Deserted Farms and Shealings in the Braemar Area of Deeside, Grampian Region Smiths J *
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Proc SocAntiq Scot, 116 (1986), 447-453, fiche 5: E1-F10 Deserted farms and shealings in the Braemar area of Deeside, Grampian Region SmithS J * ABSTRACT fieldA survey desertedof settlement Braemarthe in area Deesideof revealed around70 settlement clusters. Those lying in the altitudinal band from 330 to 500m above sea level are clearly deserted farmsteads many of which were associated with field systems and corn kilns. Those above 500 metres interpretedaslare shealingsas smalland enclosures associated with summeringthe of stock. The surviving structures are described in an inventory (see microfiche) and attempt is made to relate their chronology to the changes in population distribution and agricultural economy associated with developmentthe deerthe forests.of INTRODUCTION Upper Deeside offers a rich field for the mapping of historical settlement in areas at present unde levelw lo rland-usf so e intensity grounmuce s A th . f ho d below 500 meminentls i y plantable, settlemene th t evidence wes south-wesd an t f Braemao t mappes summere wa r th n di f 198so d 3an 1984. Attentio concentrates nwa i whic valleye DeeLu e th e th hClunie n f th providdo , sth o d ean e an altitudinal transect between 330 metres at Braemar village to 665 metres above sea level (asl) where the A93 crosses the old county boundary between Aberdeenshire and Perthshire. The old settlement n Glei s t nconsidere no Callate e ar d Gle n thii y an drE n s paper0 7 totaA .f o l settlements were surveye detaild dan f mosso f theso t e includeear catalogue th n di e whicn o s hi microfiche (5: E1-F10). basio Tw c settlement types were identified. Clear sign f formeo s r permanent agricultural activities were apparen altitudinae th n i t l band betwee metre0 n33 arouno t s metre0 d50 l whil sas e summer shealing smald an s l enclosures appear t exclusivelmainlno t ye banbu th dn y i fro0 m50 metres asl to 750 metres asl. The permanent settlements take the form of substantial clusters of longhouses and outbuildings around which stone clearance heaps, and furrow, stone founs and lime corn-kilnd an - s clearly evidence former agricultural activities. Severa sitee th sf o lappea o t r show a sequence of occupation with older round-cornered longhouses overlain in part by square-ended rectangular longhouses lowee th shealine n rI .th par f o t g band ovae th , l sheale ar s associated with generally smaller longhouses and with evidence for small-scale cultivation in the form of stone-edged lynchets and garden plots. In the higher band up to 750 metres asl, activities appear to have been exclusively concerned with summer stock husbandry, typified by small oval sheals, generally 43my mb , frequently associated with enclosure e temporarth r fo s y holdinf go *Departmen f Geographyo t , Universit f Aberdeeyo n 448 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1986 e animalsth . Documentar p evidencma d ean y suggests thae distributioth t s maximuit d ha n m functional extenlate th e n 18ti t h centuryalreads wa t ybu , beginnin contraco gt e time th th f eo y b t maximum recorded parish population in 1811. Subsequently changes in population distribution withdrawaa d an f agriculturao l shealind an l g land uses wer resulo et t fro creatioe mth f deeno r forests in the middle part of the 19th century. e fielTh d survey reveale patterda strina f no f clachan go lowen si r Glen e ClunieDe e th , d Glean n Lui, som f whico e h were associated through estat evidencp ma e e with higher level shealings in the Baddoch and upper Clunie. More specific linkages between parent clachan and shealing territory must await analysi Invercaule th f so d Estate Papers. e historicaTh l backgroun e modusth o dt vivendi reveale e fielth dy db surve typicas yi f o l Highland Edge communities in Scotland. Pre-improvement populations tended to be high in relatio limitee th o nt d availabilit f cultivatablyo e land t altitudeA . s abov metre0 e30 s asl (ann do occasion below), grain harvest frequently considerabla faile d dan e amoun f communito t y effort was concentrated on stock rearing. The operation of a clan society with its military requirements also tende resulo dt relativeln i t y high population relation si available th o nt e resources. Mosf o t the clachans in the main glens enjoyed animal grazing rights on the hill which permitted the breeding of cattle which offered a form of realizable wealth for payment of rent. In a remote location e obviou, th cattl d ha es advantag f beino e g abl walo t e o market k t while foraginn e g route. The economic necessity of droving was recognized by laws in Scotland established as early e 13tth hs a century which permitte grazine dth f drovgo e cattl common eo n land provided di t di not carry meadow or corn. By the 18th century, droving was firmly established as a professional occupation with drovers exempted fro e Disarmingmth Acts. n 1725I , Wade issued ove0 20 r licence drovero t s dealerd san s which wer yearo e gavd tw valiholdee an sr eth dfo righe th ro t t carry weapons. Thieving of cattle remained commonplace in the 18th century and was one of the factors behind the location of a Hanoverian garrison at Braemar Castle following the battle of Culloden. A series of ill-defined tracks acted as rights of way for cattle droving and several focusee Braemath n o d r are e Cairnweln routth e a o t e l pass. Gatherin e maturth f go e cattle commenced in springtime when local sales were advertised by posting bills on churches such as Crathie and Tullich. According to Haldane (1952), droving via Glen Muick was still practised in 1887, and across the Lairig Ghru in 1873. The Deeside droveways were utilized by cattle droves from Mora d Banf yan s wel a fs cattl a l e ultimately gathere e remotth n di ee Wespartth f to s Highlands. The main southern markets were sited at Grangemouth and Falkirk. The ability to produce surplus cattle stock in upland areas where limited agricultural inbye ground had to be exclusively devoted to the production of essential food resources depended on the practice of shealing - the summertime use of the higher pasture. Although traditionall featura ye Atlanti th f o e c seaboar f Scotlando d (Miller 1967; Love 1981) and enshrined in Gaelic song and culture, shealing was also widespread in eastern Scotland. On the western seaboard and islands, the sheals were often sited close to sea level, but in Perthshire and Aberdeenshire, shealing activity took place at altitudes in excess of 700 metres asl, well beyon e highesdth t levels reache permaneny db t agricultural settlement e evidencTh . r efo this syste physicae f lan mo e restth dus n o s l remain shealse th f so , estate document mapsd an s , anoftee dth n green nature vegetatioth f eo n aroun e shealdth s amongs e heather-dominateth t d moorland (illu . Earls1) y travellers like Pennant visited Highland shealings where 'the familief so hamleto tw r o s e retiron wito et h their flock summern i s ' (Pennant 1774). e DeesidTh e shealings appea havo t r e been buil f varyino t g combination stonf so turf d ean , theid an r foundation e todaar s y represente lowermose th y db t stone courses. Plan shapes vary from round and oval to bow-ended and rectangular small longhouses. The round and oval sheals SMITH: DESERTED FARMS AND SHEALINGS IN THE BRAEMAR AREA OF DEESIDE 449 ILLUS 1 Typical bow-ended shealing in Glen Baddoch set into natural knoll, adjacent to the stream ane 'greensth d ' are single-celled, but the small longhouses contain internal divisions and often have more than one entrance (see site catalogue fiche 5: E3-F10, in particular sites 46-53 inclusive and sites 57-64 inclusive) e besTh .t preserve e Braemath f do r sheals survive onl severao yt l stone coursed an s heigha o t onle t wheryon muraea lidentified e alcovb y shealinge ma Th . characteristicalle sar y sited near streams, above the flood level, and the sheals are sited on knolls. Such site characteristics are particularly well demonstrated in the sheals of Upper Glen Baddoch (illus 2) wher vallee eth y floor abov e floodplaieth diversifies ni moundy b d hollowd an s f fluvioglaciaso l origin. Wher groune eth brokes di rocy nb k outcrop r scattereso d with large bouldersd (sitean 6 s4 e shea47)th , l foundation theso t e tie n foro ar st edo mnaturaa l wall occasionn O . , sheale ar s associated with small stone-edged lynchet plotd an s s which appea o havt r e been designeo t d produc a egarde n crop durin e summeth g r occupatio e majoritth n n (sitI ) (illuf o . y50 e 2) s shealing sites, a variety of small enclosures of stone are built nearby, frequently using natural hollows in the ground. These appear to have acted as calf pens when the milk cattle were turned-out to graze or as reception areas where the gathered stock would await their turn for milking e besTh .t constructe mosd dan t substantial enclosures probably reflec robbine th t f go earlier stone structures, and some are likely to be associated with the development of commercial sheep hirsels in the early 19th century.