Saints in Scottish Place-Names
Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant
Barra, island Barra
Grid reference
NL 678 994 (accurate position)
Six-figure easting & northing
67800 799400
Latitude
56.966253003697155
Longitude
-7.467461776835512
Altitude (metres)
384
County
Inverness-shire
Nearby places
St Brendan RC Church, Barra (1.93 miles)
St Michael's Chapel, eccl. Barra (2.35 miles)
Cille Bhrianain, eccl. Barra (Vatersay) (2.45 miles)
Rubha Mhìcheil, Barra (3.72 miles)
Eilean Sheumais, Barra (4.38 miles)
Object Classification
Island
Is linear feature?
No
Notes
The cult of St Barr on Barra in the late eighteenth century is recorded in OSA (xiii, 326): 'The ancient name of this parish is not known. Its present name seems to be derived from St Barr, the tutelar saint of the island, and to whose memory the 25th of September is dedicated as a holiday. On this day the Priest says mass, and all those of the Romish religion used punctually to attend* *After mass the people amused themselves with horse-races, and spent the evening in mirth and conviviality. Of late years this custom has been much on the decline. Formerly there was an image of the saint in the church-yard of Shilbar, (the principal place of worship, and probably the burial-place of the saint), which was clothed with a linen shirt every year upon his own anniversary.'
Relationships with other parishes
Within Barra, parish aka Kilbarr
Relationships with other places
Contains Cille Bharra, eccles. Barra
Names
1 head-name linked to this place ?Barra
Head name
Barra
Place
Barra, island Barra
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Current
Is this a current OS form? ?
Yes
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
Barre 1346, Acts of the Lords of the Isles
Historic formBarre Head nameBarra PlaceBarra, island Barra Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceActs of the Lords of the Isles, No. 7 Date of citation1346 x 1373 |
Associated person or bodyJohn of Islay |
Source code
Acts of the Lords of the Isles
Source title
Acts of the Lords of the Isles 1336-1493
Editors
Jean Munro and R. W. Munro
Series
Scottish History Society
Year
1986
Historic formBarra Head nameBarra PlaceBarra, island Barra Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceBlaeu Date of citation1654 x 1654 |
Source code
Blaeu
Source title
Atlas Novus
Editors
and publisher: Johan Blaeu
Year
1654
Barra 1843, OS 6 inch first edn.
Historic formBarra Head nameBarra PlaceBarra, island Barra Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceOS 6 inch first edn. Date of citation1843 x 1882 Notes on the context of this place-nameMid to late 19th c. |
Source code
OS 6 inch first edn.
Source title
Ordnance Survey 6 Inch to the Mile, First Edition
Notes
Mid to late 19th c.
Barraigh 2011, OS 1:10,000
Historic formBarraigh Head nameBarra PlaceBarra, island Barra Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceOS 1:10,000 Date of citation2011 x 2011 Notes on the context of this place-nameThis source appears on line on Digimap website. The 1:10,000 map has been through several editions and revisions. The date given when citing early form will identify which version of this map series is being used. |
Source code
OS 1:10,000
Source title
Ordnance Survey Map, 1:10,000 scale
Notes
This source appears on line on Digimap website. The 1:10,000 map has been through several editions and revisions. The date given when citing early form will identify which version of this map series is being used.
Saints in this place-name
Findbarr, Bairrfind, Bairre, Uinniau, Finnén etc (ns) (certain)
Place-name data
The place-name data featured in this resource is copyright of the University of Glasgow.
Map Layers
The map interface was produced using the Leaflet.js library. Attribution for the base layers is as follows:
Default map:
Tiles © Esri — Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, TomTom, Intermap, iPC, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), and the GIS User Community
Satellite map:
Tiles © Esri — Source: Esri, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, GeoEye, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, UPR-EGP, and the GIS User Community
Satellite map with labels:
Base map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA, Imagery © Mapbox
Modern OS map:
Ordnance Survey OpenData. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right (2010)
OS 1840-1880 map:
National Library of Scotland Historic Maps
OS 1920-1933 map:
National Library of Scotland Historic Maps
