Category: Blair Atholl Parish, Perthshire
Categories: Perthshire, Scotland
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Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Athall, originally Blàr Ath Fhodla; English; plain of Atholl) was a Parish and a small town in Perthshire, Scotland. The Parish was created in the early 17th C through the combination of four ancient parishes of Blair, Lude, Kilmaveonaig, and Strowan. It was part of the Deanery of Atholl and Drumalban in the Diocese of Dunkeld.
The town was originally built built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the Grampian Mountains. The Gaelic place-name Blair, from blàr, 'field, plain', refers to this location. Atholl, which mean 'new Ireland', from the archaic Ath Fhodla is the name of the surrounding district.
It is worth noting that Gaelic was a common language of the Parish. Gaelic was used as a spoken language, rather than a written language, so old documents will have the names of homesteads were written in a variety of ways. Bail a’ Chaisteil, Balchastle, Balcastle, Ballachastle, Bailchastail, Castleton, and Castletown can all refer to the same place. The first ones are all Gaelic renderings, but the last two show that many officials had little regard for the Gaelic language and anglicised the names.
On 13 March 2008, it was announced that Blair Atholl (together with some other Highland Perthshire villages) would be included in the Cairngorms National Park. This change was made at the request of the people of the town.
The town is bypassed by the A9 and has a railway station on the Highland Main Line. The main road north from Perth to Inverness ran through the village until it was bypassed in 1984.
The Parish is noted for Blair Castle the baronial seat of the Murray family, and the residence of Lord Glenlyon, supposed to have been erected by John Cumin, of Strathbogie, who became Earl of Atholl in right of his wife; in 1750.
See also:
- UK Genealogy Archives; Parish of Blair Atholl
- Blair Atholl (Blair Athole) on Family Search
- Blair Atholl on the Topographical Dictionary of Scotland
- A Gazetteer of Place Names in Blair Atholl Parish
- Blair Atholl And Struan Parish Church And Burial-ground
- Borenich Burial Ground
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