Araid, Loch Torridon, Wester Ross
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Araid, Loch Torridon, Wester Ross 2 House Sites and Services Planning Refs. 10/02676/FUL and 10/02678/FUL Archaeological Investigation Catherine Dagg For Mrs Irene Macpherson The Shieling Townhead of Auchengillan Blanefield G63 9AU Araid, Torridon, Wester Ross: 2 House Sites and Services Planning refs 10/02676/FUL and 10/02678/FUL Archaeological Investigation 1.0 Background Two new dwellings are proposed at the remote location of Araid, a small neck of land without road access south of Diabaig on Loch Torridon in the parish of Applecross, centred on NG 793 587. The development includes the following elements: Two new dwellings, both with septic tank and soakaway and separate surface water soakaway, one on the north and one on the south side of the neck of land west of Meall na h- Araid Access road linking the dwellings with the north and south shorelines Lochan created to provide source for potable water, on the hill east of the houses Electric supply to pump in lochan (presumed buried) and piped water to treatment plant Water treatment plant and generator within existing stone bothy, to be re-roofed Clean water storage tank on the hill west of the houses Water supply from storage tank to houses, and from treatment plant to storage tank, both presumed buried Planning consent for the developments has been granted, with the following condition: (4.) No development shall take place until a programme of archaeological work for the preservation and recording of any archaeological features affected (altered, damaged or destroyed) by the proposed development has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority Information submitted shall be in accordance with the Highland Council's Specification for Field Surveys and shall include a timetable for investigation. All arrangements thereby approved shall be implemented by the developer at his expense in accordance with the approved timetable for investigation. Thereafter the development shall be undertaken in accordance with the approved programme unless the prior written approval of the Planning Authority is granted for any variation, Reason: In order to preserve the archaeological and historic interest of the site. The application site lies within a crofting township which has been abandoned since the 1960s. The site of the township most likely has a long settlement history and there is potential for earlier remains, which predate the township. The objectives of the present investigation are: To complete an archaeological field survey of the application area to identify and record the character and full extent of the township and any other archaeological features To record any associated oral histories of the township, held by the applicant and any other local residents To record, to professional standards, any features and objects of archaeological or historical importance that will be damaged, altered, destroyed or otherwise impacted by this development, while minimising any delays or disruption to the development project Fig. 1. Plan of development area showing individual features of project, superimposed on modern Ordnance Survey mapping of township features. House site 2 is now located further east on open ground, while the linking road is also further east, running to the east of the croft buildings and boundary dykes. 2.0 Historical Background 2.1 Township History The name Araid, or Arrat or Araird, is from the Gaelic air aird, the fore-headland, and as a place name refers primarily to the headland to the west. Although modern mapping describes the place as ‘old shielings’, all the archaeological and documentary evidence is that this has been a permanently settled small township or farmstead, probably through most of the post-mediaeval period. Araid is in the unusual position of being, together with Port Lair and Upper Diabaig, located within the parish of Applecross but on the estate of Gairloch. The estate in the early 19th century, like many west coast estates, was overcrowded and its tenants impoverished and subject to famines. Sir Francis Mackenzie refused to evict any tenants and attempted to educate them in better living and farming, writing in 1838 Hints for the Use of Highland tenants and Cottagers, by a proprietor. After his death in 1843 his brother, Dr John Mackenzie, embarked on a programme of reorganisation of the estate which was unique in the Highlands. His first move was to have every township surveyed by Mr Campbell Smith, a well-known land surveyor. He believed that ‘many hundreds of acres of fine soil, now lying waste, might be profitably reclaimed and made available to the wants of the cottar population, by the application of labour, under proper direction and ordinary management. Without access to early estate rentals, it is impossible to determine who were the tenants at Araid before the 1846 improvements. However, it is most likely that the Macdonald were among the original tenants, as one John MacDonald was born at Araid in 1843. It is likely that there was only one household at this date. The 1841 census return for ‘Airaird’ gives one household, headed by Kenneth Macpherson with the following members: Kenneth Macpherson aged 80 agricultural labourer John Macpherson, aged 35 Catherine Matheson, aged 70 Leny Maclean, aged 6 Murdoch Macdonald aged 35 Duncan Campbell aged 18, foxhunter Flory Macpherson aged 25 Unfortunately the 1841 census gives very little information on familial relationships, places of birth or occupations. None of these persons could be traced with any certainty on the 1851 census. 1846 was the year that most tenants’ leases were due to expire, and new leases of 7 to 10 years were granted, on the understanding that the new tenants would build houses on their holdings . Of the 364 small tenants on Gairloch estate in 1843, 74% were allocated crofts on the farm where they were already residing and 26%, or 94 families, moved to crofts elsewhere. It is, therefore, very likely that new tenants arrived at Araid in 1846. Catherine Mackenzie of Sand was born at Loch an Draing near Inverasdale in 1884. This was the home of her grandparents, but her own parents lived at Araid and this is where she spent her childhood. This family are the most likely new tenants in 1846. The tenants on new holdings were required to build a house on the holding, replacing the old system of houses clustered together. The tenants were also expected to drain their land and plant the new crops such as clover and turnips, but the enforcement of this was mostly unsuccessful. The MacDonalds are recorded as having left Araid around 1870. The 1868-9 valuation roll, the earliest available, shows Angus and Donald Mackenzie renting both crofts, at a combined rent of £11 and on a 12 year lease. This suggests they are two brothers from the same family. The 1881 census return has: Angus Mackenzie, b. 1806, crofter of 4 acres, with wife Catherine and children Duncan, b. 1841, and Betsy, b. 1847 Donald Mackenzie,b. 1814, fisherman and crofter of 4 acres, with wife Maggy, b. 1828 and children John, Bella, Catherine, Maggy and Alexander Croft 1 Angus Mackenzie was succeeded in the 1890s by his son Duncan, who himself probably died between 1910 and 1916. William Rankin is the tenant in 1916. William Rankin appears elsewhere in census returns in 1881, 1891 and 1901. He appears to have come originally from Kilmonivaig in Inverness-shire and lived with his uncle Robert, a gamekeeper for Torridon estate. His father Peter was also a gamekeeper. William worked as gardener at Torridon house, but by 1901 is listed as estate manager. He married in the 1890s, a local woman named Isabella, and in 1901 they had one son, Duncan. When they moved to Araid, William would have been already in his 60s and presumably retired from his job on Torridon estate. It is interesting that they moved to the adjoining Gairloch estate and to such a remote location. Duncan Rankin appears not to have survived or been present to take over the croft from his father when he died in the 1920s. His widow, Bella Rankin, continues to live at Araid until the early 1950s, by which time she would have been in her 90s. Croft 2 Donald Mackenzie died in the 1880s and although his widow Margaret continued as the croft tenant, she appears to have moved away. The tenancy is taken over by Finlay Macrae between 1901 and 1909. This is probably the Finlay Macrae recorded on the 1901 census as fisherman and crofter, with a wife Margaret, son Alexander, b. 1893 and daughter Margaret, b. 1897. Alexander succeeded his father on croft 2 in the 1920s and took over the tenancy of croft 1 in the 1950s presumably on the death of Bella Rankin. After the brothers take separate crofts in the late 1870s, the rents are £6 and £5, with croft 1, the southern, being slightly more valuable. But from the 1880s, possibly after the passing of the Crofting Act, the rents are both set at £4 10s and stay at this until the 1950s, when Alex. Macrae takes on croft 1 and its rent drops to £4. 2.2 Cartographic Evidence Roy’s Military Survey 1750s This shows no settlement or cultivation at Araid, although this should not be taken to indicate depopulation, as Roy’s map is known to be incomplete. John Thomson’s Atlas, surveyed 1820s. This map shows a settlement at Araid, but names it Deebeg. Diabaig is also shown, in its correct location and Loch Diabaig is named as Loch Yeben. This appears to be a common cartographic error, repeated on most maps through the 18th and 19th centuries. Campbell Smith’s Atlas of the Townships of Gairloch 1848.