Innellan
| Innellan | |
|---|---|
 The Osbourne Hotel, Innellan. |
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 Innellan
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| Innellan shown within Argyll and Bute | |
| OS grid reference | NS145702 |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DUNOON, ARGYLL |
| Postcode district | PA23 |
| Dialling code | 01369 |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Innellan is a village that lies on the east shore of the Cowal Peninsula, on the Firth of Clyde, 4 miles south of the town of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute in Scotland.
The origin of the name "Innellan" is obscure. The village was developed as a holiday destination in Victorian times on the site of a smaller and older farming settlement, and the first steamboat pier was built in 1851. With a resident population of around 1,000, growing to many more in summer, Innellan found prosperity as one of many seaside resorts along the shores of the Firth of Clyde serving tourist traffic primarily coming from the city of Glasgow further upriver, travelling on Clyde steamers.
This prosperity started to fade in the 1960s with the increasing availability of foreign holidays to the general public. Competing against resorts in Europe that enjoyed Mediterranean climates, the popularity of all the Clyde seaside resorts fell.
It was around this time that an American naval base in the nearby Holy Loch was established, providing some aid to the local economy, although being controversial. The base was withdrawn in the 1990s.
The village's most striking landmark from its heyday as a seaside resort - the large Royal Hotel that overlooked the pier - was destroyed by fire in 1981 and the site has yet to be redeveloped. The entrance gates to its former site on Pier Road still show the sign for the hotel. Innellan's pier, which passenger steamers regularly called at whilst the area was booming, was extended in 1901 but finally closed in 1972 in response to reduced usage. After falling into increasing disrepair, it was fully dismantled in the mid-1990s.
Innellan Primary School, established in 1868, has a distinguished history. Its headmaster from 1938 to 1972 was the notable Latin scholar Thomas Muir, who was also an accomplished amateur geologist. He revelled in the fact that Innellan was the southwestern extremity of the Highland Boundary Fault, and would regularly send his pupils on field excursions along the shore – but not in the school’s time. The headmaster's name was Thomas B Muir. Taking his initials T B his pupils affectionately called him Teddy Bear Muir. On learning this he glared at his class (his spectacles had that effect) and then gave a great big grin thus establishing his nickname for evermore.
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Wikipedia