Poolewe

   POOLEWE, a fishing village, and lately a quoad sacra parish, in the Mainland district, county of Ross and Cromarty, 5 miles (N. N. E.) from Gairloch; containing, with the island of Ewe, 2529 inhabitants. This place, which occupies the western portion of the county, forms part of the parish of Gairloch, from which it was till lately separated for ecclesiastical purposes, by act of the General Assembly in 1833. The village is situated at the mouth of the river Ewe, which, issuing from Loch Maree, on the south-east of Gairloch, falls, after a course of about a mile towards the north-west through the centre of the district of Poolewe, into the loch whence the village takes its name. The river is remarkable for the excellent quality of the salmon with which it abounds, and of which a regular and lucrative fishery has been long established; and trout and other fish are also found, rendering it a favourite resort of anglers. From its situation at the head of Loch Ewe, and at the junction of two roads, of which one leads to the village of Gairloch, and the other to Loch Maree, the village has become a port for communication across the Minch, with the isle of Lewis. A branch post-office has been established, from which letters are sent daily by a runner to Gairloch; and there is also an inn, affording excellent accommodation to visitors, and parties who make excursions to the village for the purpose of angling. The island of Ewe is described under its own head. The quoad sacra parish of Poolewe comprised a district nearly twenty miles in length and twelve miles in breadth. The surface is generally hilly, and in some parts mountainous; and the scenery, diversified with numerous small inland lakes, is everywhere pleasing, and in many places highly picturesque. There are several respectable farms scattered through the district, all of which are under good cultivation; and also some small hamlets, of which the inhabitants are chiefly employed in the fisheries; but, except Poolewe, there are no villages. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Lochcarron and synod of Glenelg. The church, erected in 1828, under the authority of an act of parliament, is a neat structure with a campanile turret, and contains 350 sittings. The minister has a stipend of £120, wholly paid from the exchequer, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £5 per annum; patron, the Crown. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship; and there are some schools supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, the Gaelic Society, and the Committee of the General Assembly, of which the masters have salaries varying from £5 to £25.