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MHG21309 - Township, Melvaig

Summary

Township at Melvaig

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Full Description

A crofting township comprising seventy-one roofed, three partially roofed, twenty-one unroofed buildings, their associated enclosures and a head-dyke is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Ross-shire 1881, sheet xxxi). Forty-eight roofed, three partially roofed, forty-five unroofed buildings, their associated enclosures and a head-dyke are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10560 map (1969).
Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 17 April 1996

Melvaig is one of the Gairloch crofting townships created in 1845 by John Mackenzie, although early documents show that people lived here in 1660. The name Melvaig in Gaelic is ‘ Mealabhaig ‘ meaning ‘ bent grass bay ‘, and with aig associated with Viking vik it is possible that the area was settled before this. The Gairloch Estate maps show two main areas of settlement (see map) before the crofts were established and the older boundary head dyke can still be seen within the crofting township head dyke. The crofting township of Melvaig was surveyed in 2013 by A. MacInnes and assisted in the research by J. Buchanan, A. and R. Mackenzie and D. Malone. <1>

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NG 7440 8671 (1265m by 955m)
Map sheet	NG78NW
Geographical Area	ROSS AND CROMARTY
Civil Parish	GAIRLOCH

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