 17/12/1925, pub 23/1 – 8/2/1926.
‘The Story St. Ciaran’, J. Macmaster Campbell, no del date, but pub 3/4/1926.
‘St. Kieran’s Cave, Campbeltown’, report on the excavations by Norman Morrison, pub 10/4/1926.
‘The Great Marquess’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 9/11/1926 & pub 4/12 – 25/12/1926 & 1/1 & 8/1/1927.
‘Church Affairs in Kintyre, 1655-1700. Based on the Records of the Presbytery of Kintyre During that Period’, Angus J. MacVicar, del 2/2/1927, pub 26/2 –12/3/1927.
‘The Ninth Earl and His Times’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 23/11 & 6/12/1927, pub 10/12/1927 & 7/1 – 28/1/1928.
‘The Correspondence of Lieutenant-General Campbell of Kintarbert, 1762-1837’, J. Macmaster Campbell, del 28/4/1928, pub 5/5 – 16/6/1928 & 4/4, 30/5, 6/6, 20/6 & 27/6/1931; (2) del 27/1/1932, pub 20/2 – 5/3/1932.
‘The Scottish “Resurrectionists”’, Col C. Mactaggart, del 16/11/1928, pub 5/1 – 19/1/1929.
‘Church Life in Kintyre from 1660-1700, gleaned from the Presbytery Records of that period’, A. J. MacVicar, del 7/12/1928, pub 2/2 – 16/2/1929; (2) del 22/2/1929, pub 2/3, 9/3 & 30/3/1929.
‘Education in Kintyre, 1638-1707. Excerpts from the Kintyre Presbytery Records’, A. J. MacVicar, del 5/3/1930, pub 5/4/1930.
‘Pressganged: The Diary of a Campbeltown Bailie (1793-1802)’, Duncan Colville, del 16/4/1930 & 22/4/1931, pub 7/2 & 26/9 & 10/10/1931.
‘Kintyre Presbytery’s Records. Gleanings by the Clerk’, A. J. MacVicar, del 25/2/1931, pub 1/8 & 8/8/1931.
‘Burnside Independent Chapel, an old-time religious body’, Duncan Colville, del 22/4/1931, pub 9/1/1932.
‘Annals of Killean’, D. J. Macdonald, pub 25/6, 9/7, 23/7, 30/7 & 20/8/1932.
‘Antiquities of Killean and Kilchenzie’, D. J. Macdonald, pub 8/10, 15/10 & 5/11/1932.
‘Surnames Common Throughout Kintyre, Islay and Arran in the 17th Century’, A. J. MacVicar, with comments by Prof W. J. Watson, Celtic Chair, Edinburgh University & Rev Kenneth Macleod D.D., del 25/8/1931 & pub 12/11/1932.
‘The Mediaeval Church of Kilkerran’, J Macmaster Campbell, del 30/11/1932 & pub 17 – 31/12/1932, 7/1/1933, 12/5, 26/5 & 2/6/1934.
‘The Romance of Druidism’, Dr N. Morrison, del 8/2/1933, pub 25/2, 11/3 & 25/3/1933.
‘The Rev Dr John Smith of Campbeltown: His Life and Work’, A. J. MacVicar, pub 10 – 24/2/1934.
‘Archaeology in Kintyre: Excavations at Keil Cave’, J Harrison Maxwell, del 6/4/1934 & pub 14/4/1934; 2nd report del 22/8/1934, pub 1/9/1934, with photographs of artefacts pub 8/9/1934.
‘Dialect of South Kintyre’, Latimer McInnes, pub 8/12/1934, 5/1, 26/1, 16/3 & 6/4/1935.
‘Celtic Art – Its Relation to the Kilkerran Crosses’, J. Macmaster Campbell, del 29/3/1935, pub 13/4 – 27/4/1935.
‘A Survey of the Place Names of the Burgh of Campbeltown’, Duncan Colville, pub 3/4, 10/4, 1/5, 8/5 & 25/5/1937.
‘The Place-Names of Southend’, pub 8/1 – 29/1, 12/2, 26/2 & 5/3/1938 (booklet pub as The Place-Names of the Parish of Southend in 1938 and revised by A. Martin and reissued in 2009).
‘Early Crafts and Industries of Kintyre’, James H. MacKenzie, pub 23/4 – 7/5, 28/5 – 18/6 & 2/7 – 16/7/1938.
‘Dunaverty and the Passing of Clann Iain Mhor’. J. B. Cunningham, pub 13/8 –10/9, 24/9, 1/10 – 15/10, 5/11, 26/11, 3/12, 31/12/1938, 7/1 – 21/1, 4/2 –4/3/1939.
‘Extracts from the Minutes of the Town Council of Campbeltown (1762-1813)’, J. Macmaster Campbell, pub 29/7 & 5/8/1939.
‘Origin of Place Names in Campbeltown [Parish]’, pub 20/4, 8/6, 13/7, 9/11/1940, 19/4/1941, 13/6 – 11/7/1942 (booklet pub as The Place-Names of the Parish of Campbeltown in 1943 and revised by A. Martin and reissued in 2009).
‘The MacEachrans of Killellan’, Andrew McKerral, pub 2/11/1940.
‘Campbeltown in 1811-1837’, James H. Mackenzie, pub 5 & 12/6/1943.
‘Campbeltown Cross’, Andrew McKerral, pub 5/1/1945.