19.—COUNTY OF ARGYLL.

I.—COUNTY BOUNDARIES.

There were three parishes situated partly in the county and partly in another county (the county of Inverness), viz.,
 Ardnamurchan, Kilmallie, and Small Isles.
The following are the changes effected on the county boundary :—

A. With the County of Inverness.

1.—Ardnamurchan.

No change has been made on the county boundary which runs through the parish of Ardnamurchan. The parish remains partly in 
the county of Argyll and partly in the county of Inverness.—See
 further County of Inverness, Ardnamurchan, supra, p. 141.

2.—Kilmallie.

The parish of Kilmallie was situated partly in Argyllshire and
 partly in Inverness-shire. The Order printed at p. 14, while not
 placing the parish of Kilmallie wholly in one county, altered the
 county boundary which runs through that parish. Instead of following as formerly an irregular line through the parish considerably north 
of Loch Eil, it now runs along the centre of Loch Eil, and from the
 head of that loch it follows the line, described in the Order, to Loch
 Sheil. The effect of the Order, therefore, is to transfer a certain area in the parish of Kilmallie from the county of Argyll to the County of Inverness.

For details see County of Inverness, Kilmallie, supra, p. 141.

3.—Small Isles.

The parish of Small Isles, which was situated partly in the county 
and partly in the county of Inverness, was by the Order printed at p. 16 placed wholly in the county of Inverness.
For details see County of Inverness, Small Isles, supra, p. 142.

II.—PARISH BOUNDARIES.

1.—Craignish and Kilninver & Kilmelfort.

The parish of Craignish had a detached part situated at Lagalochan, 
a short distance north of the north-east corner of the parish. By the
 Order printed at p. 90 this detached part has been transferred to Kilninver & Kilmelfort.

The following subject has thus been transferred from the parish of Craignish to the parish of Kilninver & Kilmelfort :— 

(Sheet 37 of the Ordnance  Survey maps of Scotland, one-inch scale.)

2.—Glenorchy & Inishail

The island of Inishail in Loch Awe was a detached 
part of the parish Kilchrenan & Dalavich. By the Order printed at p. 90 it was transferred to the parish of Glenorchy & Inishail. The following subject has thus has been transferred from the parish of Kilchrenan & Dalavich to the parish of Glenorchy & Inishail :—

(Sheet 45 of the Ordnance Survey maps of Scotland, one-inch scale.)

3.—Kilcalmonell & Kilberry and u Knapdale.

The Kilberry district of the parish of Kilcalmonell & Kilberry
 formed a detached part of the parish, being separated from the main portion of the parish by the parish of South
Knapdale and by West Loch Tarbert.

By the Order printed at p. 92 the Kilberry district was transferred to the parish of South Knapdale, and it was directed 
that the remainder of the parish of Kilcalmonell & Kilberry should be
 called the parish of Kilcalmonell.
The following subjects have thus been transferred from the parish 
of Kilcalmonell & Kilberry to the parish of South Knapdale :—

(Sheet 20 and 23 of the Ordnance  Survey maps of Scotland, one-inch scale.)

4.—Kilfinichen & Kilvickeon and Pennygown & Torosay.

The parish of Pennygown & Torosay had a detached part which
 was situated at Burg on the north side of the entrance to Loch
 Scridain, and adjoined the parish of Kilfinichen & Kilvickeon. By
 the order printed at p. 92 this detached part was transferred to the
 parish of Kilfinichen & Kilvickeon, and a part of the parish of Kilfinichen & Kilvickeon, situated on the west shore of Loch Buie, was 
in turn transferred to the parish of Pennygown & Torosay.

The following subjects are affected :—

(1.) Transferred from the parish of Pennygown & Torosay to the parish of Kilfinichen & Kilvickeon.

(2.) Transferred from the parish of Kilfinichen & Kilvickeon to the parish of Pennygown & Torosay.

(Sheet 43 and 44 of the Ordnance  Survey maps of Scotland, one-inch scale.)

5.—Kilmallie and Lismore & Appin.

The parish of Lismore & Appin had a detached part situated at Kingairloch on the north side of Loch Linnhe. By the Order printed 
at p. 91 this detached part was transferred to the parish of Kilmallie.
The following subjects have thus been transferred from the parish 
of Lismore & Appin to the parish of Kilmallie :—

For another change on the boundary of Kilmallie, see County of
 Inverness, Kilmallie, &c., supra, p. 149.
(Sheets 44, 52 and 53 of the Ordnance Survey maps of Scotland, one-inch scale).

EXPLANATORY NOTES

1. The counties are arranged in the order as in the Census returns, "such that a zig-zag line beginning at the north of Scotland and carried to the south passes successively through every County". The counties have the same numbers as in the Census returns.

2. The subjects transferred are enumerated under the head of the County or Parish to which they are transferred. Thus when an area has been transferred from County A to County B, the subjects affected are enumerated under County B, and a cross reference is given under County A.

3. The names of subjects are those contained in the Valuation Rolls. In the description of subjects the term "farm" includes the farm-house and servants' houses, and the term "croft" includes the house. But where any of the servants' houses on the farm have distinctive names, such houses are detailed separately. "House" includes "cottage", and "land" includes gardens, yards &c.

4. The names of proprietors are in almost all cases those given in The Valuation Rolls of 1890-91. It is therefore to be borne in mind that those who are described as proprietors may be limited owners only, such as liferenters or leaseholders.

5. Where villages or towns are affected, the names of the subjects and proprietors are not usually given. The description of the area transferred is in such cases quite sufficient to show whatever and to what extent any subject in the village or town has been affected by the Order.

6. The Ordnance Survey maps referred to are those published by the Ordnance Survey Department on the scale of one inch to the mile. Those published down to this date (1891), show the Counties and Parishes as they were before the Order of the Commissioners came into operation. It is expected that, when the work of the Commissioners is completed, revised maps will be issued to show the altered boundaries, but the sheets of the revised maps will bear the same numbers as the present maps. The Orders and the explanations can be followed readily on the maps as published at present.

7. An ampersand (&) has been used wherever a County or a Parish has a double name, e.g. "Ross & Cromarty" or "Fetlar & North Yell".

8. In most cases it is necessary to read the text of the order along with the explanation, because the full descriptions contained in the Orders are, as a rule, not repeated in the explanation.

SCOTTISH BOUNDARY CHANGES, 1899-92 — EXPLANATORY NOTES

In 1889-1892 many county and parish boundaries were amended as a result of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889.

The boundary changes changes are described in the "Boundaries of Counties and Parishes in Scotland as Settled By 
the Boundary Commissioners Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889" by Hay Shennan, which was
 published by William Green and Sons, Edinburgh. The changes 
affected the boundaries of most Scottish counties, parishes, and burghs.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

1. The counties are arranged in the order as in the Census returns, "such that a zig-zag line beginning at the north of Scotland and carried to the south passes successively through every County". The counties have the same numbers as in the Census returns.

2. The subjects transferred are enumerated under the head of the County or Parish to which they are transferred. Thus when an area has been transferred from County A to County B, the subjects affected are enumerated under County B, and a cross reference is given under County A.

3. The names of subjects are those contained in the Valuation Rolls. In the description of subjects the term "farm" includes the farm-house and servants' houses, and the term "croft" includes the house. But where any of the servants' houses on the farm have distinctive names, such houses are detailed separately. "House" includes "cottage", and "land" includes gardens, yards &c.

4. The names of proprietors are in almost all cases those given in The Valuation Rolls of 1890-91. It is therefore to be borne in mind that those who are described as proprietors may be limited owners only, such as liferenters or leaseholders.

5. Where villages or towns are affected, the names of the subjects and proprietors are not usually given. The description of the area transferred is in such cases quite sufficient to show whatever and to what extent any subject in the village or town has been affected by the Order.

6. The Ordnance Survey maps referred to are those published by the Ordnance Survey Department on the scale of one inch to the mile. Those published down to this date (1891), show the Counties and Parishes as they were before the Order of the Commissioners came into operation. It is expected that, when the work of the Commissioners is completed, revised maps will be issued to show the altered boundaries, but the sheets of the revised maps will bear the same numbers as the present maps. The Orders and the explanations can be followed readily on the maps as published at present.

7. An ampersand (&) has been used wherever a County or a Parish has a double name, e.g. "Ross & Cromarty" or "Fetlar & North Yell".

8. In most cases it is necessary to read the text of the order along with the explanation, because the full descriptions contained in the Orders are, as a rule, not repeated in the explanation.

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889

Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, the following issues were to be addressed:

Areas and Boundaries

• The counties were initially to have the same boundaries as those already existing with some stated exceptions:
  • The county of Lanark was to be united. Previously, for some administrative purposes it comprised three counties, known as the counties of the lower, middle or upper ward of Lanark.
  • The counties of Ross and Cromarty were to be united "for all purposes whatsoever" as the county of Ross and Cromarty.
  • The boundaries of the counties of Dumbarton and Stirling were to be adjusted, so that the entire parishes of Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch were to be in Dunbartonshire. This area remained an exclave of Dunbartonshire until the county council's abolition in 1975. Stirling was to gain the lands north of Endrick Water as far as the centre-line of Loch Lomond.
  • Part of the county of Banff was transferred to the county of Aberdeen; and part of the county of Elgin (Moray) was transferred to the county of Banff. These areas had already been administered by the counties in question under highways legislation.
  • The county of Orkney and lordship of Zetland (Shetland) were separated to form two counties with those names.
     

Boundary Changes

• It was recognised in the Act that the boundaries of the counties (and parishes) would need to be altered.
  • Accordingly, section 45 established a body styled the "Boundary Commissioners for Scotland" to form county electoral divisions, and to simplify the boundaries of counties, burghs and parishes, so that
    (1) each burgh and county would be, if expedient, within a single county,
    (2) no part of a county would be detached therefrom, and
    (3) no part of a parish would be detached therefrom, and to arbitrate disputes between local authorities arising from boundary changes.
  • All boundary changes made by the Boundary Commissioners came into full effect on 15 May 1892. For most purposes, however, the bulk of the changes became effective a year earlier, on 15 May 1891.

Boundaries of Counties and Parishes in Scotland as Settled By the Boundary Commissioners Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889

The book "Boundaries of Counties and Parishes in Scotland as Settled By the Boundary Commissioners Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889" by Hay Shennan was published by William Green and Sons in Edinburgh, 1892.

Here you can find information on the boundary changes that took places in Scotland in 1889. Such changes affected the boundaries of counties, parishes, and burghs.

The "Explanation of the Orders" effected by the Boundary Commissioners have now been transcribed, and for convenience, the counties can be selected from the list below.

"Boundaries of Counties and Parishes in Scotland as Settled By the Boundary Commissioners Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889 ", by Hay Shennan, (William Green and Sons, Edinburgh, 1892) describes the boundary changes that took place in Scotland in 1889-90. Such changes affected the boundaries of many counties, parishes, and burghs.

• Aberdeenshire
• Angus
• Argyll
• Ayrshire
• Banffshire
• Berwickshire
• Bute
• Caithness
• Clackmannanshire
• Dumfriesshire
• Dunbartonshire
• East Lothian
• Fife
• Inverness-shire
• Kincardineshire
• Kinross-shire
• Kirkcudbrightshire
• Lanarkshire
• Midlothian
• Morayshire
• Nairnshire
• Orkney
• Peeblesshire
• Perthshire
• Renfrewshire
• Ross and Cromarty
• Roxburghshire
• Selkirkshire
• Shetland
• Stirlingshire
• Sutherland
• West Lothian
• Wigtownshire