Go West for a Wife: Family Farming in West Central Scotland 1850-1930
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McGuire, Dorothy Ellen (2012) Go west for a wife: Family farming in West Central Scotland 1850-1930. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3302/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Go West for a Wife Family Farming in West Central Scotland 1850‐1930 Dorothy Ellen McGuire M.A. (hons.), M.Phil. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geographical and Earth Sciences College of Sciences and Engineering University of Glasgow Abstract The historical geography of farming in the West Central Region of Scotland has been under‐researched. Generalisations based on research relating to other parts of the country are misleading because the development and forms of agriculture in the West Central Region were distinctive. Traditionally, this is an area of dairy farming which, during the research period (c.1850‐1930), was characterised by small family labour farms. The concentration of small farms, on which the farming family and a few hired workers formed the core labour‐force, and where the distinctions between employer and employed were less pronounced than on the large arable farms of the East, had consequences for rural social structure, arguably mitigating the effects of an emerging agrarian capitalism. Through in‐depth primary research on small set of family labour farms, and the families associated with them, the thesis takes a grassroots approach to exploring the pattern of life on the farms of the Region, with particular regard to gender relations. The survival of such farms, contrary to certain theoretical Marxist expectations, is investigated, along with the resilience of the farms during the period of ‘The Great Agricultural Depression.’ Glasgow, the economic capital of the Region, underwent phenomenal growth during the nineteenth century, and had a massive impact upon local agriculture. Glasgow and its satellite towns were a market for agricultural produce, and a source of imported livestock feed, and fertilisers. The fashions, in the town, for consumer goods and non‐traditional foodstuffs spread out to the surrounding Region, and interaction between town and country was facilitated by the development of the railways. The significance of farm location in relation to Glasgow is assessed. 2 Contents Abstract Page 2 List of Figures 4 List of Accompanying Material 6 Acknowledgements 7 Author’s Declaration 8 Chapter One, Introduction 9 Chapter Two, A Sense of Place and Time 17 Chapter Three, Sources and Methods 58 Chapter Four, Four Farms 82 Chapter Five, Five Families 119 Chapter Six, Taking a Fee 153 Chapter Seven, Questions of Gender 188 Chapter Eight, Community and Social Life 231 Chapter Nine, The Economic Octopus 270 Chapter Ten, Conclusion 306 Appendix One, West Central Region 312 Appendix Two, Databases 320 Appendix Three, Produce Charts 324 Appendix Four, Auchenfoyle Plans 330 Appendix Five, High Hatton Bowers 334 Appendix Six, Clothing at Springs 337 Appendix Seven, Kirkintilloch Farmer’s Ball 341 Appendix Eight, Bartholomew’s Survey Atlas of Scotland 343 Glossary 348 Bibliography 356 3 List of Figures Chapter Two Figure 1, Relief Map of Scotland Page 21 Figure 2, Average Rainfall 22 Figure 3, Wood’s Regions of Scotland 25 Figure 4, Land use after Gray 27 Figure 5, von Thünen Model 29 Figure 6, The Agro‐Industrial Complex 34 Chapter Three Figure 7, Farmhouse at Auchenfoyle 66 Figure 8, Diary Comparison 68 Figure 9, Turner Diary Page 69 Figure 10, Crookboat Milk Book 71 Figure 11, Crookboat Expenditure 72 Figure 12, Crookboat Income 73 Figure 13, Donald Diary 76 Figure 14, Crookboat Wages 79 Figure 15, Relative Positions of Farms 81 Chapter Four Figure 16, Renfrewshire 1832 86 Figure 17, Extent of Hatton Farm 87 Figure 18, View of Hatton 89 Figure 19, Laigh Hatton Steading 91 Figure 20, View of Springs 95 Figure 21, William Murdoch 98 Figure 22, The Clyde at Crookboat 105 Figure 23, Extent of Crookboat Farm 107 Figure 24, Back Brae, Oxgang 112 Figure 25, Extent of Oxgang Farm 113 Figure 26, Oxgang Steading 114 Figure 27, Site of Oxgang Steading 117 Chapter Five Figure 28, Laigh Hatton Farmhouse 122 Figure 29, Springs Furniture 127 Figure 30, Katherine Murdoch 133 Figure 31, John Lamb of Boreland 137 Figure 32, Tinto 138 Figure 33, Crookboat Farmhouse 140 Figure 34, James Turner’s Wallet 144 Figure 35, Turner Memorial 148 Figure 36, Katie Murdoch and William M. Thomson 150 Chapter Six Figure 37, St. Ninian’s Church, Kirkintilloch 158 Figure 38, Susan Hughes 159 Figure 39, Springs Farm Servants 163‐5 Figure 40, Crookboat Farm Servants 166‐7 Figure 41, Crookboat Ploughmen 169‐70 Figure 42, Burnhouse Mill 172 Figure 43, Alexander Lamb 174 Figure 44, Hartwood Asylum 176 Figure 45, Ploughman’s Cottage, Crookboat 177 Figure 46, Curator Bonis Receipt 185 Figure 47, Tait Family Tree 187 Chapter Seven Figure 48, Overton Farm 189 4 Figure 49, Laigh Hatton 1864 190 Figure 50, Laigh Hatton 1898/99 190 Figure 51, High Hatton 1864 191 Figure 52, High Hatton 1898/99 191 Figure 53, Dresser 194 Figure 54, Farm Kitchen at Springs 195 Figure 55, Farm Kitchen at Pettinain 196 Figure 56, Box Beds 199 Figure 57, Sections of Auchenfoyle Plan 203 Figure 58, Creityhall Steading 206 Figure 59, Auchenfoyle Hand‐Milkers 208 Figure 60, Dairy School Class of 1905 227 Chapter Eight Figure 61, Buchanan Kirk 233 Figure 62, Buchanan Castle 234 Figure 63, Lamb Family Bible 238 Figure 64, Burns Festival Procession, 1844 239 Figure 65, Steam Threshing Mill, Newton Mearns 242 Figure 66, Agricultural Show Medal 255 Figure 67, Competitive Milking at Carmichael 257 Figure 68, Competitive Turnip Singling, Carmichael 258 Figure 69, Ploughing Medal 259 Figure 70, Curling on Cumbrae, 1910 266 Chapter Nine Figure 71, Steuart’s Observations 272 Figure 72, Fruit Blossom, Clyde Valley 277 Figure 73, Glasgow from the Necropolis, 1850 280 Figure 74, Broomielaw, Glasgow, 1852 287 Figure 75, Buttermilk retailed in Glasgow 292 Figure 76, Dairy Shop in Glasgow 293 Figure 77, The Fresh Air Fortnight 300 5 List of Accompanying Material The accompanying material is located in a plastic wallet at the back of the thesis, and comprises: A folded map of West Central Scotland A folded map the district around Kirkintilloch, and entitled ‘Oxgang Neighbouring Network’ A set of family trees (The Snodgrass Family, The Park Family, The Murdoch Family, The Lamb Family, The Turner Family, and The Allison Family). 6 Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the guidance and support of my supervisors, Professors Christopher Philo and John Briggs of the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences. Also in the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, I wish to thank Les Hill for his sterling graphic work. I wish to acknowledge Professor Alexander Fenton, who first suggested I study farming around Glasgow, and Professor Charles Withers of the University of Edinburgh, who introduced me to the work of Catherine Park Snodgrass. Thanks are due to many people including staff at Ardrossan Library, Ayrshire Archives in Ayr, The Mitchell Library in Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire Libraries and Museums, and the Bachelors’ Club in Tarbolton. The contributions of Peter Turner, James Black, Margaret Leiper and Alexander Lamb in sharing their personal and family histories deserve particular mention. I would also like to thank Professor R.H. Campbell for his encouragement. This thesis would not have been written without the support of my husband, daughter, and parents. 7 Authors’ Declaration I declare that, except where explicit reference is made to the contribution of others, that this dissertation is the result of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree at the University of Glasgow or at any other Institution. Signature _______________________________________ Printed name ________________________________________ 8 Chapter One Introduction Catherine Park Snodgrass (1902‐1974) Catherine Park Snodgrass, a woman geographer working at a time when this was an uncommon profession for a woman, stands in a double relationship to the thesis that follows. Her writings on the agricultural regions of Scotland anticipates some of the themes picked up in the research for this thesis while she, personally, had close family connections to the agricultural world, and particularly to one of the farms that lie at the heart of my substantive inquiries. For these reasons the thesis commences with a brief picture of Snodgrass, her life and work. Family Background Catherine Snodgrass was born and raised on the family farm of Hopefield, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian.1 The biographical data on Catherine Park Snodgrass, in the National Library of Scotland, includes the following information on her parents. Peter Lennox Snodgrass and Annie Scott (nee) McHarrie, who had come to Midlothian from Dunbartonshire in 1895 and 1898 respectively, her father being almost entirely of Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire farming stock and her mother being descended half from similar stock and the rest mainly from Galloway and Argyllshire people who had settled in the town of Dumbarton.2 The farming connections of Annie Scott McHarrie (the Parks) are detailed in Chapter Five. The farming connections of Peter Lennox Snodgrass were similarly many and far‐flung with family members in Canada, Australia, and South Africa. A simplified family tree3 charts an involvement in farming over generations and, of the family members who left farming, some took up related occupations.