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Rothesay

{{Short description|Town on the Isle of Bute, Scotland}}

{{About|the town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland|the town in Canada|Rothesay, New Brunswick|the insurance company|Rothesay (insurer)|other uses}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{Infobox UK place

| gaelic_name = Baile Bhòid

| official_name = Rothesay

| static_image_name = Rothesay Pier - geograph.org.uk - 31029.jpg

| static_image_caption = Rothesay Pier

| static_image_width = 200px

| population = {{Scottish locality population|name|POP=Rothesay}}

| population_ref = ({{Scottish settlement population citation|year}}){{Scottish settlement population citation}}

| unitary_scotland = Argyll and Bute

| lieutenancy_scotland = Argyll and Bute

| constituency_westminster = Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber

| constituency_scottish_parliament = Argyll and Bute

| country = Scotland

| sovereign_state =

| coordinates = {{coord|55|50|N|05|03|W|region:GB_type:city|display=inline,title}}

| os_grid_reference = NS 087 645

| map_type =

| post_town = ISLE OF BUTE

| postcode_area = PA

| postcode_district = PA20

| dial_code = 01700

| edinburgh_distance_mi = 73

| london_distance_mi = 361

| website =

| hide_services = yes

}}

Rothesay ({{IPAc-en|audio=Rothesay.ogg|ˈ|r|ɒ|θ|s|i}} {{respell|ROTH|see}}; {{langx|gd|Baile Bhòid}} {{IPA|gd|ˈpalə ˈvɔːtʲ|}}) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry from Wemyss Bay, which also offers an onward rail link to Glasgow Central Station. At the centre of the town is the 13th-century ruin Rothesay Castle, unique in Scotland for its circular plan.

Etymology

In modern Scottish Gaelic, Rothesay is known as {{lang|gd|Baile Bhòid}}, meaning 'town of Bute'.Watson (1926) pp. 95-96 The English-language name, which was written as Rothersay in 1321, Rosay around 1400, and Rothissaye around 1500, originally referred to the castle. Since the castle was surrounded by a moat connected to the sea, the name may have originally meant 'Rother's Isle' (the Old Norse suffix {{lang|non|-ey}} means "isle"), or it may be an alteration of the Gaelic word {{lang|gd|rath}}, meaning 'fort'.Johnston (1892){{Gaelic Placenames}}Coventry (2008) p. 545

History

File:Rothesay Castle - Gatehouse and Pigeon Tower 2016.jpg

File:Town Hall & Sheriff Court, Rothesay (geograph 3571144).jpg]]

File:Glenburn Hotel Rothesay.JPG, formerly a hydropathic establishment]]

The old town centred on Rothesay Castle, which was built in the 13th century. The castle has long stood in ruins, but it is nevertheless picturesque, and was a focal point for tourists as soon the town began developing into a seaside resort.Scottish Seaside Towns, by Brian Edwards {{ISBN|0-563-20452-4}}

Rothesay was the county town in the civil parish of Rothesay, which was located in the former county of Bute. The county historically included the islands of Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae and Arran. Rothesay Town Hall and County Buildings overlooks the castle.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB40453|desc= 31 High Street (Flats 1-25, inclusive nos) (Former Castle Street, County Hall, including former prison cells)|access-date=23 July 2021}}

During the Victorian era, Rothesay became a popular tourist destination. In particular, it was hugely popular with Glaswegians going "doon the watter" (literally “down the water” – a reference to the waters of the Firth of Clyde). Its wooden pier was busy with steamer traffic. It was home to one of Scotland's many hydropathic establishments, which were in vogue at the time.{{Cite journal|last1=Bradley|first1=James|last2=Dupree|first2=Mageurite|last3=Durie|first3=Alastair|title=Taking the Water Cure: The Hydropathic Movement in Scotland, 1840-1940|journal=Business and Economic History|volume=26|issue=2|page=429|year=1997|url=http://www.h-net.org/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v026n2/p0426-p0437.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050429031753/http://www.h-net.org/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v026n2/p0426-p0437.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 April 2005|access-date=17 November 2009}}{{cite web| last=Shifrin| first=Malcolm | title=Victorian Turkish Baths Directory |work=Victorian Turkish Baths: Their origin, development, and gradual decline |date=3 October 2008| url=http://www.victorianturkishbath.org/6DIRECTORY/ListBodies/HydroSF.htm |access-date=12 December 2009}} It also had an electric tramway, the Rothesay and Ettrick Bay Light Railway, which ran across the whole island of Bute and carried passengers to one of the island's largest beaches (the tramway closed in the mid-1930s).

A war memorial designed by Pilkington Jackson was erected in 1922. The Winter Gardens building, erected in 1923, was a centre of many activities in Rothesay in the mid-20th century, hosting some of the best-known music hall entertainers of the day. Rothesay Pavilion, opened in 1938, was another popular attraction. It was an example of International Modernist style architecture, and was designed by the Ayr architect, James Andrew Carrick. Although it later fell into disrepair, it remains a major landmark on the seafront today, and is currently undergoing a complete restoration.{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://rothesaypavilion.co.uk/|access-date=2022-01-04|website=The Rothesay Pavilion|language=en-GB}}

During World War II, Rothesay Bay was the home port of {{HMS|Cyclops|F31|6}}, which was the depot ship for the 7th Submarine Flotilla and the training facility for virtually all the British submariners who served during the war.{{cite web|url=http://www.bute-at-war.org/|title=Bute during World War II}} In 1941 and 1942, the Officer Concentration Station Rothesay was also located here.

By the 1960s, Rothesay's heyday as a tourist mecca had largely ended. Inexpensive foreign package holidays had become more popular with UK residents. The Winter Gardens building was closed and lay in disuse for decades. However, it was redeveloped in the 1990s, and is now open as a tourist information and exhibition centre.{{Cite web|last=Council|first=Argyll and Bute|date=2019-03-04|title=Rothesay Winter Gardens Discovery Centre reopens after renovation works|url=https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/news/2019/mar/rothesay-winter-gardens-discovery-centre-reopens-after-renovation-works|access-date=2022-01-04|website=Argyll and Bute Council|language=en}}

=Duke of Rothesay=

File:Rothesay from Serpentine Road.jpg

The heir to the British throne (currently William, Prince of Wales) is known in Scotland as the Duke of Rothesay. This practice was begun in the late 14th century by Robert III of Scotland, who regularly resided at Rothesay Castle, and first granted the title to his son David in 1398. At that time, the name Rothesay referred to the whole island of Bute, rather than to the town (which was known as Bute-town). The island of Bute (along with the island of Arran) was under the control of Robert III because he had inherited it from his Stewart ancestors. They had owned it ever since King Alexander III of Scotland (having received it from Norway under the Treaty of Perth of 1266) assigned it to Robert III's great-grandfather, Alexander Stewart. The two islands were privately owned by the Stewart family until Robert II (Alexander Stewart's grandson and Robert III's father) inherited the throne from his mother, after which the islands became the property of the Crown.

Once Robert III had conferred this title on his son, the title continued to be given to every heir of the Scottish throne thereafter. Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the heir to the British throne was always also formally considered “heir to the Scottish throne” and so acquired the title.

Unlike the title's English equivalent (Duke of Cornwall), the title Duke of Rothesay does not come with any land attached to it in the form of a Duchy. That is because control of the land was instead given to Robert III's half-brother and to the latter's descendants, who acquired the title Marquess of Bute in the 18th century. The current marquess remains the main landlord of the island; his principal seat, Mount Stuart, lies a few miles to the south of Rothesay Castle.

=Modern times=

File:Rothesay Winter Gardens.jpg

Rothesay was granted a multimillion-pound harbour development project just in time for the arrival of the next generation of lower-firth ferries {{MV|Argyle}} and {{MV|Bute}}.

In August 2018, the Donald Campbell Bluebird hydroplane held trials on Loch Fad. It was the first time the vehicle had been in the water since it was recovered from Coniston Water in the Lake District and restored after the 1967 accident in which Campbell was killed.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-45068703| title=Donald Campbell's Bluebird hydroplane returns to water| publisher=BBC News| date=4 August 2018| access-date=18 August 2018}}

Culture

Rothesay has hosted the National Mòd twice: in 1908 and 1952.[http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/mod/ List of Mod's places] for each year on Sabhal Mòr Ostaig website

=Sport=

The most successful sporting club on the island is the Bute Shinty Club, which has competed at the highest level of the sport (the Marine Harvest Premier League). The Bute club was promoted to the Premier League in 2006 by winning the South Division One competition. It is also a multiple-time winner of the Balliemore Cup.

File:The Stadium Rothesay.jpg ]]

The town has an amateur football club, Rothesay Brandane A.F.C. (nicknamed "The Danes".{{cite book|author= Ian Crofton | title=A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable | date=2012 | publisher=Birlinn | place=Edinburgh | page=512 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zqq8BQAAQBAJ | isbn=978-1-8415-8977-0 | quote=The Danes Rothesay Brandane (an abbreviation of BRANDANE)}}) It was founded in 1946.{{cite web|url=http://www.butesonsanddaughters.co.uk/brandanesfc.shtml|title=Rothesay Brandane Football Club|first=John|last=Polea|access-date=10 March 2017}} They played in the Scottish Amateur Football League starting in 1947, reached the semi-final of the Scottish Amateur Cup in 1948–49, and won the league in both the 1963–64 and 2000–01 seasons.{{cite news|title=Nostalgia: Rothesay Brandane's title win - 15 years ago this week|url=http://www.buteman.co.uk/news/nostalgia-rothesay-brandane-s-title-win-15-years-ago-this-week-1-4104468|date=23 April 2016|access-date=5 March 2017|newspaper=The Buteman|location=Rothesay}} In 2004, they transferred into the Caledonian Amateur Football League Division 2, and, having won promotion after the 2007–08 season, they currently play in Division 1.{{cite news|title=Brandanes' promotion is signed and sealed|url=http://www.buteman.co.uk/sport/brandanes-promotion-is-signed-and-sealed-1-368753|date=22 May 2008|access-date=5 March 2017|newspaper=The Buteman|location=Rothesay}} They also had a youth team for ages 15 and under, called the Rothesay Brandane Rovers. (In the 19th century, the town had a different football club called the Bute Rangers F.C., which competed for the Scottish Cup.)

The Bute County Cricket Club plays in the Western District Cricket Union Championship.

The island has three golf courses: the 18-hole Rothesay Golf Club is on the outskirts of the town; the 9-hole Bute Golf Course is near the sands of Stravannan Bay on the west coast of the island; and the 13-hole Port Bannatyne Golf Club sits on the hills behind the town. There are also two putting greens on the town's seafront.

The town hosts the High School of Glasgow rugby camp every summer.

For bowling enthusiasts, Bute boasts four greens: Ardbeg, Craigmore, Kingarth and Rothesay. The oldest of them, Rothesay Bowling Club, was established in the 1860s.

The Bute Bowling Association runs many local club competitions. It also runs an open tournament each August, in which both ladies and gentlemen may compete; as of 2014, that tournament was in its 57th year.{{clear}}

=Education=

File:Rothesay Joint Campus.JPG

Rothesay currently has three primary schools: St Andrews Primary School, Rothesay Primary School, and North Bute Primary School. It has one secondary school, Rothesay Academy. In 2007, a Rothesay Primary and Rothesay Academy formed a joint campus school, and the building that previously housed Rothesay Academy was closed.

{{clear}}

Notable people

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Climate

Like the rest of Scotland — and the British Isles in general - Rothesay has a maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. Because of its island location, the risk of severe frost is mitigated by the surrounding waters. Temperatures can range from as high as {{convert|28.5|C|F}} (recorded in August 1975),{{cite web | publisher = KNMI | url= http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=14&year=1975&indexid=TXx&stationid=1875 | title = 1975 temperature}} to as low as {{convert|-8.4|C|F}} (recorded in January 1982).{{cite web | publisher = KNMI | url= http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=7&year=1982&indexid=TNn&stationid=1875 | title = 1982 temperature}}

{{Weather box|location = Rothesay ({{convert|43|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}} asl, averages 1991–2020, extremes 1960–present)

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

| Jan record high C = 14.0

| Feb record high C = 14.6

| Mar record high C = 16.6

| Apr record high C = 22.6

| May record high C = 25.5

| Jun record high C = 28.1

| Jul record high C = 28.0

| Aug record high C = 28.5

| Sep record high C = 25.0

| Oct record high C = 21.0

| Nov record high C = 16.8

| Dec record high C = 14.4

| year record high C = 28.5

| Jan high C = 7.5

| Feb high C = 7.8

| Mar high C = 9.4

| Apr high C = 12.0

| May high C = 15.0

| Jun high C = 17.2

| Jul high C = 18.7

| Aug high C = 18.4

| Sep high C = 16.3

| Oct high C = 12.9

| Nov high C = 9.8

| Dec high C = 7.8

| year high C =

| Jan low C = 2.7

| Feb low C = 2.6

| Mar low C = 3.3

| Apr low C = 4.8

| May low C = 7.1

| Jun low C = 9.7

| Jul low C = 11.5

| Aug low C = 11.5

| Sep low C = 9.9

| Oct low C = 7.2

| Nov low C = 4.9

| Dec low C = 3.0

| year low C =

| Jan record low C = −8.4

| Feb record low C = −5.6

| Mar record low C = −4.5

| Apr record low C = −4.4

| May record low C = −1.6

| Jun record low C = 2.0

| Jul record low C = 3.9

| Aug record low C = 4.4

| Sep record low C = 1.0

| Oct record low C = -1.9

| Nov record low C = −2.5

| Dec record low C = −5.0

| year record low C = −8.4

| Jan rain mm = 165.7

| Feb rain mm = 127.2

| Mar rain mm = 118.9

| Apr rain mm = 86.5

| May rain mm = 78.6

| Jun rain mm = 90.2

| Jul rain mm = 107.5

| Aug rain mm = 124.0

| Sep rain mm = 117.3

| Oct rain mm = 163.3

| Nov rain mm = 159.1

| Dec rain mm = 160.3

| year rain mm =

| unit rain days = 1 mm

| Jan rain days = 19.7

| Feb rain days = 16.9

| Mar rain days = 16.2

| Apr rain days = 13.5

| May rain days = 12.5

| Jun rain days = 13.4

| Jul rain days = 14.7

| Aug rain days = 15.3

| Sep rain days = 15.5

| Oct rain days = 18.3

| Nov rain days = 19.4

| Dec rain days = 18.8

| year rain days =

| Jan sun = 41.0

| Feb sun = 67.7

| Mar sun = 101.8

| Apr sun = 151.5

| May sun = 200.9

| Jun sun = 172.2

| Jul sun = 156.2

| Aug sun = 154.8

| Sep sun = 116.1

| Oct sun = 81.0

| Nov sun = 53.7

| Dec sun = 35.8

| year sun =

| source = Met Office{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gcumthbh6 |title=Rothesay (Argyll and Bute) UK climate averages |publisher=Met Office |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231107112411/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gcumthbh6 |archive-date=7 November 2023}}

| source 2 = Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute/KNMI{{cite web

| url = http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/mapserver/climatology.php?indexcat=**&indexid=RR&periodidselect=1971-2000&seasonid=0&scalelogidselect=no&minx=-798809.523809&miny=-4222857.142857&maxx=67857.142858&maxy=-3572857.142857&MapSize=560%2C420&imagewidth=560&imageheight=420&mainmap.x=290&mainmap.y=222&CMD=QUERY_POINT&CMD=QUERY_POINT#bottom | title = Averages for Bute | publisher = KNMI }}

|date=November 2011}}

Gallery

File:Rothesay (269966214).jpg|Rothesay

File:Rothesay harbour - geograph.org.uk - 1491302.jpg|Rothesay harbour

File:Rothesay gardens - geograph.org.uk - 799343.jpg|Rothesay gardens

File:Rothesay Isle Of Bute - panoramio.jpg|Rothesay Isle Of Bute - panoramio

File:Scotland Rothesay bordercropped.jpeg|The sea front at Rothesay

References

=Notes=

{{reflist|2}}

=Bibliography=

  • Coventry, Martin (2008) Castles of the Clans. Musselburgh. Goblinshead. {{ISBN|9781899874361}}
  • Johnston, James B (1892) [https://archive.org/stream/placenamesofscot00johnuoft/placenamesofscot00johnuoft_djvu.txt “Place-Names Of Scotland” ]. Edinburgh: David Douglas. Archive.org. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  • Watson, W. J. (2004) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. {{ISBN|1-84158-323-5}}. First published 1926.

External links

{{commons category|Rothesay, Isle of Bute|Rothesay}}

{{oscoor gbx|NS 08737 64529}}

  • [http://ssa.nls.uk/search.cfm?search_sort_order=Film.dateRelease%2CFilm.name&search_sort_direction=ASC&search_term=rothesay&search_fields=2&search_join_type=AND&search_fuzzy=yes&videos_only=1&search_mode=Advanced&submit=Search+%3E%3E%3E National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE] (selection of archive films about Rothesay)
  • [http://www.bute-at-war.org/butewar.shtml Bute at War] Rothesay's role during World War II as the home port of HMS Cyclops and the 7th Submarine Flotilla.
  • [https://www.calmac.co.uk/ports/rothesay/ Caladonian MacBrayne, Rothesay page - website]

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{{Argyll and Bute settlements}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothesay, Argyll And Bute}}

Category:Towns in Argyll and Bute

Category:Burial sites of the Stuart of Bute family

Category:Firth of Clyde

Category:Marinas in Scotland

Category:Towns and villages in Buteshire

Category:Towns on Scottish islands

Category:Isle of Bute

Category:Parishes in the County of Bute