Source:Old Statistical Account (Applecross)

"Parish of Applecross" Old Statistical Account of Scotland (vol. 3)

NUMBER LVI. PARISH OF APPLECROSS. (County of Roſs.) By the Rev. Mr John M'Queen.

Antiquities.—There are ſeveral natural caves in the pariſh, ſome of them rendered more commodious by art ; they ſeem to have been the habitations of the firſt plundering adventurers who came into the country. The Gaelic for cave is uadh and the only vocable in that copious language for giant, is uadher, that is, the inhabitant of a cave. Fear magnifies objes ; theſe ſavages, in all our old fables and poems, are mentioned as men of mighty ſtature, and repreſented as canibals, who devoured all ſorts of fleſh raw. In the diſtri of Applecroſs are the remains of a ſubterraneous houſe, of which there is ſtill a part entire. It was of conſiderable length, four feet wide, and four feet deep, regularly faced with ſtone, and covered with flags, which were overlaid with turf, ſo as to be on a level with the ſurrounding ground. The paſſage was at one of the ends, which, if covered with a turf or bundle of heather, would elude all ſearch. From the conſtruion of theſe houſes, it is more likely, that they were the receptacles of plunder, and the fences of real property, than the habitations of men. Near this houſe are the ruins of a Daniſh Dun. All of the ſame deſcription along the coaſt, ferved as ſo many centinels to the Weſtern Iſles, (then under the dominion of Denmark), who, by the ſignal of a torch, could give an early intimation to their nearer inſular friends, of any approaching danger, which being in like manner communicated from one Dun to another, the alarm would in a moment become general. There are trunks of trees found at a conſiderable depth under ground, in hills and meadows, where there is no veſtige of any kind of wood remaining ; many of them have viſibly ſuſſered by fire, which the traditional hiſtory of the country reports to have been occaſioned, by the Danes burning the foreſts. Cloſe by the pariſh church, are the remains of an old religious houſe, where the ſtandard and ſoles of crucifixes are ſtill to be ſeen. It was richly endowed with landed property, which tradition relates to have been conveyed, by the laſt Popiſh miſſionary, in the place known by the deſignation of the Red Prieſt of Applecroſs, to his daughter. Notwithſtanding the pretended celibacy and chaſtity of the Romiſh clergy, there are ſeveral ſirnames in the Gaelic language, which clearly prove, that ſtri abſtinence was not their favourite virtue, ſuch as Mac-an-tagird, the prieſt's ſon ; Mac-vriar, the prior's ſon; Mac-ficker, the vicar's ſon ; Mac-pherſon, the parſon's ſon, &c. Theſe names exaly correſpond with the Engliſh ſirnames of Prieſly, Prior, Parſon, &c. and prove the charaer and praices of theſe primitive apoſtles, in both the kingdoms, to have been the ſame.

People pages	• Máel Ruba
Place pages	• St. Maelrubha's monastery at Aporcrosan
Related documents	• Statistical Accounts of Scotland
Related topics	• Proceedings (Saint Maelrubha)

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• 1792 - Rev. Mr. John M'Queen, of the parish of Applecross, stated in the Old Statistical Account of Scotland,

“Close by the parish church, are the remains of an old religious house, where the standard and soles of crucifixes are still to be seen. It was richly endowed with landed property, which tradition relates to have been conveyed, by the last Popish missionary, in the place known by the designation of the Red Priest of Applecross, to his daughter.”
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* {{Old Stat Acc full|parish=Applecross}}

Sources

• McQueen, John (1792). "Parish of Applecross". In Sinclair, John (ed.). The statistical account of Scotland. Drawn up from the communications of the ministers of the different parishes. III. Edinburgh: William Creech. OCLC 1160054566.
• Scott, Archibald B. (Apr 1909). "Saint Maolrubha". The Scottish Historical Review. Edinburgh University Press. 6 (23). ISSN 0036-9241. JSTOR 25518092.CS1 maint: date and year (link)