Nairn
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The
Royal Burgh of
Nairn (
Scottish Gaelic:
Inbhir Narann), formally 'North Nairnville,'is a
burgh in The
Highlands of
Scotland, lying about fifteen miles east of
Inverness on the coast of the Moray Firth. Nairn, denoting a larger area than just the town, is also an
area committee of The
Highland Council and a
lieutenancy area. The town has a population of about 11,000.
An ancient
fishing port and
market town. King James VI, when he travelled to London to become King of England, boasted that in his kingdom he had a town whose only street was so long that the people living at one end of it could not understand the language of the people living at the other end. He was speaking of Nairn, formerly split into
Scottish Gaelic- and
Scots-speaking communities. A town of two halves in other ways, the narrow-streeted fishertown surrounds a
harbour built by
Thomas Telford while Victorian villas stand in the 'West End'. Nairn is now best known as a
seaside resort, with 2
golf courses, a small theatre (called the little theatre) and one small
museum, providing information on the local area and incorporating the collection of the former Fishertown museum.
In 1645, during the
Scottish Civil War, the
battle of Auldearn was fought near Nairn, between
Royalists and
Covenanters.
It was not until the 1860's that Nairn became a respectable and popular holiday town. Dr. John Grigor (a statue of whom is located at Viewfield) was gifted a house in this coastal town and spent his retirement there. He valued its warm climate and advised his wealthy clients to holiday there. Following the opening of the railway station in 1855, new houses and hotels were built in the elegant West End.
Nairn is known as a world class golfing destination, with two 18 hole courses. One of these, The Nairn Golf Club is one of the great traditional links courses and was laid out by James Braid in 1928. It has hosted many tournaments culminating in the 1999 Walker Cup and is visited by golfers from all over the world.
From 1975 Nairn gave its name to a
local government district in the
Highland Region. Before that, it was the
county town of
Nairnshire. In 1996 administrative functions were taken over the
Highland unitary council. (See:
Subdivisions of Scotland.)
It boasts more hours of
sunshine than any other Scottish town, earning it the nickname
"Sunny Nairn", (reputedly the Gulf Stream curls around the top of Scotland and ends in Nairn). The council was surprised in 1997 to have Nairn named by
Tatler magazine as Britain's number one venue for
outdoor sex.
Charlie Chaplin used to holiday in Nairn. Its local newspaper is the
Nairnshire Telegraph, known locally as the two minute silence due to its (formerly) sparse content.
Nairn has a
railway station on the Aberdeen to Inverness line.
The local football team is
Nairn County F.C. who play in the
Highland Football League. They recently picked up their first trophy for 39 years when they won the North of Scotland Cup 3-1 against local rivals
Forres Mechanics F.C. at Grant Street Park, Inverness. The town has another football team, Nairn St Ninian, who are a junior outfit.
The town also has a local cricket team who play at the links during the summer months. The game was introduced to the town by English railway navvies.
The town also hosts the Nairn International Jazz Festival
[See Nairn International Jazz Festival] each August, usually attracting some well-known and world class musicians.
Nairn also stages one of the biggest Highland games in the North. The first event was held in 1867, and it is now one of the few where entry remains free. The games are a major event in the local social calendar.
William Whitelaw the British deputy Prime Minister 1979 - 88 was born in Nairn and has a street named after his family.
James Augustus Grant who discovered the source of the Nile together with Speke was born at Househill, attended Nairn Academy and died at Nairn in 1892. There is a plaque to his memory in
St Paul's CathedralSee also: Politics of the Highland council areaThe
committee area consists of four out of the 80
Highland Council wards. Each ward elects one
councilor by the
first past the post system of election.
The area is represented by three
independent councillors and one
Scottish National Party councillor.
Nairn was a
parliamentary burgh, combined with
Inverness,
Fortrose and
Forres, in the
Inverness Burghs constituency of the
House of Commons of the
Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. The constituency was abolished in 1918 and the Forres and Nairn components were merged into the then new constituency of
Moray and Nairn.
