Tongue Text

Tongue (or Kintail)

 

Principal Sources

 

OSA Vol 3 No 72

 

RMS III (3215) 1545-6

RMS IV (1635, 1669) 1565

 

RSS II (624) 1530

RSS III (1570) 1545-6

RSS IV (1371-2, 1375) 1551, (3060) 1555

RSS V Part II (3141) 1566

 

Records of the Parliaments of Scotland (online), 19/4/1567 – NAS PA2/10, II, ff 22v-23r

 

ER XIX pp 52-55 1556-8

 

GD84/1/20/1 1657, GD84/1/20/1B 1644

GD84/1/21/1B 1660, GD84/1/21/4B 1656

GD84/1/23/3 1696

GD84/1/24/1B 1702

GD84/1/25/1 1663, GD84/1/25/5 1726

GD84/1/26/1 1702, GD84/1/26/1B 1712, GD84/1/26/2 & 4 1723

GD84/1/27/7 1726, GD84/1/27/8 1676

GD84/1/28/4B 1644

GD84/1/30/1 1740

GD95/11/5/22 A Description of the parish of Tong, 1755

 

RS36/2/143v 1607

RS37/3/25v 1624

RS38/3/90r 1666

RS38/4/27r 1670, RS38/4/27v 1670

 

NLS Dep.313/3326 Register of Leases

 

RHP 4287, 4288 1888

 

The following are available online via the National Library of Scotland’s Digital Map Library:

NLS Acc.10225/163 Plan of Borgiebeg, 1811

NLS Dep.313/3622/10 Sketch of Store Glebe, 1828

NLS Dep.313/3622/16 Blandie, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/17 Blandie, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/38 Plan of Kyle of Tongue, n.d.

NLS Dep.313/3622/43 Torisdale and Borgie … and Farr, n.d.

NLS Dep.313/3622/49 Sketch of the Reay Country n.d.

NLS Dep.313/3622/51 Lamigo, n.d.

NLS Dep.313/3623/10 Tomich and Rhianbreck, n.d.

NLS Dep.313/3622/13 Skinid and Midtown, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/12 Midtown, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/14 Skinid, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/18 Strath Tongue and Dalcharn, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/19 Strathtongue and Dalcharn, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/20 Strathtongue and Dalcharn, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/15 Braetongue/BraeKirkiboll, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/52 Proposed allotments at Kirkboll and Inchbirry, n.d.

NLS Dep.313/3622/8 Coldibackie, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/9 Coldibackie, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/22 Skullomie, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3622/23 Skullomie, 1829

NLS Dep.313/3591/20 Plan of Scullomie, n.d.

NLS Dep.313/3622/6 Torrisdale, 1825

NLS Dep.313/3622/7 Plan and measurement of Torrisdale, 1826

NLS Dep.313/3622/43 Torisdale and Borgie Naver and Farr, n.d.

NLS Acc.10225/161 Mains of Tongue, 1830

NLS Acc.10225/162 Mains of Tongue, 1830

NLS Dep.313/3590/13 Plan of Skerry Mains, 1831

NLS Dep.313/3613 Sutherland by Burnett, Scott & Morrison, 1855

NLS Dep.313/3622/42 Sketch of Borgie River, 1860

NLS Dep.313/3590/17 Plan of land at Ribigill, 1874

NLS Acc.10225/286 & 287 Slettel and Torridale, 1874

 

Macfarlane’s Geographical Collections Vol I, Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1906, pp 189-191 of 1726 (= MGC I + page number in table).

 

Caithness & Sutherland Records Vol I, Part VII, London, 1913 pp 173-4 gives the islands granted by Robert II to Farquhar ‘leche’ (doctor) in 1386. These lay round the NW & N coast of Sutherland between Rhu Stoer in Assynt and Rhu Armadale. (See Durness text file for further references).

 

 

The Old Statistical Account tells us that in a judicial rental taken in 1789 there were 89½ [89 5/10] pennylands in the parish. If one ounceland was here 18d then 5 ouncelands would be 90d. Tongue may have contained 5 ouncelands or 15 davachs. According to the Old Statistical Account the parish extended from Whiten Head in the west to Torrisdale in the east.

 

The information I have collected in the table provides evidence of up to 15½ davachs. 14 of these date from 1556-8 whilst the remaining 1½ are given in 1644. The later data may be deceptive so there may only have been 15 davachs in Tongue. We are fortunate that in Tongue the pennyland and davach assessments support each other.

 

A definition of Tongue parish is given, in very general terms, in ‘The Book of Mackay, Appendix No 49’ of 1724. See also GD95/11/5/22 A Description of the parish of Tong, 1755. Kintail was an alternative name for the parish.

 

The Book of Mackay, Appendix No 51 of 1731 concerns the designation of a glebe for the minister of Tongue. The preamble is interesting in that it describes the dilemma faced by anyone who wanted to express the Norse system of extent in easily quantifiable terms:

 

since the rents of the whole country are payable out of grass and arable land together, and consequently that the acres and grass cannot be given in terms of law precisely, therefore each minister should have an equivalent of these acres and grass of one pennyland or £42 Scots rent …

 

In other words the Norse concept of a pennyland – which was a measure of productivity – could not be given precisely in acres – which were units of area. Originally each pennyland was as big as it needed to be in order to produce a silver penny in rent. Depending on the relatively fertility of the soil one pennyland might be quite different in size to another. The document then goes on to describe the glebe in physical terms, viz:

 

The field called Clagin Mor, …

the field called Claginbeg, …

the fourth fifth and sixth riggs of …[the field called] Durin …

the field called Rean-nardich-nahaglish …

the upper Farthing of Raonnacaorach, containing the Cairalech, Magin Pheadar, and four riggs of the field called Glaicaraonmhoir (?) …

with the fifth part of the hill and valley grass and hay of the town,

because the said glebe is a fifth part of the town where it is designed, with free isch and entry, foggage, fewel, feal, and divots, and pasturage, all of which make up a pennyland of the next adjacent to the kirk and manse, valued at £42 Scots rent.

 

It appears that the town (part of Kirkiboll?) was actually a 5-pennyland and that the glebe was one-fifth of it. This would explain the odd subdivision, three rigs of Durin – presumably out of 15 in total, a fifth part of hay and grass etc. The field called Rean-nardich-nahaglish has a significant name. The last element will be for eaglais (church) and ‘dich’ is intriguingly close to ‘dach’ (davach). Is this a relic of a davach for the church?

 

Caisteal (castle) or Caiseal (castle, cruive or ford)?

In Tongue and Durness there is a place-name element which is difficult to untangle. In Tongue, Pont(2) refers to Castell Truill, West of Loch Loyal. The only place-name on OS Explorer 447 which looks relevant is Coille ri Truail in NC 5853/5953.

 

However, OSA Vol 3 No 72 p 518 refers to Caistal nan Druidhich – the Druid’s Castle, on the west side of Ben Loyal. At the top of Ben Loyal (NC 5748) there is the place-name ‘An Caisteal’ (The Castle).

 

There is an islet on Lochan Hakel in NC 5652 which is called Grianan. In Burnett & Scott’s map of 1833 (NLS Dep.313/3602) it is Caistail Halkal. In NLS Dep.313/3622/38 Plan of Kyle of Tongue, n.d. it is Caishail Halkal.

 

Some local light is cast by Mackay in his ‘History of the House and Clan of Mackay’ pp 6-7. His ‘Drowle-Castle’ (near the top of Ben Loyal) is probably Castell Truill and he gives a traditional account for the structure on Lochan Hakel.

 

In Durness parish there is a place-name called ‘Caiseal Dubh’ just south of the head of Loch Hope. OS 6″ 1st Series, Sutherland Sheet XXXIII, 1874 marks an island in the river, a track (on each side of the river) leading to what was presumably a crossing point just south of the island, and the word ‘Ferry’ a short distance upstream (south). OS Explorer 447 marks a dotted line across the river at ‘Cashel Dhu’ (NC 4549). This was plainly a strategic crossing point.

 

The difficulty is: Are we dealing with the Gaelic word caisteal ‘castle’ or the word caiseal which, according to Dwelly, could mean ‘castle’ or ‘cruive’ or ‘ford’. (In Staffin, North Skye, the word caiseal has the meaning of fishing weir. For the meaning of ‘ford’ Dwelly refers to the Highland Society’s Gaelic Dictionary). In Ireland the word caisel ‘stone fort’ could also refer to the wall of or about a church or ecclesiastical site. (Contributions to a Dictionary of the Irish Language, Dublin, 1968). For Caiseal Dubh I would argue ford or weir.