The Evicted

AN OLD MAN’S NARRATIVE OF THE ULBSTER ESTATE EVICTIONS Part B

To the Editor of the Northern Ensign

Sir,-

"In one of his recent letters to the Ensign, Mr Logan said that neither Sir Tollemache Sinclair or any member of his family ever evicted any human being from the township of Rumsdale since the creation of the world. Now I will give Mr Logan the history of the township of Rumsdale, Dalganachan, and the Glutt, beginning with the period of 60 years before Mr Logan was born."

Rig cultivation at Rumsdale

Faint lines in the grassland north west of Rumsdale park show that rig cultivation took place here before sheep farming displaced the pre-Improvement township.

Names of those Evicted

"John Gunn or Manart, Henry Macdonald, Hugh Campbell, John Campbell, Widow Matheson, Widow Robert Mackay, Alex. Gunn, and Gabriel Campbell, Dalganachan; Andrew Stuart, Peter Stuart, and William Gunn, Glutt; Alex Macdonald, the celebrated deer stalker, William Ross, Donald Gunn – every one of them was a tenant of Ulbster, and if Mr Logan will consult the old rental book he will find their names there." 

Rig Cultivation by the Rumsdale Water

The old lines of rigs can still be seen on this haugh alongside the Rumsdale Water. 

"When Donald Horne took the township for sheep walks, all the tenants mentioned by Mr James Waters were evicted by the Ulbster family. After this, Donald Horne took all the townships of Camster for a sheep walk, and 25 families were evicted by the house of Ulbster."

Shieling site near Camster, Caithness
These shieling hut remains are the most visible in a group of hut and pen remains.

More Names

"The list that Mr James Waters gave is not correct. There were more evicted than he gave in his list, and to show the public that there were more, I will mention a few of those townships, and the head of each family, viz.: - Benalisky – Hugh Mackay, Angus Mackay, John Reid, William Gunn, Neil Gunn. Ishnamult – Robert Gunn, John Macdonald, Donald Sutherland. Backlass – Donald Macdonald, Peter Sinclair, Robert Henderson, Kenneth Henderson, Donald Cameron, Alex. Cormack. Bullmore – John Sutherland, John Gunn, George Miller, William Macleod, George Macleod, George Sutherland, Marcus Gunn. Scorelett – John McDonald, John McKay, William McDonald, Robert Gordon, Donald Ross, (miller), Kenneth Henderson, William Henderson, Donald Gunn (Beg), John Gunn, Adam Gunn, Alex. Gunn, Roderick Mackay. Marwood Sutherland, Neil Gunn, Widow Gunn, Dalnaha (after John Waters’ death) – Alex. McLeod, John Sutherland, or Buails, William Gunn, Alex. Campbell, Hugh Campbell, Mrs McDonald, Mrs Waters. Carnmuick – Neil Gunn, William Gunn, Alex. Macleod, William Macleod, Alex. Mackay, Fila Mackay, Ockerland – William Sutherland, Robson Sutherland, keeper, Marwood Sutherland. Croick – Robert Gunn, John Gunn, Hugh Mackay. Dirlot – Alex Mackay, Colin Mackay, George Sutherland, Marcus Gunn, Alex. Gunn, James Bruce. Smeraidh – Alex. Sutherland or Enish, William Sutherland or Enish, John Gunn. Regarding the township of Dirlat, Mr James Waters made a mistake. In his list he gave five names of Grants, but they all belonged to one family."

The Glutt and Glutt Water

View north from Round Knowe towards Morven and The Glutt .

"All the persons I mention were heads of families. Probably death took some of them away; but all the rest were evicted by the House of Ulbster."

One who was evicted and One who knows

Northern Ensign 21 Feb 1884

To Be Continued

Dalganachan

An abandoned and derelict steading on the track to The Glutt 

My Comments:

The writer of this article clearly puts the blame for evictions on Sir John Sinclair.

Sir John Sinclair had been busy producing his famous “Statistical Reports” of Scotland’s Parishes and also bringing flocks of sheep into Langwell. He became financially embarrassed, and this was probably the reason for his selling Langwell estates in 1813.

Rumsdale Circular Feature

The dyke of the 19th century sheep park bisects a circle of rushes which is probably related to use of the site before sheep farming. 

James Horne of a firm of Edinburgh lawyers bought the entire estate of Langwell. Horne was likewise interested in introducing sheep to the north.

Sir John Sinclair also relinquished his Caithness lands of Benalisky and Rumsdale. These lands were then occupied and managed by Donald Horne, nephew of James Horne. Donald Horne was soon working at “improving” the lands of Rumsdale and in 1822 he removed the six tenants there. 

Drove Road near Rumsdale

A very old track, later used as drove road. This is a branch of the Ca na Catanach track which ran from Thurso to Kinbrace

Dalganachan was occupied by James Horne as sole tenant from 1829 to1836. Followed by Donald Horne from 1836 to 1862. Donald Horne was the sole tenant of Benalisky 1842 to 1856.

Both James and Donald Horne clearly effected the evictions, but I think the sale of land between Sinclair and the Horne’s must have allowed for the evictions to take place.

Whether the tenants left voluntarily or were evicted they have left evidence of their life in the Highlands. Views from Google Earth of this same area show how desolate it now is. Vast tracts of this once occupied land are now used as an exclusive hunting estate.

Emigrant ship disaster 1807

There is another story about the Rumsdale tenants. Back in May 2016 I blogged some stories about an emigrant ship from Scrabster that was wrecked off the coast of Newfoundland in 1807.  Some records say the ship was the Rambler of Leith and others the Lhough Mhore America. One record claims that one of the three survivors was Jean Gunn, daughter of Alex Gunn of Rumsdale a noted pious man who was singing the 46^th psalm when the ship was going down. 

A letter from Mrs Gunn, a family relation, states “Many from Strathmore and Rumsdale could see the evictions coming.  150 from lands edging the Thurso River all the way down from Rumsdale took passage on the Lough More.  There were a few from Latheron too. The Lough More sailed from Thurso and was wrecked off New Foundland, there being only 13 survivors.  One of these was David Gunn who returned to Scotland and visited us in 1833.  I remember him well…”