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49-532: Torsa (occasionally Torsay ) is one of the Slate Islands in Argyll and Bute , Scotland. Lying east of Luing and south of Seil , this tidal island was inhabited until the 1960s. There is now only one house there, which is used for holiday lets. The underlying bedrock is slate but unlike Torsa's immediate island neighbours this has never been worked commercially. The island's name is of Norse origin but

98-639: A Viking force during the time of Donald II . The Frankish Annales Bertiniani may record the conquest of the Inner Hebrides by Vikings in 847 and there is an early reference to the Norse presence in the Irish records to a king of "Viking Scotland" whose heir Thórir brought an army to Ireland in 848. Although there are few written references to the Slate Islands for this period the influence of

147-461: A Christian commentator, launched a campaign to buy the island for a Christian monastery and retreat; aiming to create a space for Christians to reconnect with their faith and resist competing ideologies. Red deer , roe deer and foxes can be found on the island and otters and seals can sometimes be seen along the shoreline. Various boat trips operate locally offering visitors the opportunity to see cetaceans and basking sharks . The island lies near

196-405: A fine defensive position built on a sheer rocky outcrop overlooking the sea on three sides. The rock platform was enclosed by the oblong tower which measured about 13.7 metres by 8.8 metres and the lower, seaward portion by a bailey which included a small circular tower. In the 1970s RCAHMS reported that "all the buildings are very ruinous and much overgrown with turf, but considerable portions of

245-464: A narrow strait, fordable at low water, and onto the south west corner of the island. This area is known as Torsa Beag ("Little Torsa"), which name implies a small island in its own right but it is permanently attached to the main part of Torsa by a narrow strip of land. Torsa farmhouse, which was inhabited until the 1960s and in 2007 was a holiday let, is nearby. The bulk of the island, the total area of which extends to 113 ha (280 acres), lies above

294-460: A part of the ‘Mull Swarm’ which is of early Palaeogene age. Raised marine deposits of sand and gravel occur widely around the margins of some of the islands, a legacy of late Quaternary changes in relative sea-level. Prior to the Pleistocene ice ages the Slate Islands were part of a long peninsula that ran from what is now mainland Scotland out through Scarba and Jura to Islay until

343-433: A raised beach at between 10 and 60 metres above sea level. There is a shallow anchorage at Ardinamir reached via a narrow entrance with drying rocks. There is no jetty on the island and holidaymakers reach it using a small dinghy . The island is relatively fertile compared to its larger neighbours with good pasture for cattle and "almost its entire surface is capable of cultivation". There are various small offshore islets on

392-803: A substantial commercial basis are Easdale, Belnahua, Luing and Seil. The website of the Slate Islands Heritage Trust also prominently lists these islands as their remit although other sources are slightly more inclusive. According to the Gazetteer for Scotland these islands "include Luing, Seil, Shuna, Torsay, Easdale, Belnahua and Fladda". W. H. Murray in The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland goes so far as to say: "Seil and Luing, Shuna, Torsa, Belnahua and many others are collectively known as

441-465: Is Bàgh Lachlainn - "Lachlan's Bay". The personal name Lachlan is derived from an 11th-century term Lochlann indicating a person of Norse origin. From about the 6th to the 8th century AD the Cenél Loairn kindred controlled what is today known as Lorn , which region includes the Slate Islands, in the then kingdom of Dalriada . By the late 8th century the area was a zone of conflict between

490-527: Is Siùna in Gaelic and may derive from the Norse for "sea island". Easdale appears to be the combination of eas , which is Gaelic for "waterfall" and dal , the Norse for "valley". However, it is not clear why either description should apply to this tiny island which is low lying and has no waterfalls and the name may have come from the nearby village of the same name on Seil. The most important bedrock on

539-645: Is run by the Slate Islands Heritage Trust. Located in a former slate quarry-worker's cottage, the centre has displays about life in the 19th century, slate quarrying and the local flora, fauna and geology. Seil has been linked to the Scottish mainland since 1792/3 when the Clachan Bridge , also known as the "Bridge Over the Atlantic", was built by engineer Robert Mylne . Ferries from Seil depart from Ellenabeich to Easdale , and from Cuan to Luing across

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588-510: The Cuan Sound . The Easdale ferry uses a chain and cog wheels designed by John Whyte in the mid 19th century. The Firth of Lorn is the seaway used by vessels going to and from Oban and Fort William from points south and the seas around the Slate Islands contain the sites of various shipwrecks. The greatest loss of life in the vicinity was suffered by the 1,770 t (1,742 long tons) unladen Latvian vessel Helēna Faulbaums . She left

637-576: The Helēna Faulbaums struck it broadside and foundered, sinking within ten minutes with the loss of 15 lives including two 18-year-old boys. Four sailors managed to scramble ashore and were rescued the next day by the Islay lifeboat and taken to Crinan . The bodies of the other crew members were washed ashore on Luing. The waters surrounding all the Slate Islands are part of the Loch Sunart to

686-850: The Kingdom of Scotland . During the Wars of Scottish Independence the MacDougalls sided with Clan Comyn against King Robert the Bruce , defeating him the Battle of Dalrigh in 1306. Two years later Bruce led three thousand veterans into Argyll against the MacDougalls and at the Battle of the Pass of Brander they were defeated and King Robert held most of their lands to be forfeit, including all their island possessions save for Kerrera . Their fortunes were restored somewhat under John Gallda MacDougall . In

735-513: The Mersey on 26 October 1936 en route for Blyth . Encountering a storm, she headed for the Firth of Lorn seeking shelter although the light load meant that the propeller was ineffective in the high seas. At 7pm her steering failed and captain ordered the anchors to be deployed but they could not hold in the deep waters. There is an extensive drying reef to the north of Belnahua and at 10pm that night

784-784: The 12th century using seasonal labour from the Breadalbane's Ardmaddy estate. In 1730 Colin Campbell of Carwhin was appointed as the Captain of Ardmaddy and tasked with exploiting the area's natural resources. In 1745 Campbell created the Easdale Marble and Slate Company in order to place extractions from the area on a more commercial basis. At that point Easdale was producing 1 million slates per annum; when Thomas Pennant visited two years later production had increased by 250% and as further quarries were opened this further increased

833-563: The Celtic rulers of mainland Argyll and the newly arrived Norse settlers. Although there are few written references to the Slate Islands for this period the influence of the Norse language on placenames suggests that these islands then became part of the Kingdom of the Isles . Clan MacDougall were an important force in the area responsible for their mainland territories to the Scots crown, but to

882-436: The Firth of Lorn glacier cut through it, creating the islands that exist today. The entire area was covered by an ice sheet during the maximum extent of glaciation and deep channels were cut into what is now the sea bed, creating deep waters of 210 m (690 ft) or more in the Firth of Lorn. From about the 6th to the 8th century AD the Cenél Loairn kindred controlled what is today known as Lorn , which region includes

931-662: The Germanic castles of the Holy Roman Empire , there is a distinction between a Vorburg and a Kernburg roughly corresponding to lower and upper baileys in English castles. In German-speaking countries, many castles had double curtain walls with a narrow enclosure outside the main walls, acting as a killing ground between them, referred to as a zwinger . The outermost wall was a Zwingermauer or type of low mantlet wall. These were often added at vulnerable points like

980-697: The Kings of Norway for their island territories until the 1266 Treaty of Perth when the Hebrides were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland . Caisteal nan Con - the Dogs' Castle - is a ruined tower house that occupied a rocky eminence on the NE shore of the island. During the late Middle Ages it was held by Clan Campbell and then by the MacDougalls of Rarey at a later date, then finally Clan MacLean . It occupies

1029-663: The Netherlorn estates of the Breadalbane family, a branch of Clan Campbell . From the late 17th century the Dukes of Argyll began to lease land on a competitive basis rather than as a means of strengthening the welfare of their senior clansmen. This resulted in mass evictions in 1669, long before the clearances as such. During the 20th century the Breadalbane land on the islands was sold off as smaller farms and individual houses. Easdale slate had been quarried from as early as

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1078-541: The Norse language on placenames suggests that these islands then became part of the Kingdom of the Isles . Clan MacDougall were an important force in the area responsible for their mainland territories to the Scots crown, but to the Kings of Norway for their island territories until the 1266 Treaty of Perth . At this point the Hebrides and Mann and all rights that the Norwegian crown "had of old therein" were yielded to

1127-530: The Slate Islands, in the then kingdom of Dalriada . Their main base may have been at Dunollie near Oban . By the late 8th century the area was a zone of conflict between the Celtic rulers of mainland Argyll and the newly arrived Norse settlers. It has been suggested that Seil may be the Innisibsolian referred to in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba , which records a victory by the Scots over

1176-546: The Slate Islands. The Isle of Insh was bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland by the island's former owner, David Brearley, when he died in 2016. After assessing the island's 'heritage significance' the trust attracted criticism when it subsequently decided to sell the island to a private company for £353,000 in 2019. Today, the islands' commerce is largely dependent on agriculture, tourism and lobster fishing. The Ellenabeich Heritage Centre which opened in 2000,

1225-431: The Slate Islands." Torsa is a tidal island, joined to Luing at low tide. From a geological perspective Shuna has "no workable slate", although limestone was once worked there. The neighbouring islands to the west, Lunga and Eilean Dubh Mòr , are constituted of quartzite , "Scarba conglomerate" and other rocks that lack a commercial value. It therefore seems reasonable to conclude that this collective noun includes

1274-570: The Sound of Jura Marine Protected Area . 56°14′52″N 5°38′38″W  /  56.24778°N 5.64389°W  / 56.24778; -5.64389 Bailey (castle) Baileys can be arranged in sequence along a hill (as in a spur castle ), giving an upper bailey and lower bailey . They can also be nested one inside the other, as in a concentric castle , giving an outer bailey and inner bailey . Large castles may have two outer baileys; if in line they may form an outer and middle bailey. On

1323-413: The commercially quarried Easdale, Belnahua, Luing and Seil, plus their larger and relatively recently inhabited close neighbours of Shuna and Torsa with the "many others" being the smaller uninhabited islands and skerries in their immediate vicinity. This then excludes Lunga and Eilean Dubh Mòr and their own outliers that lie to the west of Luing, between Scarba and The Garvellachs. The main islands of

1372-568: The company's production to 5 million per annum by 1800. Slate quarries were opened on Eilean-a-beithich, Belnahua, Luing and at Balvicar on Seil. Railway lines were laid to take the rock from the quarries to nearby harbours. Peak production was reached in the 1860s at 9 million slates per annum, with export destinations including England, Nova Scotia , the West Indies , the US, Norway and New Zealand. The 6th Earl of Breadalbane had less interest in

1421-498: The eastern edge of the Firth of Lorn Marine Special Area of Conservation and the waters surrounding all the Slate Islands are part of the Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura Marine Protected Area . 56°15′26″N 5°37′0″W  /  56.25722°N 5.61667°W  / 56.25722; -5.61667 Slate Islands, Scotland The Slate Islands are an island group in the Inner Hebrides , lying immediately off

1470-423: The excessive pressure of water". Eilean-a-beithich was never re-opened although production did continue at Easdale, Luing and Balvicar. Changes in demand - clay tiles were rapidly replacing slate as the roofing material of choice - led to commercial production ceasing by 1911 on Seil and in 1914 on Belnahua. Balvicar quarry re-opened from the late 1940s until the early 1960s but slate is no longer mined anywhere in

1519-425: The external wall faces of the tower-house and bailey survive." A small rocky inlet 75 metres north east of the ruins may have been used a boat landing. The name suggests it may have been used as a hunting lodge although Torsa itself is too small to have provided much sport of this nature. It is more likely that this name is derived from a byname used of Clan MacLean by their enemies - Clann Illeathain nan Con . By

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1568-402: The group are as follows. Torsa was inhabited until the 1960s. Belnahua had a significant population during the height of the commercial slate quarrying there but in 1914 quarry work ceased, the island was completely abandoned and it has been uninhabited ever since. Smaller islands, tidal islets only separated at higher stages of the tide, and skerries which are only exposed at lower stages of

1617-407: The industry than his predecessors although during the time of the 7th Earl a new quarry was opened at Ardencaple in the north of Seil. However, disaster struck in 1881. In the early morning of the 22nd November a severe gale from the south-west wind and an exceptionally high tide flooded the quarries on Easdale and at Eilean-a-beithich "a large rocky buttress which supported a sea wall gave way under

1666-537: The island had a single farm. The 1961 census was the last record of any permanent inhabitation with a single resident living there at that time. During the 20th century most of the Breadalbane land on the Slate islands was sold off as smaller farms and individual houses. Torsa is still a part of Ardmaddy Estate today although this is now in the hands of the Struthers family. In 1928 a stone spindle whorl of unknown date

1715-741: The islands from a commercial point of view is the Neoproterozoic age Easdale Slate Formation, a pyritic , graphitic pelite belonging to the Easdale Subgroup of the Dalradian Argyll Group . Zones of metamorphosed intrusive igneous rocks occur within the southeast of Seil and andesitic lavas of the Lorn Plateau Lava Formation dominate the west of the island. There are numerous NW-SE aligned basalt and micro gabbro dykes which form

1764-409: The late 17th century the Dukes of Argyll were the dominant landowners in the area and they began to lease land on a competitive basis rather than as the traditional means of strengthening the welfare of their senior clansmen. Neighbouring Seil, Luing and Shuna were subject to significant clearances of the indigenous population by Clan Campbell as early as 1699 and it is highly likely that Torsa suffered

1813-541: The mid-14th century, he relocated from England to Scotland, married a niece of the reigning David II, King of Scotland , and regained the clan's ancestral lands in Lorn. Three centuries later, Clan Dougall was on the losing side again. The failure of King James VII to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland led to the MacDougalls losing much of their land to the Duke of Argyll . The Slate Islands then became part of

1862-475: The middle of the island. Torsa Beag has been formed from a Neoproterozoic metamorphic intrusion. Torsa, archaically Torsay, is a Gaelic name derived from Old Norse . It means "Thorir's island" or possibly "Thor's Island". The names were common ones and there is an early reference to the Norse presence in the Irish records to a king of "Viking Scotland" whose heir Thórir brought an army to Ireland in 848. Just south of Ardinamir on Luing, overlooking Torsa, there

1911-405: The most prominent historical structure on the island is the ruined Caisteal nan Con on the northeast shore, once held by Clan Campbell . The abundant sea life in the waters surrounding the island are protected by the Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura Marine Protected Area . Torsa lies just offshore from the east coast of Luing. A rough track leads down from the road to Ardinamir farm on Luing to

1960-491: The other hand, tower houses lack an enclosed bailey. The most important and prestigious buildings, such as the great hall and the keep or bergfried , were usually located in the inner bailey of the castle, sometimes called the central bailey or main bailey. Nonetheless, there are a few castles where the keep is outside the inner bailey, such as Château de Dourdan and Flint Castle . The lower or outer bailey often held less important structures, such as stables , if there

2009-554: The outer rim of the island. Part of this rim was breached by the sea in 1881 flooding the quarry and little visible sign of the island now remains. Belnahua is from the Scots Gaelic Beul na h-Uamha , meaning "the mouth of the cave" and Torsa is also a Gaelic name although ultimately derived from Old Norse . It means "Thorir's island". The derivations of the other main islands are less clear. Seil and Luing are probably pre-Gaelic in origin and of uncertain meaning. Shuna

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2058-466: The quarries were yielding some eight million slates every year. The Garvellachs lie to the southwest. Unlike some of Scotland's larger archipelagos such as Orkney and the Outer Hebrides , which are distant from other islands and also have their own local authority , the Slate Islands have no formal definition. The islands from which the slate that gives rise to the name was quarried on

2107-441: The same fate. The Slate Islands then became part of the Netherlorn estates of the Breadalbane family, a branch of Clan Campbell, whose affairs were directed from Ardmaddy Castle on the mainland. At the beginning of the 19th century there were eleven families living on the island who made use of the traditional run rig system of cultivation. In the mid-19th century the population was recorded as 9, 5 females and 4 males and by 1909

2156-479: The tide pepper the seas surrounding the main islands. Most of them are obscure and only Fladda , which has an abandoned lighthouse keeper's cottage, and perhaps Insh are ever likely to have been inhabited. Eilean-a-beithich ("island of the birches") located in Easdale Sound was once one of the Slate Islands. However, it was quarried for slate to a depth of 75 metres (250 feet) below sea level leaving only

2205-413: The walls followed the contour lines of the terrain where the castle was sited. Rectangular shapes are very common (as in castra and quadrangular castles ). A particularly complex arrangement of baileys can be found at Château Gaillard . There is both a lower bailey separated from the main castle by a deep ditch, and a concentric arrangement inside the main castle with an inner and middle bailey. In

2254-406: The west coast of Scotland , north of Jura and southwest of Oban . The main islands are Seil , Easdale , Luing , Shuna , Torsa and Belnahua . Scarba and Kerrera , which lie nearby are not usually included. The underlying geology of the islands is Dalradian slate , which was quarried widely until the mid-20th century. Quarry working began in 1630 and at the turn of the 20th century,

2303-479: The west side of Torsa including Eilean Fraoch (Heather Island), Glas Eilean (Grey-green Island) and Sgeir a' Bodaich. The peninsula that forms the northern point of Torsa is called Eilean na h-Eaglaise - island of the church. Most of Torsa comprises the Easdale Slate formation, although it has never been extracted commercially. There are post-glacial marine deposits all around the raised beach that encircles

2352-481: Was found on the central plateau of the island. In 2024, a controversial UK-based Muslim preacher, Sheikh Yasser al-Habib , attempted to buy the island to establish a Sharia-based state but was refused by the owner. Al-Habib had raised £3 million from followers for the purchase, intending to build a school, hospital, and mosque and is accused of using the island for more malicious deeds. In response, Calvin Robinson ,

2401-465: Was not enough space in the inner bailey. Outer baileys could also be largely defensive in function, without significant buildings. In the concentric castles of the military orders, such as Krak des Chevaliers or Belvoir , the inner bailey resembled a cloistered monastery , while the outer bailey was little more than a narrow passage between the concentric enceintes . In general, baileys could have any shape, including irregular or elongated ones, when

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