Monday, October 25, 2010

KILARROW (OR BOWMORE)


The Parish of KIlarrow lies in the middle of  the eastern portion of the island of Islay above Kildalton and below Kilchoman.  It is often known as Bowmore after the main town located in the parish. 

                                                                      
Bowmore is a town within the Parish of KIlarrow and lies near the head of Loch Indaal, A  village has existed in this location for many centuries, though originally called Laggan. The name Bowmore was first recorded in 1614 when the village received its charter.

An unique landmark in the town of Bowmore is the Round Church which was built in 1767. It has an unusual round design. Local legend states that the church was built round so that there would be no corners for the devil to hide in. A central 19 inch wide pillar supports the main structure of the building which is thought to be constructed from a single length of hemlock oak.  The church was built for Daniel Campbell to serve the population of the Parish of Kilarrow, most of whom he moved to Bowmore once the village had been completed the following year (1768).   

                                        image from Wikipedia
                                    Round church

Baptism records commence in 1763,  Only three entries appear prior to May 1770, and there are none from March 1778 to March 1780. Six irregular entries occur 1775–1782 after June 1783 and 18 similar entries, two families, appear 1768–1791 on two pages at November 1786. Volume One ends in 1819.  Volume Two  covers the years 1820 through 1854.

Marriage records begin in 1771.  Only one entry occurs June 1781 to February 1783. The fact of marriage is rarely added to the entries of proclamations prior to November 1789, omitted in 1803–1804 and sometimes after 1816.  Marriages from 1771 through 1819 are in Volume One.  Volume Two covers marriages from 1820 through 1854. 

Deaths: Records -  The Kilarrow parish register contains mort cloth dues for the very short period of 1817 –1831. If memory serves me right they do not seem to be very complete. The Scotlands People site  www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk   tells us that often the only record that a death has taken place will be implied in the payment of a fee to the parish for the hire of the mort cloth or pall which was draped over the coffin or the body itself for the funeral. 

Some people did not use the parish owned mort cloth for burial. Prosperous and important families may have had their own family mort cloth, Some trades paid into charitable funds with their own mort cloth. In parishes where mort cloth dues are the only evidence of burial, such cases might have gone unrecorded. Sometimes there was no charge for use of the parish mort cloth, particularly if the family were poor.  Surviving registers may record the date of death or the date of burial or date of payment for hire of the mort cloth, but often there is no indication given as to which it is.

The Parish of Kilarrow has been assigned the parish number of  #536.  Its records can be found on FHL film #1041078. Items 1-3.  

Item one - Volume One (Baptisms 1763-1819 / Marriages 1771-1819 / Mort cloth Dues 1817-1819),         

Item 2 - Volume Two (Baptisms 1820-1854 / Mort cloth Dues to 1831)  

Item 3 - Marriages 1820 – 1854. 

As discussed in the post about Kildalton Parish there are also computer generated microfiche index records available for Kilarrow.  

Births and christenings 1763 – 1854 FHL microfiche #6900475 (3 fiche) 

Marriages 1771 – 1854 FHL microfiche #6901108 (1 fiche)

Read the Kildalton Parish posting for additional information about parish registers

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