Jura ( ; ) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, adjacent to and northeast of Islay. With an area of , and 258 inhabitants recorded in the 2022 census, Jura is more sparsely populated than Islay, and is one of the least-densely populated islands of Scotland: in a list of the islands of Scotland ranked by size, Jura comes eighth,Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 502 whereas by population it comes 29th. The island is mountainous, bare and largely infertile, covered by extensive areas of blanket bog.Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 49–51
The main settlement is the east coast village of Craighouse, on the Sound of Jura. The Jura distillery, producing Isle of Jura single-malt whisky, is in the village,isleofjura.com Retrieved 18 July 2010. as is the island's rum-distillery, which opened in 2021. Craighouse also houses the island's shop, church, primary school, the Jura hotel and bar, a gallery, craft shop, tearoom and the community-run petrol-pumps.
George Orwell (1903–1950) lived on Jura intermittently from 1946 to 1949 and completed his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four while living at a remote farmhouse.
Between Jura's northern tip and the island of Scarba lies the Gulf of Corryvreckan, where a whirlpool makes passage dangerous at certain states of the tide. The southern part of the island, from Loch Tarbert southwards, is a designated national scenic area (NSA), one of 40 such areas in Scotland. The Jura NSA covers : 21,072 of land and 9,245 of adjacent sea.
Geography North of Craighouse are a number of small settlements on or near the east coast: Keils, Knockrome, Ardfernal, Lagg, Tarbert, Ardlussa (home of Lussa Gin) and Inverlussa. The west coast is unpopulated save for the south western corner at Feolin Ferry. Described as "the wildest island of the Inner Hebrides" it is all but bisected by West Loch Tarbet.
The three Paps of Jura dominate the landscapes of the south. The only road travels up the east coast, but ends well short of the northern tip, so walkers wishing to view the Corryvreckan whirlpool must complete the journey along a track.
Paps of Jura
The island is dominated by three steep-sided conical quartzite mountains on its western side, the Paps of Jura, which rise to . The term "pap" is often used for a breast-shaped hill. There are three major peaks: (Gaelic: 'mountain of gold') is the highest, standing at , and is thereby a Corbett. (Gaelic: 'holy mountain') stands at high. (Gaelic: 'mountain of the kyle') is the lowest of the Paps, reaching .Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 50
The Paps dominate the landscape in the region and are visible from the Mull of Kintyre and, on a clear day, from the Isle of Skye and Northern Ireland. The route of the annual Isle of Jura Fell Race includes all three Paps and four other hills.
These hills were the subject of William McTaggart's 1902 painting The Paps of Jura, displayed in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Geology Jura is composed largely of Dalradian quartzite, a hard metamorphic rock that provides the jagged surface of the Paps. On the western half of the island the quartzite has been penetrated by a number of linear basalt dykes that were formed during a period of intense volcanic activity in the early Palaeogene period, 56 million years ago. The dykes are most apparent on the west coast, where erosion of the less-resistant rock into which they are intruded has left them exposed as natural walls. The west coast also has a number of raised beaches, which are regarded as a geological feature of international importance.
History Early years
Evidence of settlements on Jura dating from the Mesolithic period was first uncovered by the English archaeologist John Mercer in the 1960s. There is a Neolithic chambered cairn at Poll a' Cheo in the southwest of the island.
Jura is closer to Ireland's northern province of Ulster than it is to Glasgow, so it should not be unexpected that Irish people crossed the Straits of Moyle and established the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. It was divided into a handful of regions, controlled by particular kin groups, of which the Cenél nÓengusa controlled Jura and Islay.
The kingdom thrived for a few centuries, and formed a springboard for Christianisation of the mainland. It is believed that Jura may have been Hinba, the island to which the 6th-century missionary, Columba, retreated from the monastic community he founded on Iona, when he wished for a more contemplative life.
Vikings Dál Riata was ultimately destroyed when Vikings invaded, and established their own domain, spreading more extensively over the islands north and west of the mainland, including Jura. This became the Kingdom of the Isles, but following the unification of Norway, the islands were under tenuous Norwegian authority, somewhat resisted by local rulers, like Godred Crovan. Following Godred's death, the local population resisted Norway's choice of replacement, causing Magnus, the Norwegian king, to launch a military campaign to assert his authority. In 1098, under pressure from Magnus, the king of Scotland quitclaimed to him all sovereign authority over the isles.
To Norway, the islands became known as Suðreyjar (Old Norse, traditionally anglicised as Sodor), meaning southern isles. The former territory of Dal Riata acquired the geographic description Argyle (now Argyll): the Gaelic coast.
Half a century later, however, Somerled, the husband of Godred Crovan's granddaughter, led a successful revolt against Norway, transforming Suðreyjar into an independent kingdom. Somerled built the sea fortress of Claig Castle on an island at the southern tip of Jura, establishing control of the Sound of Islay; on account of the Corryvreckan whirlpool, this essentially gave him control of the sea traffic between the Scottish mainland and the Hebrides.
After his death, nominal Norwegian authority was re-established, but de facto authority was split between Somerled's sons and the Crovan dynasty. Somerled's son Dougall received the part of Jura north of Loch Tarbert (along with adjacent islands further north), while Dougal's nephew Donald received the rest of Jura, as well as Islay, and lands to the east. It is unclear why Jura was split like this, but it may have been connected to a dispute with Donald's other uncle, Angus, who Donald and his brother had ultimately dispossessed.
In the mid 13th century, increased tension between Norway and Scotland led to a series of battles, culminating in the Battle of Largs, shortly after which the Norwegian king died. In 1266, his more peaceable successor ceded his nominal authority over Suðreyjar to the Scottish king (Alexander III) by the Treaty of Perth, in return for a very large sum of money. Alexander generally acknowledged the semi-independent authority of Somerled's heirs.
Lords of the Isles At the end of the 13th century, king John Balliol was challenged for the throne by Robert de Bruys. By this point, Somerled's descendants had formed into three families: the heirs of Dougall (the MacDougalls), those of Donald (the MacDonalds), and those of Donald's brother (the MacRory); the MacDougalls took John's side, while the MacDonalds and MacRory backed de Bruys. When de Bruys defeated John, he declared the MacDougall lands forfeit, and gave them to the MacDonalds. John of Islay, the head of the MacDonald family married the heir of the MacRory family, thereby acquiring the remaining share of Somerled's realm, and transforming it into the Lordship of the Isles, which lasted for over a century.
Throughout all this time, the descendants of the Cenél nÓengusa had retained their identity; they were now the MacInnes (not to be confused with similarly named groups elsewhere in Scotland). Though the MacDougalls had had authority over part of Jura, the MacInnes had been left in unmolested possession of the land, as vassals. Now, however, with the MacDonalds in charge of the entire island, the situation changed. The head of the MacDonalds was unhappy to have tenants who had supported John Balliol and the MacDougalls, so, in 1358, he asked the chief of the MacLean family to assassinate the MacInnes' leaders; so thorough was this carried out that to this day the MacInnes have had no-one to become their new chief, and consequently they dispersed throughout Scotland.
In 1390, Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, granted the MacLeans the lands of northern Jura (the lands which had belonged to the MacInnes). The MacLeans established a castle in Glen Garrisdale, as a stronghold, which they named Aros Castle, like one of their castles elsewhere.
Towards the end of the 15th century, the Lords of the Isles made increasing efforts to establish full independence. John MacDonald, the then Lord, launched a severe raid on Ross, in pursuance of this aim. Within 2 years of the raid, in 1493, the Lordship of the Isles was declared forfeit, and his realm became part of Scotland, rather than a dependency of the Scottish crown. John was exiled from his former lands, and his former subjects now considered themselves to have no superior except the king. A charter was soon sent from the Scottish King confirming this state of affairs; the charter declares that Skye and the Outer Hebrides are to be considered independent from the rest of the former Lordship, leaving only Islay and Jura remaining.
Campbells Initially, the MacDonalds of Dunnyveg remained landlords of the southern part of Jura. Following John MacDonald's death, his grandson and heir, Black Donald, was being kept a prisoner at Innes Chonnel Castle (a stronghold of the Campbells). In 1501, Donald escaped, triggering an insurrection in his favour in parts of the former Lordship of the Isles. When Donald was recaptured, in 1506, the king took the precaution of transferring the property of the MacDonald family to the Campbells; in Jura, the Campbells of Craignish were the beneficiaries.
The Campbells established a base for themselves at Ardfin, at the south of Jura, to replace the nearby MacDonald stronghold of Claig Castle. After a century of intermittent violence between the families, in 1607 the Campbells purchased from the MacDonalds a quitclaim of any rights the latter might have on Jura.
Following the Scottish reformation, the MacLeans (opponents) and Campbells (supporters) came into dispute; to a certain extent, the Campbells also saw it as an opportunity for territorial expansion. Having complained for several years about harassment from the MacLeans, in 1647 the Campbells launched a surprise attack on Aros Castle, and killed many MacLeans; for many years in the 20th century, a human skull stood on a ledge in a nearby cave, and it was traditionally said to have been the remains of a Maclean who had been killed in this battle. The skull is no longer there, but the latest editions of Ordnance Survey maps still mark the location as 'Maclean's Skull Cave'.Ordnance Survey Landranger 1:50000, Sheet 61 (Jura and Colonsay).
The north of the island, however, remained in MacLean hands until 1737, when it was sold to Donald MacNeil of Colonsay. The remainder of the island was ruled and largely owned by the Campbells for a total of three centuries, by 11 successive Campbell lairds. Under Campbell influence, shrieval authority was established under the sheriff of Argyll. With inherited Campbell control of the sheriffdom, comital authority was superfluous, and the provincial identity (medieval Latin:provincia) of Islay-Jura faded away. In the mid 18th century, The Heritable Jurisdictions Act abolished both, leaving only the shrieval unit, and without Campbell control.
According to a local legend, in the early 1700s, the Campbells of Jura evicted a man who prophesied that the last Campbell to leave the island would be one-eyed with his belongings carried in a cart drawn by a lone white horse. In 1938 Charles Campbell, blind in one eye from a war injury, fell on hard times and led his white horse to the old pier for the last time.
Emigration