Bunessan
Bunessan
| |
|---|---|
| Village | |
Bunessan viewed from the Fionnphort road The 'Maize Pier' Bunessan Parish Church | |
Bunessan Bunessan Location within Argyll and Bute | |
| Population | 200 (2011 estimate) |
| OS grid reference | NM381217 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ISLE OF MULL |
| Postcode district | PA67 |
| Dialling code | 01681 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| Bunessan Lighthouse Eileanan Liathanaitch Gray Islands | |
| Coordinates | 56°20′34″N 6°16′22″W / 56.342770°N 6.272858°W |
| Constructed | 1901 (first) |
| Construction | metal skeletal tower |
| Automated | 2001 |
| Height | 5 metres (16 ft) |
| Shape | quadrangular tower with aluminium panels as daymark |
| Markings | white tower |
| Operator | Northern Lighthouse Board[1] |
| First lit | 2001 (current) |
| Deactivated | 2001 (first) |
| Focal height | 12 metres (39 ft) |
| Range | 8 nmi (15 km; 9.2 mi) (white), 6 nmi (11 km; 6.9 mi) (red) |
| Characteristic | Fl WR 6s. |
Bunessan[a] is a small village on the Ross of Mull, a peninsula in the south-west of the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland. The settlement is at OS grid reference NM382217,[3] within the parish of Kilfinichen and Kilvickeon,[4] and is situated on the A849,[5] at the head of a cove at the southern end of Loch na Làthaich.
History
The village was established by John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll in the late 1700s as a fishing station with a mixed crofting-fishing economy.[6] In 1782, the corn and potato crops in the area were devastated by severe frost and early snow, causing many people to go to the Lowlands to seek work. By 1845, Bunessan had reached a population of 250.[7]
Bunessan Church, a C listed building today, was built in 1804.
Construction of the pier, dubbed the "Maize Pier", began and was completed in 1846 by local workers using granite quarried at the north side of the bay. This new pier allowed for larger boats to use the port. The name "Maize Pier" originates from the fact that the Highland Potato Famine had already begun by the time the pier was being built, so workers were paid using Indian corn, also known as maize, which became a staple food of the workers. With the construction of the pier, Bunessan became the main port of the local area, with vessels linking it to larger ports such as Tobermory and Oban. This became the main port of access to the Ross of Mull for a long time, however as modern roads were built, commercial sailings to the village became less and less often. Today, no commercial sailings serve Bunessan, however it is still used by local fishermen and by pleasure craft.[6]
Community
In 2011, the village had an estimated population of 200.[8] A village hall is used for dances throughout the year. The primary school for the Ross of Mull is found in Bunessan.
Economy
Business has included crofting, a mill (now home to the Ross of Mull Historical Centre), weaving and a small fishing fleet, up to the end of the 20th century. The village still has a lobster fishery.[9]
Bunessan village has one grocery shop and a craft shop.
It also has one hotel, The Bunessan Inn (previously named Argyll Arms)[10] (the only pub in the area). It claims to have been established over three centuries ago (the exact date is unknown). The earliest record of the inn was in 1773 when Dr Samuel Johnson and James Boswell, on their way to the isle of Iona, stopped at the inn in search of rum or brandy; but upon asking the innkeeper they found that the supplies were empty due to a funeral a few days before.[11][12] The building, which is Category C listed, is described by Historic Environment Scotland as dating from c. 1800 with mid-1960s extensions.[10]
Hymn tune
Mary Macdonald (Màiri Dhòmhnallach) from the nearby crofting community of Ardtun used a traditional local melody for her Scottish Gaelic Christmas carol titled Leanabh an Àigh. In the 1880s Lachlan Macbean translated the text as "Child in the Manger" and called the air "Bunessan". The tune was reused in the 1930s for the hymn "Morning Has Broken".
Lighthouse
Bunessan lighthouse is located on a skerry of Gray Island in the entrance to Loch na Làthaich and the harbour of Bunessan. The present lighthouse is a metal skeletal tower covered by white aluminium panel as a daymark and the light on the top. The light emits a white or red flash, depending on the direction every six seconds.
See also
Notes
- ^ Scottish Gaelic: Bun Easain), meaning "bottom of the waterfall",[2]
References
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Scotland: Argyll and Bute". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
- ^ [1] Scottish Parliament
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Mull, Bunessan, General (Site no. NM32SE 21)". Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ "Details of Bunessan". Scottish Places. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ "A849". Sabre. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Bunessan Pier: The Maize Pier and Its Maritime Heritage on the Ross of Mull". Isle of Mull Business & Leisure Directory. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ "The District of Bunessan". Ross of Mull Historical Centre. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
populationwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Bunessan: Argyll and Bute". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Argyll Arms Hotel Bunessan (Category C Listed Building LB12306)". Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ "Bunessan Inn - Good Food and Drink in Bunessan, Isle of Mull". Bunessan Inn. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ Boswell, James; Johnson, Samuel (1887). Hill, George Birkbeck (ed.). Boswell's Life of Johnson. Vol. 5. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 332. Retrieved 2 July 2025 – via archive.org.
External links
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Mull, Bunessan, Kilvickeon Church (Site no. NM32SE 14)".
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Mull, An Caisteal (Site no. NM32SE 2)".
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Mull, Bunessan (Site no. NM32SE 3)".
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Mull, Sheepknowe Cottage (Site no. NM32SE 9)".
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Mull, Bunessan, Mill Brae (Site no. NM32SE 20)".
- Northern Lighthouse Board
- Closeup of the lighthouse
