County Dossier
Buteshire
A small island county with royal and maritime ties.
Buteshire is a county made up of islands in the Firth of Clyde (Firth Chluaidh). The Isle of Bute (Eilean Bhùth) lies just off the Cowal peninsula of Argyllshire.
At a glance
Buteshire at a glance
A small island county with royal and maritime ties.
- Centred on the Isle of Bute
- Rothesay is county town
- Rothesay Castle built (1200s)
- Area: 225 sq miles / 583 km²
- Population: 12,534
- County top: Goatfell, Arran 2,867 ft / 874 m
County Geography
Buteshire lies between Argyllshire on the north and west and Ayrshire and Renfrewshire across the eastern and southern Clyde waters. The county is shaped by the firth channels, the mountainous bulk of Arran, the lower island form of Bute, and the smaller Cumbrae group further east.
Buteshire is easy to recognise through its island grouping: high Arran, lower Bute, the Cumbraes, and the sea channels between them.
Map Reference
View Buteshire on the map
Buteshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Rothesay, Brodick, Lamlash, Millport, and Lochranza show the county from the Bute centre to the east, south, and north sides of Arran and the Cumbraes.
Connections
Movement has long depended on sea passage between Bute, Arran, and the Cumbraes, with short land crossings within each island. The county’s practical geography is maritime first.
Names
- Buteshire
- County of Bute
- Siorrachd Bhùth
Siorrachd Bhùth is the Gaelic form of Buteshire. County of Bute is the formal historical style, while medieval charters preserve the simple island name Bute at the county’s core.
The county stood as a sheriffdom by the thirteenth century, with Rothesay as its county town and Arran and the Cumbraes belonging to the same island county frame. That island setting keeps Buteshire clear as a historic county.