Corrimony Kennels, Corrimony, Glen Urquhart, Inverness-Shire NH 3800 3014 a Brief History1

Corrimony Kennels, Corrimony, Glen Urquhart, Inverness-shire NH 3800 3014 A brief history1 Background In 1509 James IV granted John Grant of Castle Freuchie , in Strathspey, the Barony of Urquhart. Grant divided the barony into eastern and western halves, the latter being focussed on Corrimony. During the following 200 years the Corrimony estate was further divided between the Grants at Shewglie and those at Corrimony. There is no surviving evidence for the original dwelling, but around 1740 the Grants of Corrimony built a new 2½ storey house with slated roof, a reflection of their wealth and standing in the area. The house was saved from the depredations meted out throughout Glen Urquhart by Government troops following the Jacobite Rising of 1745-6. It is still occupied, although no longer by a descendant of the Grants. An estate plan of 1773 for Corrimony (HC Archives) provides a snap-shot of the scatter of townships across the estate, as well as the extent of arable ground, woodland and hill grazing at this time. The plan was presumably drawn up for Grant of Corrimony in advance of the agricultural changes he introduced sometime between 1773 and c1800. They included the clearance of tenants and cottars from the estate, resulting in the abandonment or demolition of the old turf-with-stone, thatched buildings. Three un-named buildings are shown on the estate map some distance to the south-east of the kennels, beyond the boundary of the proposed development. The estate then focussed on sheep farming. During the following 40 years those living and working on the estate probably had to build their own homes – random rubble walls bonded with clay, presumably with a thatched roof, a single door, a hanging lum rather than built-in fireplace for one of the rooms (which had a window) and at least one room (with or without a window) with box beds. This may have been the form of the first structure at the kennels, the western half of the current building. However, it has been so altered that its original build is largely unknown, apart from the fact that it was in existence before the kennels were added. Corrimony estate did not remain in the ownership of the Grants. Like so many other highland lairds, the family resources became over-extended and by 1829 they found themselves in serious financial difficulties. The estate passed to the Ogilvies in 1833 and it was the new owner who invested heavily in the property, building a very large 3½ storey turreted mansion (known locally as 'Corrimony Castle' or New Corrimony) within a designed landscape, about 0.5km south-west of the old house. The Ogilvies must have supported the farm with its profitable woodland and, as was the fashion of the time, developed the estate for hunting and shooting. However, it seems that there are very few documents relating to their or subsequent ownerships, as searches of the on-line catalogues of the NAS and NRAS and other archives have largely drawn a blank. 1 Recording and report authored by Jill Harden • Archaeologist & Historic Environment Specialist • Buntait, Glen Urquhart, Inverness-shire, IV63 6TN • August 2010 • Page 1 The kennels It must have been sometime between c1840 and c1870 that the kennels, the eastern half of the current building, were built (shown on the 1st ed OS map surveyed 1871 and published 1876). The stone walls are lime mortared, the rear retaining its harl. There is a Ballachullish slate roof, and some of the cast iron rainwater goods at the front and lead(?) at the back survive. The kennels were designed to provide two heated spaces for the dogs, for there is a fireplace in the east gable that would have provided warmth for the whole building. Divided by a dwarf partition wall, the kennels were probably timber-lined to dado level, with surviving lath-and-plaster above and across the coombed ceiling. The two enclosed yards to the south, originally cobbled but concreted over in more recent times, provided separate access to the two kennels – each having a door and small window in the front elevation. Today the floor is of earth; its original form is unknown. Three air-vents survive in the upper part of the back elevation, with another through the roof. Page 2 The associated dwelling The design of the kennels necessitated the re-modelling of the dwelling to the west, along with the introduction of lime mortar and harl-pointing. Its rear wall was raised, the ridge-line had to be moved northwards, and the roof was completely renewed. New rafters, sarking and Welsh slates2 were added, along with cast iron rainwater goods. All of this necessitated significant alterations to the gables, indeed they may have been largely rebuilt as integral flues and new chimney-stacks were constructed. At the same time the openings in the front elevation were changed. The east window was blocked and other openings were altered: for example, the doorway at the west end was created, gaps being filled with red brick. The two window openings in the rear elevation were probably also made at this time. However, further alterations must have been undertaken subsequently, for the outer lintel of the front window is of concrete rather than stone. The interior of the building was divided by timber-framing into three coombed rooms, now open throughout and having an earth floor. The room at the west end was entered by the new west doorway (the door still has a wooden lock block), had no natural light other than through the glass in the door, and had an air vent through the roof. Against he west gable there was a fireplace and a boiler – two flues to the two chimney pots. The walls and rafters/joists do not appear to have been lined-out nor is there any evidence for plastering on the hard. It is thought that this was the room where the dog food was boiled up and prepared. The rest of the building was entered via the door towards the east end. It opened into a room plastered on the hard with a lath-and-plaster coombed ceiling, a rear sash window, and a fireplace in the east gable (remembered as having a small aga or similar set to its flue). The blocked window recess was used for a shelved cupboard. The wood-lined dividing wall was removed some time ago but it is recalled that the door into the second room was set towards the its north end. This other room was wood-lined throughout, with front and back sash windows, but no open fire. 2 The use of Welsh slates has not been recorded on any of the other estate buildings at Corrimony. Perhaps they were left over after the construction of New Corrimony around 1840. Page 3 The census does not identify the people living at the kennels until 1881, but the gamekeeper or an assistant must have stayed here while the estate was being actively managed for its shooting revenues. In 1881 the occupants of the dwelling were a brother and sister, James and Susan Cumming, gamekeeper and housekeeper. Since the 1870s The estate was sold in 1888 to Lachlan MacPherson and the sale particulars, while not mentioning the kennels specifically, do note the importance of game-keeping – including the fact that the shooting was leased for £1,000 a year. Once again the new owners invested in the property, transforming the 'castle' with the insertion of a 4- storey crenellated tower, as well as significant changes to the fenestration, and addition of crow-step gables. A private electricity supply was also introduced sometime after 1888, which was extended to the estate buildings including the kennels. In 1891 the occupant of the kennels was Donald MacMillan, a young unmarried gamekeeper, but the subsequent censuses fail to note it. Nevertheless, the dwelling was certainly occupied at times until the 2nd world war – a family of MacKenzies are remembered as living there, possibly in the 1930s. The estate was sold in 1927 and saw six different owners before the 'castle' was reduced to a shell by fire in 1951. The following year the Forestry Commission bought the land, enabling the current farmers (the Girvans) to continue the tenancy of the farm that they had entered in 1941. The estate was sold once again in 1992, to the Girvans and to the RSPB. The Girvans remember the kennels of the post-war years as abandoned, and undertook the subsequent alterations, including removing most of the iron fencing around the runs, taking out all of the internal dividing walls and fireplaces, knocking a large opening through the central gable, and blocking up the openings at the east end so that the space could be used for storing feed and hay. The building was eventually abandoned, with all of the farming activities being concentrated around the Grange, close to Old Corrimony. Page 4 References English P R 2009 A bridge to the past: an oral history of families of upper Glen Urquhart Lynn D 2008 p116-117 in Discovery & Excavation in Scotland NS Vol9 Mackell A 1961 publ 1982 The Glenurquhart story: a brief survey of the history of Urquhart National Archives of Scotland GD128/68/5 Corrimony Trust 1829 and related papers from 1777 GD296/100 Memoranda relating to Corrimony estates 1916-1934 RHP34666 Plan of estate of Corrimony, Inverness-shire of the late 19th century Images in local hands The Kennels as recorded on the 1st ed OS map surveyed 1871, published 1876 Corrimony 'castle' altered c1890 and in its designed landscape Page 5 .

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