Digitised copy of Letter from Malcolm McLaurine, chamberlain of Tiree, to the Duke of Argyll, 10 Mar 1802. In this letter McLaurine discusses: timber claimed but not proved; sending a sample of wine from a cask lying in a barn; rents due; distilling; barley and coals; Clyde Packet; the island being cut off due to stormy weather; opening a weekly communication with the post office at Tobermory; the ground officer; methods to find a good school master; model of a wind miln [windmill]; poor enclosure on McLaurine’s farm.
Digitised copy of Letter from Malcolm McLaurine, chamberlain of Tiree, to the Duke of Argyll, 14 Jan 1802. In this letter McLaurine discusses: sending specimens of barley, pottery, clay and fossil sand; an analysis of sand by Dr Gardner; corresponding with Captain Campbell; writing to Greenock; difficulty in finding boys willing to go to Inveraray to learn to be Quarriers, and the reasons for their reluctance; illegal distilling of whisky; removals from the island, including the schoolmaster and the miller at Crossapol; the Bailie; the farm at Crossapol; replacing the ground officer, Angus Munn, with Neil McLean (previously a sergeant in Lord Lorne’s fencibles), and remarks on their characters; using wood cast ashore to repair the byre and stable at the Factor’s house; a model of the windmill; problems with sending post in the winter.
Digitised copy of Remarks on the island of Tiree, 1771. The remarks made by the document fall under the following headings: The island over-peopled; the propriety of establishing a fishing village in Tiry [Tiree]; plan of executing the design of building a village in Tiry; method of tillage and cultivation; runrig abusive; too many horses and servants employed in plowing and other works of a farm; Tiry a fit country for wheel carriages; division of large runrig farms into smaller ones proper; the small tenants occupy too little land; remedy proposed; by seting the thirdes of the island to gentlemen farmers; and the other two thirds to small tenants; common pastures prejudicial; they should be divided on the adjacent farms; land: blowing of the reef and encroachment on it should be prevented; sand blowing; Tiry over stocked with sheep; which causes sand blowing; cutting bent encourages sand blowing; flax and hemp little cultivated in Tiry should be encouraged; pulling barley from the root hurtful; milns [mills] of Tiry on a bad footing; a new miln necessary; a wind miln might be of use; greddan a most barbarous custom; minister’s Glebe too large; distilling should be discouraged in the most effectual manner; bad consequences of it; a method of collection the rents of Tiry without much arrears; fresh water lochs easily drained; roads and landing places should be more attended to in Tiry; factors should be restricted from demanding services as a duty prestaball [prestable] to them by the tenants.
There is no transcript available for this item.
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From the archives of the Dukes of Argyll at Inveraray Castle, made available through the Written in the Landscape project.
Digitised Copy instructions for the chamberlain of Tiree, 1754. These instructions were sent from the Duke of Argyll and include: land erosion, the building of a windmill, cutting of peats, employment of ditchers, rents, Tiree clay, the Laird of Coll, mills in Crossapol and Scarnish, cattle. No transcript is available for this item.
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From the archives of the Dukes of Argyll at Inveraray Castle, made available through the Written in the Landscape project.
Digitised copy of Instructions for the chamberlain of Tiree, 1753. These instructions were sent from the Duke of Argyll and include: land erosion, the windmill at Scarinish, cutting of peats, employment of ditchers, Lachlan McLean’s rent of the farm at Ruaig, waterfowls, crogans or clay dishes, conversion of rents to a forehand silver rent. There is no transcript for this item.
Click to view a record for this item on Inveraray’s online catalogue.
From the archives of the Dukes of Argyll at Inveraray Castle, made available through the Written in the Landscape project.
Digitised Copy instructions for the chamberlain of Tiree, 1752. These instructions were sent from the Duke of Argyll and include: land erosion, the windmill in Scarinish, rents, the industriousness of the inhabitants, paying the minister’s (Alexander McTavish) salary, applying to the Synod of Argyll for the payment of the Bishop’s rent, establishing a flax raiser and spinning school on Tiree. There is no transcript for this item.
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From the archives of the Dukes of Argyll at Inveraray Castle, made available through the Written in the Landscape project.
Digitised copy of an Account of the expense of repairing the windmill at Scarinish, 1750. Showing the amount due to Donald McDonald, miller, with a detailed list of the expenses. There is no transcript available for this item.
Click to view a record for this item on Inveraray’s online catalogue.
From the archives of the Dukes of Argyll at Inveraray Castle, made available through the Written in the Landscape project.
