Tarbertshire or the sheriffdom of Tarbert was a constituency in the Parliament of Scotland.
Tarbertshire, or the sheriffdom of Tarbert, was a shire of Scotland until 1633, when it was annexed to Argyllshire. It comprised the mainland peninsula formed by Knapdale and Kintyre, together with the southern Inner Hebrides to the west. It has been suggested that Robert the Bruce, who extended Tarbert Castle, created or intended a sheriffdom there; however, the first reference to Tarbertshire is in 1481, when Knapdale was transferred to it from Perthshire. The shire town was Tarbert, but the sheriff court was latterly at Inveraray in Argyllshire. The Earl of Argyll family of Campbells often supplied the Sheriff of Tarbert and other officials of both Argyll and Tarbert.
A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a resident or floating sheriff. Sheriffs principal and resident or floating sheriffs are all members of the judiciary of Scotland.
The Parliament of Scotland was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The parliament, like other such institutions, evolved during the Middle Ages from the king's council of bishops and earls. It is first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, during the reign of Alexander II, when it was described as a "colloquium" and already possessed a political and judicial role. By the early fourteenth century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and from 1326 commissioners from the burghs attended. Consisting of the "three estates" of clergy, nobility and the burghs sitting in a single chamber, the parliament gave consent for the raising of taxation and played an important role in the administration of justice, foreign policy, war, and all manner of other legislation. Parliamentary business was also carried out by "sister" institutions, such as General Councils or Convention of Estates. These could carry out much business also dealt with by parliament – taxation, legislation and policy-making – but lacked the ultimate authority of a full parliament.
On 28 June 1633 King Charles I, with the consent of the Three Estates, united the sheriffdom of Tarbert with the sheriffdom of Argyll. The last commissioner for Tarbert in the Parliament was Sir Lachlan Maclean of Morvern, who sat from 1628 to 1633. [1]
Sir Lachlan Maclean, 1st Baronet of Morvern, the 17th Clan Chief of Clan Maclean. Lachlan was granted his Baronet title by Charles I and he became the Clan Chief on the death of his brother in 1626. He fought as a Royalist under James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms at the Battle of Inverlochy, Battle of Auldearn and Battle of Kilsyth. From 1628 to 1633 he sat in the Parliament of Scotland as shire commissioner for Tarbert. From his rule onward, all Maclean clan chiefs are successive Baronets of Movern.
Morvern, historically also spelt Morven, is a peninsula and traditional district in the Highlands, on the west coast of Scotland. It lies south of the districts of Ardgour and Sunart, and is bounded on the north by Loch Sunart and Glen Tarbert, on the south east by Loch Linnhe and on the south west by the Sound of Mull. The name is derived from the Gaelic A' Mhorbhairne. The highest point is the summit of the Corbett Creach Bheinn which reaches 853 metres (2,799 ft) in elevation.
