Signage Project – Bowmore

Historical Signage Project

A History of Bowmore

Bowmore is a planned village founded in 1768 by Daniel Campbell the Younger of Shawfield.
The building of Bowmore was part of a scheme of estate reorganisation. It involved clearing the old settlement of Kilarrow, and its inhabitants, from the immediate vicinity of Campbell’s residence at Islay House. Demolishing Kilarrow allowed space for an extensive planned landscape and gardens, and all that remains of the village now is the graveyard.

Ordnance Survey Argyll and Bute sheet CCVIII (includes: Killarow and Kilmeny) Date revised: 1897, Publication date: 1901

Bowmore pier and a row of warehouses on the quayside were built in 1750. The warehouses, with their outside staircases, and Bowmore House (located directly behind the Tourist Information), predate the rest of the village.

The Round Church at the top of Main Street provides the focal point of Bowmore and was built in 1767. The grid pattern street layout is typical of the time, with landowners favouring straight roads and geometrically laid out villages. The wide Main Street allowed plenty of space for the once frequent market day gatherings.

Bowmore Distillery was formally established in 1779 by John P. Simson. It is the oldest distillery on Islay and the second oldest in Scotland.

By 1793 there were 110 houses in Bowmore – 50 with slate roofs, 20 with tiled, and the rest with thatch. By the 1830s Bowmore was well provided with shops, and by the 1850s it was said to be the ‘metropolis of Islay’1

In the 1880s an early guide book describes the village: ‘its general aspect, with few exceptions, is suggestive of its health, happiness and comfort, with no lack of peats, potatoes and piocaich (fish)’2

The population grew from approximately 500 in 1793 to around 850 in 1891.

Bowmore is now home to approximately 1000 people, and welcomes visitors from all over the world.

Eachdraidh Bhogha Mhòir

Is e baile a chaidh a phlanadh a th’ ann am Bogha Mòr, a chaidh a stèidheachadh ann an 1768 le Daniel Caimbeul as Òige à Shawfield.
Bha an togail air Bogha Mòr na phàirt de sgeama ath-eagrachaidh air an oighreachd.

Dh’adhbhraich sin gun deach seann tuineachadh Chill A Rubha fhalamhachadh agus an luchd-còmhnaidh a chur a-mach, air falbh bho nàbaidheachd àite-còmhnaidh a’ Chaimbeulaich ann an Taigh Mòr Ìle. Cheadaich am falamhachadh air Cill A Rubha àite airson dealbh-tìre farsaing agus gàrraidhean a phlanadh agus a chruthachadh, ach chan eil air fhàgail den bhaile a-nis ach an cladh.

Chaidh cidhe agus an t-sreath de thaighean-bathair air a’ chidhe a thogail ann an 1750. Tha na taighean-bathair le an staidhrichean a-muigh, agus Taigh Mòr Bhogha Mhòir (ri lorg dìreach air cùlaibh na h-oifis Turasachd), a’ dol air ais ann an tìm ron chòrr den bhaile.
Tha an Eaglais Chruinn aig mullach na Prìomh Shràide ann an teis-meadhan Bhogha Mhòir agus chaidh a togail ann an 1767. Tha pàtran clèithe nan sràidean àbhaisteach bhon àm sin, le uachdarain a’ meas rathaidean dìreach agus bailtean air an dealbhadh gu geomeatrach. Cheadaich farsaingeachd na Prìomh Shràide cothrom gu leòr airson nan cruinneachaidhean margaideachd a bha bitheanta aig aon àm.

Chaidh Taigh-staile Bhogha Mhòir air an làimh chlì, a stèidheachadh gu foirmeil ann an 1779 le Iain P. Simson. Is e an taigh-staile as sine ann an Ìle agus an dàrna taigh-staile as sine ann an Alba.

Ann an 1793 bha 110 taigh ann am Bogha Mòr – 50 dhiubh le mullaichean sglèat, 20 le taidhlichean agus an còrr air an tughadh. Aig àm nan 1830an, bha solar math bhùithtean ann am Bogha Mòr agus sna 1850an bhathar ag aithris air a’ bhaile mar ‘meatropolas Ìle’1
Anns na 1880an, tha leabhar iùil tràth a’ toirt iomradh air a’ bhaile: ‘tha a choltas san fharsaingeachd, ach a-mhàin ann an àite no dhà, a’ taisbeanadh slàinte, toileachas is cofhurtachd, gun dìth air mòine, buntàta agus piocaich (iasg)’2

Dh’fhàs an àireamh-sluaigh bho thimcheall air 500 ann an 1793 gu 850 ann an 1891.
Tha Bogha Mòr a-nis na dhachaigh do mu 1000 neach, agus a’ cur fàilte air luchd-tadhail bho air feadh an t-saoghail.

1 Caldwell, D. (reprint 2017) Islay: The Land of the Lordship, Birlinn Ltd.
2 Oliphant, R. (1881) The Tourist’s Guide to Islay ‘The Queen of the Hebrides’, Wilson & McCormick, Glasgow.