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Features: Scottish Parishes » Historic Shires » Inverness-shire » Snizort

Snizort Parish Church by John Allan
Snizort Parish Church, Kensaleyre, Isle of Skye © 2017, John Allan

SNIZORT PARISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS


ALTERNATE NAMES AND SPELLING:

Snizort and Uig


LOCATION

Location Description:

Snizort is a parish in the island of Skye, Inverness-shire. It is bounded on the north by Kilmuir, on the east by the Sound of Raasay, on the south by Portree, on the south-west by Bracadale, and on the west by Duirinish and Loch Snizort. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).

Shire, District, and Region Timeline:

  • Shire: Inverness-shire (Before 1707)
  • County: Inverness (After 1707)
  • District: Inverness (Before 1930)
  • Landward District: Skye (1930-1975)
  • Region: Highland (1975-1996)
  • District: Skye and Lochalsh (1975-1996)

Cities, Towns, Villages, and Hamlets:

Arnishader, Arnistort, Bernisdale, BorveEyre, Idrigill, Kensaleyre, Kingsburgh, Peinlich, Rhenetra, Romesdal, Skeabost, Tote, Treaslane, Uig, Uigshader, Valtos


PARISH TIMELINE

PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Diocese: The Isles

POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:

  • Synod: Glenelg
  • Presbytery: Skye

PAROCHIAL OVERVIEW:

The parishes of Snizort and Uig were united in the sixteenth century. For a time this union took in both Raasay and Kiltarlagain (Portree). In 1726 the two latter were again severed from Snizort and Uig.
Snizort The old parish church was dedicated to St Columba. It was built upon an island in the River Snizort. At Skeabost, within the bounds, are the remains of a monastic house of small size.
Uig At Uig, where the parish church was of old, there is now a mission chapel.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CLERGY:

Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.

  • Archibald MacQueen, 1642
  • George Munro, 1656
  • Donald MacQueen (son of Archibald, above), 1684
  • Archibald MacQueen (son of Donald, above), 1706
  • William MacQueen, 1753
  • Malcolm MacLeod, 1788
  • Simon Fraser M'Lauchlan, 1833
  • Roderick MacLeod, 1838
  • Angus Martin, 1844
  • John MacRury, 1886
  • John Stewart, 1907
  • Hector William MacKacy, 1916

(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)


RECORDS

Parochial Registers:

Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.

  • (1) B. and M. 1823-54

OPR and RD Numbers
Date RangeNameNumberType
1823-1854Snizort117RD
1855-1861Snizort117RD
1861-1970Snizort North117-1RD
1861-1970Snizort South117-2RD
1971-1971Uig117RD
1972-2006Uig255RD
2009Highland255RD
2026(Snizort) Highland Council; Skeabost and District Community Council
2026(Uig) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Council; Uig Community Council

(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)

Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)

Population:

Statistics from informal and official censuses

  • 1755: 1,627
  • 1801: 2,144
  • 1811: 2,275
  • 1821: 2,789
  • 1831: 3,487
  • 1841: 3,220
  • 1861: 2,613
  • 1881: 2,176
  • 1901: 1,649 (North Snizort: 614; South Snizort: 1,035)
  • 1911: 1,694 (North Snizort: 634; South Snizort: 1,060)

RESIDENTS


Common Surnames:

Beaton, Campbell, Gillies, Lamont, MacDonald, MacLeod, Matheson, Nicolson, Ross, Stewart

Land-owners, teachers, and other professionals:

Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.

  • Godfrey William Wentworth BOSVILLE-MACDONALD, Baron MacDonald

Other residents:

By the Reverend Mr Malcom M'Leod.
"The number of souls at present in the parish, is about 894 males, and 914 females, making 1808 souls in all. Public manufactures have not yet found their way into this parish. The regular tradesmen are weavers, tailors, millers, blacksmiths, house and boat carpenters. The generality of the inhabitants are their own masons and shoemakers. There are three mills in this district, two upon that part of the property belonging to Lord M'Donald, and the third upon M'Leod of Raasay's property."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)


NOTES:

Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 18, p. 181
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 14, Section I, p. 287

See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.


Photo credits: (Featured) Snizort Parish Church, Kensaleyre, Isle of Skye, © 2017 John Allan, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 2.0, (Related Resources) Inverness-shire Locator Map, © 2024, Elianfoo, used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related Resources
Map of Scotland with Inverness-shire highlighted
Location of Inverness-shire
See more maps at Wikimedia Commons
Glossary
  • Burghs:
  • Royal - Towns on royal lands
  • Regality - Towns granted to noblemen/landowners
  • Barony - Towns granted to tenant-in-chief (laird)
  • Police - Towns with elected officials
  • Small - Population under 20,000
  • Large - Population over 20,000
  •  
  • Chapel-of-Ease: Small church for those living far from the main church
  • Collegiate church: See What is a Collegiate Church?
  • Commune kirk: Owned by a larger church
  • Court of Teinds: Controlled funds for support of clergy
  •  
  • Friars:
  • Black - Dominican
  • Grey - Franciscan
  • Red - Trinitarian
  • White - Carmelite
  •  
  • Iron chapel: Building made of corrugated galvanized iron
  •  
  • Landward District: Rural part of a district
  •  
  • Mensal: Source of income to support clergy member (Roman Catholic)
  •  
  • OPR: Old Parochial Register
  •  
  • Pre-Reformation: Before 1560
  • Prebend: Source of income to support a clergy member
  •  
  • QO: Quoad Omnia - Civil and church control
  • QS: Quoad Sacra - Church control only
  •  
  • RD: Registration District - Civil control
  •  
  • Tryst: Large-scale market or fair, particularly for livestock
  •  
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