Port Charlotte, Islay

Port Charlotte
Looking south towards Port Charlotte
Port Charlotte is located in Argyll and Bute
Port Charlotte
Port Charlotte
Location within Argyll and Bute
Population350 (1991)
OS grid referenceNR252581
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townISLE OF ISLAY
Postcode districtPA48
Dialling code01496
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°44′20″N 6°22′41″W / 55.739°N 6.378°W / 55.739; -6.378

Port Charlotte (Scottish Gaelic: Port Sgioba) is a village on the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. It was founded in 1828. In 1991 it had a population of 350.[1]

On 24 September 1828 the foundation stone of the pier was laid at a fete attended by 4,000 of Walter Frederick Campbell's tenants.[2] Port Charlotte was named after Lady Charlotte Campbell Bury, the mother of its founder Walter Frederick Campbell;[3] and it was set up mainly to provide housing facilities for the Lochindaal Distillery work force.

By 1833 a chapel had been built in the village which was in use but far from complete.[4]

In 1846 contractors were invited to construct a quay at Port Charlotte, which was funded by Thomas Pattison, Distiller of Octomore and designed by Mr. Pitbladdo of Bridgend[5] and this was completed by 1848.[6]

Parts of the former distillery buildings are now in use as Youth Hostel and Wildlife Centre. Others are currently used by a garage nearby. The remaining warehouses are currently owned and used by Bruichladdich distillery to mature their Port Charlotte heavily peated spirit, named in tribute to the village and original distillery.

The village is located on the shores of Loch Indaal and is very picturesque with its white-painted houses. It is home to the Museum of Islay Life which is located in a former Church building.

In October 1813, the American privateer The True Blooded Yankee[7][8] captured six merchant ships lying at Port Charlotte, casting them adrift and setting fire to three.[9]

  1. ^ "Details of Port Charlotte". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Island of Islay". Morning Post. England. 29 October 1828. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ Lynch, Michael (2007). The Oxford Companion to Scottish History. Oxford University Press. p. 546. ISBN 978-0-19-923482-0.
  4. ^ "Island of Islay in the West Highlands". Patriot. England. 3 July 1833. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Island of Islay, Argyllshire. Contractors Wanted". Glasgow Herald. England. 20 April 1846. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Farms, Distillery and Meal Mill to be Let". North British Daily Mail. England. 23 March 1848. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ Washington's Wolfpack: The Navy Before There Was A Navy. Fireship Press. August 2008. ISBN 9781934757406. Retrieved 1 August 2008. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  8. ^ The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers. McFarland. August 2008. ISBN 9781934757406. Retrieved 3 September 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Britannia: Loch Indaal, Islay, Atlantic". Canmore. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 31 August 2012.