55°48′N 5°48′W / 55.8°N 5.8°W / 55.8; -5.8 Tarbertshire, or the sheriffdom of Tarbert, was a shire of Scotland until 1633, when it was annexed to Argyllshire.[1] It comprised the mainland peninsula formed by Knapdale and Kintyre, together with the southern Inner Hebrides to the west.[2]

History

It has been suggested that Robert the Bruce, who extended Tarbert Castle, created or intended a sheriffdom there; however, the first reference to Tarbertshire is in 1481, when Knapdale (back then including the lands between Loch Awe and Loch Fyne) was transferred to it from Perthshire.[3][4] The shire town was Tarbert, but the sheriff court was latterly at Inveraray in Argyllshire.[1] The Earl of Argyll family of Campbells often supplied the Sheriff of Tarbert and other officials of both Argyll and Tarbert.[2]

Although shires elected commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland from 1590, it was not until the 1628–33 Parliament of Charles I that Tarbert is known to have sent one: Sir Lachlan Maclean of Morvern.[5][6][7] Since this was the Parliament that abolished Tarbertshire, Maclean was its last commissioner. (In the 1630 session roll, Sir Coll Lamont, laird of Lamont, is said to represent "Argyll and Tarbert".[8])

References

Sources

Citations

  1. ^ a b RPS, 1633/6/91
  2. ^ a b Mitchell 1886 p.46
  3. ^ Dunbar, J. G.; Duncan, A. A. M. (April 1971). "Tarbert Castle: A Contribution to the History of Argyll". The Scottish Historical Review. Edinburgh University Press. 50 (149 Part 1): 1–17 : 14. JSTOR 25528888.
  4. ^ Mitchell 1886 pp.45–46
  5. ^ "RPS, 1633/6/14". Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Parliaments of Scotland, 1357–1707" (PDF). Return of the name of every member of the lower house of parliament of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with name of constituency represented, and date of return, from 1213 to 1874; Part II: Great Britain, United Kingdom, Scotland, Ireland. Command papers. Vol. C.69-I. HMSO. 11 August 1879. pp. 539–556.
  7. ^ Porritt, Edward; Porritt, Annie Gertrude (1903). "Patt V: Scotland; Chapter xxxv: The franchise in the counties". The Unreformed House of Commons. Vol. 2: Scotland and Ireland. Cambridge University Press. p. 78.
  8. ^ "RPS, A1630/7/1". Retrieved 4 July 2017.
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