Clachnaharry Monument

Inverness Courier 1951 - 2003

Inverness Courier 27.03.1951

 

Monument at Clachnaharry - Offers from the Clan Munro Association and Clan Chattan Association to contribute £5 each towards the repairs and restoration of the clans' monument situated on the rocks about Clachnaharry were contained in a letter from Mr Finlay Munro, M.B.E., Hon. Secretary of the Clan Munro Association read at a meeting of the fiance Committee of Inverness town Council yesterday.

 

In his letter, Mr Munro pointed out that the monument was within the jurisdiction of the Burgh, and if the Town Council agreed to undertake the necessary repairs the restoration might form the basis of a ceremony during the Highland Festival fortnight in June, if the chiefs of the two clans and the Town Council would be willing to take part.

 

Outlining the history of the event commemorated by the monument, Mr Munro wrote, "The Munros had been on an expedition to avenge some insult suffered hi the South, and were returning to Ross-shire with a large drove of cattle, hi accordance with a custom of the times, each clan through whose lands the successful raiders passed was entitled to a proportion of the cattle as payment for a trouble-free passage.

 

"On this occasion, while passing through Clan Chattan (Mackintosh) territory, the two clans could not agree on the amount of "road collop" (as it was called) to he paid, and when the Munros finally refused any payment at all the Mackintoshs pursued them, and the matter was fought out at Clachnaharry, with considerable losses on both sides. The Munros seem to have sent then- booty on ahead, but then leader, an uncle of the Chief, was wounded and left as dead; some account say that Mackintosh himself was killed, but the evidence is against this statement. The date is usually given as 1454, but some accounts place it in the previous century."

 

Mr Munro added that the date of the erection of the monument as 1821, the work having been under-taken by Major Hugh Robert Duff of Muirtown, whose family was related to both Clan Chattan and Clan Munro.

 

 

Inverness Courier 27.07.1951

 

Municipal meanness - Inverness Town Council's finance committee cannot be complimented on its refusal to spend £100 on repairing the Monument erected at Clachnaharry I to commemorate the battle between the Munros and the Mackintoshes. One magistrate who opposed the proposal to put the Monument in a proper state of repair remarked that he appreciated that the Council "had some sort of moral obligation."

 

But the Council have much more than a moral obligation to keep the monument hi good repair. They have a legal obligation.

 

When the Monument, and the ground giving the public access to it, were gifted to Inverness by the late Sir Alexander MacEwen, one of the conditions imposed by the donor, and accepted by the Council, was that the Monument should be maintained hi good order.

 

The Town Council, in fact, are hi the position of trustees, and if they refuse to discharge their legal obligations, they will be guilty of a breach of trust. The members of the finance committee who opposed the repair of the Monument do not seem to realise that that sort of conduct cannot fail to deter people, who may be thinking of giving buildings or ground to the town for the benefit of the public, from making such gifts or bequests. We hope, however, that the Town Council as a whole will show themselves to possess a better public conscience than the Finance Committee majority which took so short-sighted and erroneous a view of its duty.

 

 

Inverness Courier 27.05.1952

 

Clan Monument at Clachnaharry - Question of Reconstruction Deferred - After hearing that it would cost at least £200 to restore the monument at Clachnaharry commemorating a clan battle between the Mackintoshes and the Munroes, the Finance Committee of Inverness Town Council unanimously decided yesterday afternoon to defer the matter until the town's Common Good funds are in a better state. Last year the Council agreed to spend £100 on minor repairs and in replacing the figure of Mercury on the pedestal, but before the work was done the monument was severely damaged in the storm last December.

 

Reporting on the damage, the Burgh Architect, Mr Jack Blackburn, said that the shaft had been completely demolished, and the stones of the pedestal scattered down the rocks below.

 

These repairs and the replacing of the statue would cost at least £200. Treasurer W. A. Hardie, convener, suggested that as the statue had, by an act of God, ceased to exist, the town's liabilities were at an end. "Our liability was maintenance of the statue, not restoring it when destroyed," he said.

 

 

Inverness Courier 11.02.2003

Historic buildings to benefit from £lm scheme

 

INVERNESS is set to share in a £1 million scheme to create City Heritage Trusts providing a locally-based grants scheme for the repair and restoration of historic buildings.

 

Announcing the Historic Scotland funding package, which will be shared by Aberdeen, Dundee and Stirling, Dr Elaine Murray, Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, said that historic buildings were the heart of many urban communities and give people a sense of place and identity.

 

"Inverness has a unique character and, to ensure this is preserved, the new Trust will be able to grant aid to the owners of historic buildings directly for the repair and restoration costs ensuring locally based solutions for local problems," Dr Murray stated.

 

"Heritage Trust grant schemes have been running successfully in Glasgow and Edinburgh for some time and have proved to be instrumental in encouraging a continuing and sustainable use for historic buildings.

 

"I am sure that the people of Inverness, the economy and tourism will all benefit greatly from this initiative," she added.

 

Historic Scotland will provide ongoing financial support and as much advice and assistance as is necessary while the new Trusts become firmly established.