The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a
sea loch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...
, a part of the
Cowal
Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde.
The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arroch ...
peninsula coast of the
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
, in
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when
Saint Munn
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
landed there after leaving
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum
Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum in Kilmun, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, consists of St Munn's Church (a Category-A-listed building but no longer a parish church of the Church of Scotland), as well as the adjacent mausoleum of the Dukes of ...
is said to stand where Saint Munn's church was once located.
Robertson's Yard at
Sandbank, a village on the loch, was a major wooden boat building company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the loch was used as a British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
submarine base. From 1961 to 1992, it was used as a United States Navy
ballistic missile submarine base. In 1992, the Holy Loch base was deemed unnecessary following the demise of the Soviet Union and subsequently closed.
Geography
Open on the
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
at its eastern end, the Sea Loch is approximately wide and between long, varying with the tide. The town of
Dunoon
Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As wel ...
on the
Cowal
Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde.
The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arroch ...
peninsula lies on the shores of the Clyde just to the south of the loch, and houses continue round the villages of
Kirn
Kirn is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Kirner Land. Kirn is a middle centre serving an area on the Nahe and in the Hunsrück.
Geography
Location
Kirn lies in a la ...
,
Hunters Quay
Hunters Quay ( gd, Camas Rainich) is a village, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Situated between Kirn, Argyll, Kirn to the south and Ardnadam to the north, Hunters Quay is the main base of Western Ferries, operatin ...
at the point with the landing slip for
Western Ferries
Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd (also known as Western Ferries) is a private ferry company with its headquarters in Hunters Quay, Scotland. It currently operates on the Firth of Clyde running a year-round, high-frequency vehicle carrying service be ...
,
Ardnadam and past Lazaretto Point, the village of
Sandbank, with open countryside at the end of the Sea Loch, then on the northern shore
Kilmun
Kilmun ( gd, Cill Mhunna) is a linear settlement on the north shore of the Holy Loch, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands.It takes its name from the 7th century monastic community founded by an Irish monk, St Munn (Fin ...
, and at Strone Point the village of
Strone continues on the western shore of the Firth of Clyde, almost joining
Blairmore on
Loch Long.
All the villages used to have piers served by
Clyde steamer
The Clyde steamer is the collective term for several passenger services that existed on the River Clyde in Scotland, running from Glasgow downstream to Rothesay and other towns, a journey known as going ''doon the watter''.
The era of the C ...
s, and now Western Ferries runs between Hunters Quay and McInroy's Point on the outskirts of
Gourock
Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a ...
, while the
Argyll Ferries service runs from Dunoon to Gourock pierhead. At the end of the loch, the
A815 (after being joined by the
A880 at Ardbeg) leads north, to the east of the
River Eachaig
The River Eachaig is a river on the Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute, in western Scotland.
The river flows from Loch Eck to the Holy Loch, passing Benmore Botanic Garden, Rashfield and Cot House. It is joined by the Inverchapel Burn and the ...
, to the
Benmore Botanic Garden
Benmore Botanic Garden (formerly known as the Younger Botanic Garden) is a large botanical garden situated in Strath Eachaig at the foot of Beinn Mhòr, on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The gardens are on the west side o ...
and
Arboretum (also known as the Younger Botanic Gardens),
Loch Eck
Loch Eck (Gaelic: ''Loch Eich'') is a freshwater loch located on the Cowal peninsula, north of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is long. Along with Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (198 ...
and on towards
Inveraray
Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Arg ...
.
History
Medieval period
On the shore of the Holy Loch at
Kilmun
Kilmun ( gd, Cill Mhunna) is a linear settlement on the north shore of the Holy Loch, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands.It takes its name from the 7th century monastic community founded by an Irish monk, St Munn (Fin ...
(Gaelic ''Cill Mhunnu'', 'the church of St Munnu') stands a nineteenth-century church. It stands on the site of a sequence of earlier churches, and an early carved stone on the site suggests that there was a church here perhaps as early as the sixth or seventh century. The dedication to St Munnu, otherwise known as Fintan,
St Munn (Fintán of Taghmon), reflects devotion to an Irish saint who founded a church at Taghmon in Leinster. The remains of a 12th-century church are still visible at Kilmun.
[Historic Kilmun, ''Visit Historic Klmun'', leaflet by Argyll Mausoleum Ltd, Kilmun 2015.] At the present site of
Kilmun Church, a church building is recorded in the 13th century.
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...
, ''Kilmun, St Munn's Parish Church (church of Scotland) including Argyll and Douglas Mausolea''
online
, access date 8 April 2015. By the 15th century, the significance of Kilmun as a local centre of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
was so great that the adjacent
loch became known as the ''Holy Loch'', and the powerful
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The ...
adopted it as their spiritual home.
From the 14th century,
Dunoon Castle, a short distance away, was held by the Campbell family and in the 1440s
Sir Duncan Campbell of
Lochawe (later 1st Lord Campbell), the then chief of the clan, lived near Kilmun in a private residence named Strathechaig.
[Historic Kilmun, ''The Argyll Mausoleum: List of Burials'']
online
, access date 9 April 2015.
Modern history
Robertson's Yard
Alexander Robertson started repairing boats in a small workshop at Sandbank in 1876, and Alexander Robertson & Sons went on to become one of the foremost wooden boat builders on the Clyde. Their 'golden years' were in the early 20th century when they started building classic 12 & 15 metre racing yachts. Robertsons was chosen to build the first 15-metre yacht designed by
William Fife
William Fife Jr. (15 June 1857 – 11 August 1944), also known as William Fife III, was the third generation of a family of Scottish yacht designers and builders. In his time, William Fife designed around 600 yachts, including two contende ...
(''Shimna'', 1907). More than 55 boats were built by Robertsons in preparation for the First World War and the yard remained busy even during the Great Depression in the 1930s, as many wealthy businessmen developed a passion for yacht racing. During World War II the yard was devoted to Admiralty work, producing a wide range of large high speed
Fairmile Marine Motor Boats (MTBs and MGBs).
After the war the yard built the successful one-class Loch Longs and two 12-metre challengers for the
America's Cup: ''Sceptre'' (1958) (17 tonnes) and ''Sovereign'' (1964). The Robertson family sold the yard in 1965, and it was turned over to GRP production work (mainly Pipers and
Etchells
The International Etchells Class is a racing class of one-design sailing boats, designed by American Skip Etchells.
Production
The first 36 boats were built by Skip Etchells and the Old Greenwich Boat Company between 1967 to 1969. In the ea ...
). During its 104-year history, Robertson's Yard built 500 boats, many of which are still sailing. The yard ceased trading in the early 1980s; at this point it was owned by Terry Hooper who ran the yard servicing mostly the US Navy. After the US navy packed up and left the area Hooper sold the yard in the 1990s. The site has since been converted to residential building and the new Holy Loch Marina development. The yard today is still widely known in the area as 'Hooper's Yard'.
World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
the loch was used by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
as a
submarine base, served by the depot ship . The loch was used extensively for trials and exercises by Royal Navy submarines during the war, the submarines and were lost in the Clyde after being sunk by accidents during exercises. ''Untamed'' was later salvaged.
Near the Holy Loch an anti-submarine boom was constructed between Dunoon and the
Cloch Point Lighthouse to defend waters from German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
s.
US Navy at Holy Loch
Between 1961 and 1992, Holy Loch was the site of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
's
Fleet Ballistic Missile
A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead a ...
(FBM) Refit Site One. It was the home base of
Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 14, part of
Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. To make maximum usage of its submarine-launched ballistic missile (
SLBM) deterrent force, the American military had determined that it required an overseas base for refit and crew turnover. Negotiations with the British Government began as early as March 1959 when President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
mentioned to the need to British Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan at a meeting at
Camp David.
Holy Loch was one of several locations on or near the
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
considered for the refit site. Others were
Faslane, the channel between
Largs
Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic.
A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...
and
Cumbrae
Great Cumbrae ( sco, Muckle Cumbrae; gd, Cumaradh Mòr; also known as Great Cumbrae Island, Cumbrae or the Isle of Cumbrae) is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is ...
,
Rosneath Bay
Rosneath (''Ros Neimhidh'' in Gaelic) is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch, northwest of the tip of the Rosneath Peninsula. It is about by road from the village of Kilcreggan, which is site ...
, and
Rothesay Bay. Site selection criteria included the requirements for a sheltered anchorage, relative proximity to an international airport, and sufficient shore facilities to provide housing for military personnel and their families. Agreement for the use of Holy Loch was reached near the end of 1960 and the arrival of the first tender, scheduled for December. Divisions within the British government and concerns about protests by the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...
(CND) caused her arrival to be rescheduled to 3 March 1961.
Protests at the site followed.
Between 1961 and 1982, the Naval Support Activity ashore was administered by US Naval Activities London. In 1982, Naval Support Activity (NAVSUPPACT), Forward Base, Holy Loch, Scotland became its own command. NAVSUPPACT ultimately managed 42 facilities and leased 342 housing units for Navy personnel and their dependents.
A monument was built to the American Navy's years' at the Holy Loch, Site One. The monument is located in the Castle Gardens, Dunoon.
Over the years, five different
submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines.
Development
Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...
s and one
floating dry dock
Floating may refer to:
* a type of dental work performed on horse teeth
* use of an isolation tank
* the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched
* ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes
* Floating (psychological p ...
served in the loch.
Two notable incidents occurred during the three-decade long deployment of SUBRON 14 at Holy Loch. On 29 November 1970, a fire erupted on
USS ''Canopus'', killing three of her complement. Almost four years later, on 3 November 1974, the nuclear ballistic missile submarine
USS ''James Madison'' (SSBN-627) collided with a Soviet submarine, assumed to be a
Victor-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, during a dive just after departing from Holy Loch. The American submarine was dented and suffered a nine-foot scratch on her hull. She spent a full week at the base for inspection and repairs.
Laurel Clark, known to her shipmates as "Doc Salton", was assigned as the Radiation Health Officer and Undersea Medical Officer at SUBRON 14. Clark was one of the astronauts who perished in the
Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster on 1 February 2003.
New technologies and the end of the Cold War led to the base being deemed unnecessary. The last submarine tender to be based there, the , left Holy Loch in November 1991, ahead of the base closing the following June.
See also
*
References
External links
About Subs, Holy Loch - WebpageBenmore Botanic Garden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Loch
Lochs of Argyll and Bute
United States Navy submarine bases
Sea lochs of Scotland
Military installations closed in 1992
Firth of Clyde
Royal Navy submarine bases
Cowal
Closed installations of the United States Navy