Hunting for Lost Crafts

‘Hunting for Lost Crafts’

A report detailing research undertaken into the heritage crafts of the

Highlands relating to hunting shooting and fishing

A report for ‘Highlife Highland’

Dr. Beth Legg

December 2013

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CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION p4

2. HUNTING, SHOOTING & FISHING IN THE HIGHLANDS p9

2.1 Survival p9

2.2 Sport p11

2.3 Skills p14

2.3.1 The Poacher p14

2.3.2 The Pearl Fisher p17

2.3.3 The Pony Man p18

2.3.4 The Falconer p19

3. THE CRAFTS -‐ Context & Contemporary Practice p21

3.1. Basket Making P21

3.2. Boatbuilding P25

3.3. Bookbinding P30

3.4. Coopering P31

3.5. Currachs P34

3.6. Decoy Making P35

3.7. Engraving P36

3.8. Float Making P38

3.9. Fly Tying P39

3.10. Glass Target Balls P42

3.11. Gunsmithing P43

3.12. Knife Making P45

3.13. Rod Building P47

3.14. Saddlery & Leather Work P48

3.15. Stick making P49

3.16. Tanning P50

3.17. Taxidermy P51

3.18. Trophy Fish Carving P54

3.19. Tweed Weaving P56

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4. SUMMARY p59

5. CRAFT MAKERS DIRECTORY p62

6. MUSEUM COLLECTIONS p80

6.1. Inverness Museum & Art Gallery P80

6.2. Highland Folk Museum P83

6.3. Scottish Fisheries Museum P85

6.4. National Museum of Scotland P85

6.5. Timespan P86

6.6. Northlands Glass P86

6.7. Wick Heritage Centre P86

6.8. Laidhay Croft Museum P86

7. GALLERY OF THEMATIC WORKS P87

8. APPENDIX P97

8.1 Gaelic proverbs relating to Hunting Shooting & Fishing P97

8.2 Other Groups of Interest P98

8.3. References P99

8.4. Papers/Reports P99

8.5. Websites P100

8.6. Audio / Visual Resources P101

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1. INTRODUCTION

This report touches on aspects of craft making relating to hunting shooting and fishing

(HSF) in the Highlands of Scotland and covers both historical and current practice. The

perimeters of this research were set widely. The breadth of this topic stretches back to

pre-‐historic ages and covers an almost overwhelming range of activities, processes,

techniques, materials, objects and occupations. These often overlap, interconnect and

have varying degrees of association with HSF. In some cases, we can see a clear journey

(such as the need to fish leading to the process of boatbuilding which utilises the

technique of steam-‐bending wood which is still evident in contemporary furniture). But

more often, for many of the crafts related to HSF, these elements are linked in a web of

multiple shared threads rather than in a straightforward linear fashion such as this.

Illustration of a linear progression from activity to object

The findings of this research defy easy categorisation as many of the aspects overlap

one another or have multiple sub-‐strands (hunting and shooting have many shared

aspects and have almost become synonymous terms due to the proliferation of the

gun, fishing has many sub strands such as fly, sea, river, trout, salmon, loch, net, line)

these can all be further confused when adding historical and contemporary aspects to

the categorisation. The research also covers a spread of material based disciplines from

textiles to basketry, woodwork to metalwork and a range of products from small,

portable items such as knives to large fishing boats. All are exemplified by an

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engagement with material, form and function. Although the traditional craft practices

associated with HSF have a tendency towards being driven by function over material,

the materials used remain highly important, and often it is through the material that

the contemporary application can be found. Below is an illustration of HSF related craft

practices organised into material groups.

COMPOSITE

(craft practices utilising multiple materials)

Gunsmithing Knifemaking Trophy making Float Making Rod Building Bookbinding

ANIMAL

(Leather, Hide, Horn, Bone, Antler, Tooth, Pearl)

Saddlery Taxidermy

Sporran making Falconry Furniture

Millenary Fly Tying Jewellery

METAL

Blacksmithing Bladesmithing Silver & Steel Engraving

WOOD & PLANT Basketry Cooperage

Decoy Makers Fish Carvers Boatbuilding

Furniture Making Stickmaking

GLASS Engraving & Blowing

TEXTILE

Tweed weaving sails, nets, rope

making Felting, Spinning and

dyeing

STONE Carving Letter cutting Flint

Knapping

HSF Related Craft Practices in Material Groupings

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This paper covers research into makers, skills, techniques and materials, which have

adapted to our modern society or have the potential to do so. Also included are those

practices that have lost their ‘functional’ role today and execute their practice only in

the circumstances of public workshops or demonstrations such as flint knapping or

coracle building.

The nature of many of the craftspeople involved in heritage or traditional craft

practices meant that they were at times difficult to locate. Many of these practitioners

work as hobbyists or in a part-‐time capacity and so have a very low public profile and

online presence. Also many people involved in HSF make objects associated with their

chosen sport activity as part of their enthusiasm for the pursuit such as float making,

fly tying or stick making -‐ these skills and activities are often considered hobbyist

occupations or lifestyle choices, and are not particularly well promoted. With further

research on the ground more practitioners may well emerge.

A yellow gold and enamel necklace containing 44 teeth from stags hunted on the royal estate at

Balmoral gifted from Albert for Queen Victoria. Image from the Royal Collection

Today, hunting shooting and fishing has almost completely moved from a necessity to

an indulgence and with this comes several issues. Even now it is difficult to disassociate

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HSF from the Victorian era of social elitism and the aristocracy. Indeed, the Victorians

shaped blood sports as they are currently practiced and in some cases surprisingly little

has changed since this era (for some this is part of the attraction). There is also the

difficult subject of land ownership, which has long been an emotional and contentious

issue in the Highlands especially. HSF is still considered by many to be the wealthy

mans’ diversion and the price tags of many of the high end, hand-‐made crafts objects

associated with it only serve to proliferate this idea. Another contentious issue that will

have to be addressed is the matter of animal welfare and what might be seen as the

endorsement of killing for pleasure. The display and description of craft objects

containing animal parts will need to be sensitively handled.

Scottish Ceramic Fox Head Stirrup Cup Early 19th Century

On amore positive note, what did emerge from the research was a wealth of folklore,

legend and superstition associated with hunting, in the Highlands – everything from

beautiful walking songs to disturbing tales. The exhibition is certainly unlikely to want

for examples of historic hunting practices and tales of the chase – all of which could

add a further narrative to the exhibition. Also, the craft makers working within this

arena belong to a group of genuinely intriguing people with interesting lives and in

many cases they produce examples of impressive workmanship and skill. It may be

constructive to explore these personal narratives alongside those of the historical and

cultural through the vehicle of the exhibition. Combining a showcase of their current

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practice alongside a treasure trove of historical resources should make for a very

stimulating presentation.

Unidentified group of Fishermen (the patterns on the ganseys suggest that several of them came from

Yorkshire) Image from The Wick Heritage Centre At this point a special mention should be made regarding sea fishing and whether it

falls within the remit of this project. It is certainly an activity that has seen considerable

changes over the past century and is an activity that remains more closely aligned with

need rather than indulgence. Fishing equipment was once completely hand made. In

the Highlands many nets would have originally consisted of horsehair rope with floats

made of inflated sheep or dog skins. These were gradually superseded by imported

ropes and cork floats, then glass and rope floats and are now replaced by the pervasive

plastic buoy. Fishing nets have been imported from fairly early times but some

fishermen are still skilful in mending them with a homemade shuttle. Lobster creels

would have originally been of wickerwork, and then were handmade with willow or

hazel wands bent over a board with netting draped over this. Now most are mass

produced and plastic framed. Within the research several craft activities are included

that are rooted in sea, rather than river or loch fishing. Gansey knitting, coopering, a

great deal of basketry, buoys, creels and boatbuilding are all embedded in fishing from

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the sea. The decision will have to be made whether sea fishing is included within the

exhibition by taking the overall weight and direction of the project into consideration.

Perhaps including what remains a working class activity alongside those that are

perceived to be more indulgent pursuits of the wealthy will maintain a balance of sorts,

or perhaps it would muddy the water.

2. HUNTING, SHOOTING & FISHING IN THE HIGHLANDS

2. 1 SURVIVAL

With a population density averaging 11 people per square kilometer1, the Scottish

Highlands are one of the most sparsely populated areas in Europe, and have long

contained an abundance of wild birds, fish and animals. These have historically been a

vital resource to local inhabitants and the pursuit of them has played an important part

in rural social life. Historically, trade between the different regions of the Highlands and

Islands has been driven by a ‘hunter gatherer economy’ (Rixson). Trade was increased

when early man began to move on the sea by means of small boats (Curachs). Early

man developed hand tools and weapons and specific materials were sought after for

this. Bloodstone from Rum and Arran has been discovered in Fife and southeast

Scotland having arrived by boat. Axes from Antrim were widely used in communities in

the Isle of Lewis, the Shetlands and Aberdeenshire. Flint from Yorkshire has been found

in various parts of Scotland.

These tiny pieces of composite flint knives known as ‘microliths’ were found in Caithness. They date from between 8000 and 4000 BC and would have been set into a wooden, bone or antler handle and

1 Compared to 127 per sq. km in the rest of Scotland. ‘The Highlands and Islands in Numbers’ HIE’s Research and Economics team, www.hie.co.uk

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used as a knife. NMS Collection

Communities were initially made up of small family groups in coastal settlements.

Seldom would they venture too far inland to hunt as this meant contending with

forests, bogs, and wild animals. Eventually, towards the Neolithic period when farming

practices and village settlements were more firmly established, Man slowly ventured

inland, claiming what he could for himself. Even as animal domestication became

relatively widespread agriculture became more developed, hunting was usually a

significant contributor to the human food supply. Man's earliest hunting weapons

would have included rocks, spears, bows and arrows. The supplementary meat and

materials from hunting included protein, bone for implements, sinew for cordage, fur,

feathers, rawhide and leather used in clothing.

There is a great deal of sculptural evidence signifying the importance of hunting,

shooting & fishing in the Dark Ages and Medieval times. Here, prey depicted includes

wild boar, otter, seal, birds, fish, deer and wolves. Hunting scenes as well as the

huntsman’s equipment of the time can also still be seen portrayed on Medieval stones

within the Highlands and Islands. Good examples are the Nigg church Pictish Slab, The

Stone of Hilton, The Shandwick Stone or Clach a' Charridh, The Macmillan Cross at

Kilmory and Macloeds Tomb in Harris.

Detail of the replica of the Stone at Hilton showing a hunting scene with two warriors, two trumpeters

and a deer being attacked by two hounds.

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Wild game has long been considered a welcome and necessary addition to the diet of

those in the Highlands and beyond, with historical Pursemaster’s accounts2 detailing

multiple references to the fish (both fresh and salt water), shellfish, wildfowl

(particularly geese) and birds’ eggs, as well as smaller game referred to as ‘wilde mete’.

People travelled in pursuit of the animals they hunted following migratory and

seasonal fluxes, and again to sell their excess commodities. Wild game also played an

important part in diplomatic exchanges with venison (and whisky) being the primary

Highland contributions from the 16th Century onwards. On the Highland coastal regions

and islands otters, seals, many types of seabird and whales were pursued for their oil

and meat. Otter pelts were also particularly prized3. Seals were caught in nets and

eaten by some western isles communities; the meat was salted with the ash of burnt

seaweed before being consumed. The nets were made of several small twisted ropes

of horsehair. There are accounts of up to 320 seals being killed at any one time, and on

Islay dogs were also trained to kill seals. Today, restrictions on hunting, shooting and

fishing are imposed through legislation and monitored by conservation organisations

and the hunting of seabirds, seals, otter and geese for food has almost ended

completely.4

2.2 SPORT

People have been coming to the Highlands and Islands to hunt and fish as sport for

centuries. Deer drives, ‘elricks’ or ‘elrigs’5 were social gatherings where hundreds of

people participated in the mass slaughter of deer herds. Huge numbers of deer were

herded into deep glens and then ambushed. Foxes and wolves were also hunted in this

2 1540 Pursemaster’s accounts, Scottish History Society (The Hebridean Traveller, P228) 3 In England Otterhunting with Otterhounds grew to become a gentrified sport. From 1958 to 1963 the 11 otter hunts in England and Wales, according to their own records, killed 1,065 otters between them. Otterhunters carried an otter pole -‐ every notch on that pole indicating an otter that has been hunted and killed at a hunt he attended. The prized trophy was the Dog otter’s baculum (penis bone), which would be made into a tiepin. 4 Since 1981 it has been against the law in Scotland to hunt, trap or intentionally kill an otter, or to disturb one in its holt. Guga Hunting is still carried out by the men of Ness situated every August on place on the island of Sula Sgeir, 40 miles north of Lewis. 5 Derives from the Gaelic ‘An Eilreig’ meaning a place where deer were driven for hunting. See p339 of ‘Highland Folk Ways’ for a vivid account of a great deer hunt in 1618 by London Poet J Taylor. Elrick survives as an element of several Highland place names.

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manner. Hunting dogs like the now rare Highland Deerhound6 were used in hart and

wolf hunts to track down wounded animals. The Deerhound was bred to hunt red deer

by coursing, and stalking until the end of the 19th century. They would have been kept

by the Scots and Picts, and used to help in providing part of their diet -‐ mainly hoofed

game.7 The following Gaelic saying refers to the old Scottish deerhound:

Gnos mar ehuaille,

Cluas mar dhuilleach,

Earball mu'n speir,

'S an speir mar chorran.

Muzzle like club.

Ear like leaf,

Tail to the hough,

And hough like sickle.8

Great deer hunts still took place from the mid and late 17th Century and up to the late

18th Century but these diminished around the time of the Union of Crowns when the

Scottish royal family moved to London9. The Scottish aristocracy maintained their game

reserves but hunting became less of an en masse activity, and by the 19th Century deer

stalking had replaced deer drives, becoming particularly fashionable after 1880. It was

not until around this time that grouse shooting also rose as a popular sport, with the

letting of grouse moorland becoming a valuable source of income. Shooting rents

continued to rise in value and along with the decline in agriculture – especially in sheep

farming, the letting of sporting rights became the main source of revenue for Highland

landowners. The craze for hunting, shooting and fishing in the late 19th and early 20th

Centuries saw huge swathes of the Highland landscape converted from sheep grazing

6 Bred as a deer-‐hunting dog of the Scottish chieftains in the Middle Ages, the Deerhound was once so popular with Scottish high nobility that the breed became known as the ‘Royal Dog of Scotland’, and no one ranking below Earl was permitted to own one. The advent of gun hunting, development of fenced agriculture and the fall of the Scottish clan system, resulted in the decline of the Scottish Deerhound. The HFM may still have a brace of Deerhound collars in their collection. 7 Archaeological evidence likely supports this in the form of Roman pottery from around 1st Century AD found in Argyll which depicts the deerhunt using large rough hounds (these can be viewed at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh). 8 From p348 ‘A collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar Phrases, Based on Mackintosh’s Collection’ By Alexander Nicolson, Published By Forgotten Books 2013 (Originally published 1882) 9 An act of Parliament was introduced prohibiting large hunting gatherings as suspicions were held that they were being used as a front for rebellious rallies such as the meet held by the Earl of Mar where plans for the Jacobite Rising of the ’15 were said to have been made.

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land to deer forest.10 Ghillies, beaters, stalkers and keepers were employed and the

local economy benefitted from the sporting influx. However, this has been in decline

since the Second World War and the industry might even be described as ‘depressed’

when compared to the ‘glorious heyday’ of the Highland Playground.

Donald Urquhart, Head Stalker, Image from Am Baille

Blood sports probably made a much greater economic contribution to the Highlands

and Islands in Medieval and Victorian times than it does today, and yet, deer stalking,

game shooting and fishing for trout and salmon remains a powerful industry in

Scotland today. The revenue earned from sporting land and species management -‐

everything from the Ghillie to the guesthouse remains considerable11. Today, shooting

and stalking influences the management of 4.4 million hectares of Scotland’s land and

of this, 700,000 hectares (almost 70%) are managed specifically for shooting.12

Salmon and trout fishing have remained more buoyant economically and angling

remains one of the biggest participatory sports in the Highlands, providing local work

10 The Highland Council archive has a map from the 1880’s showing the areas devoted to deer forests http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_maps.jsp?item_id=9536 11 The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) estimates that the equivalent of 11,000 full-‐time jobs is supported by shooting and stalking in Scotland, http://www.scotland.gov.uk 12 Economic and environmental survey of “Shooting Sports” published (PACEC, 2006) (http://www.shootingfacts.co.uk/)

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for tackle suppliers, ghillies, hotels and estates. It is difficult to distinguish between

angling for necessity and for sport but it remains a historically ancient pastime. Salmon

has always been immensely important fish to the Highlands and people began taking

fishing holidays here in the early 1800’s.

Stalking on Rothiemurchus Estate, circa Late 1800’s, Am Baille

2.3 SKILLS

Modernised and mechanised hunting and fishing methods mean that it is often the

manner of pursuit, the tools associated with said pursuit and the subject of pursuit

itself that have changed over time. Some practices have ceased completely due to

animal welfare legislation, technological development or purely from lack of necessity.

The following ‘skills’ are practices that are lost or have at one time been in danger of

dying out in Scotland.

2.3.1 The Poacher

Historically the poacher has been viewed as a romantic folk hero taking from the

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gentry to feed his family.13 Indeed, it was likely that at one time many fended off

hunger with fur, fish or fowl and to a degree gamekeepers tolerated the ‘one for the

pot’ poacher. Such minor losses were accepted as long as the poacher’s activities were

not obvious and did not attract the landowner’s attention. Spearfishing for salmon was

common in the Highlands where a three-‐pronged salmon spear or ‘leister’ was used.

‘Burning the Water’ was practiced in the 18th Century where the fish were attracted to

the lights at the surface of the water produced by a burning brazier of peats14.

Postcard by Scottish artist R R McIan, depicting a young man using a ‘Leicester’ to spear salmon. He is working by night, assisted by a companion carrying a burning torch. This was called ‘Burning the Water’. From 'Gaelic gatherings, or the Highlanders at Home on heather, river and loch', published 1847-‐49.

A Highland sensibility that may go back as far as primitive times and which is tightly

aligned with issues of land ownership, is that, as a local, you have the right to take a

salmon from the pool or a deer from the hill15. The following proverb illustrates this:

“Breac a linne, slat a coille,'s fiadh a fireach,

-‐ mèirle nach do ghabh duine riamh nair' aisde.”

13 The HFM has 3 guns belonging to renowned poachers – one is ingeniously altered allowing the butt to unscrew so that the barrel could slip down a man’s trouser leg unseen. 14 The HFM holds examples of ‘leisters’ and peat brazier baskets in its collection 15 The Gaelic Song ‘Dìrich Mi A-‐chaoidh’ -‐ A complaint song composed in anger at being deprived of hunting liberties in Skye. Sung By Sandy MacKay http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/90611/41

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A fish from the pool, a wand from the wood, a deer from the mountain

-‐ thefts no man ever was ashamed of. 16

This belief has persisted despite the introduction of laws dating back to feudal times

preserving game forests and the possession of deer forests by many Highland chiefs.17

Some still see poaching as a victimless rural pursuit, stocking the larder or making a

few pounds at no one’s expense. It is argued that wild animals are ownerless and as

such, the legal principle that rights to take them are vested in landowners and

occupiers is overlooked. However, commercial poachers historically kept the London

markets stocked with numerous forms of game, using carriers and the rail networks to

speed the illicit meat out of the county with the goal purely being profit. Fish

poaching18, deer poaching and hare coursing are formally classified as wildlife crimes19.

Today, others argue that in order to protect rural jobs and the local economy, it is

important that game is not spirited away by poachers. Equally important, is that it is

taken cleanly and humanely by professionals, whether stalkers, gamekeepers or

anglers.

'Rabbity Sam', otherwise known as John Mackenzie, a poacher from Sutherland, picture by William

Smith of Tain, Am Baille. 16 Proverb from ‘A collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar Phrases, Based on Mackintosh’s Collection’ By Alexander Nicolson, Published By Forgotten Books 2013 (Originally published 1882) 17 Single-‐handed poaching is excluded from the severe penalties imposed by the Deer (Scotland) Act of 1959 http://www.thedeerinitiative.co.uk 18 An example of a Poaching ‘Otter’ used to poach salmon is in the HFM collection. 19 Local people today are legally entitled to shoot ground game, rabbits, hares and ‘marauding’ stags on their own land or on the common grazing.

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2.3.2 The Pearl Fisher

With 61 breeding pearl mussel rivers, Scotland is home to more than half of the worlds

pearl mussels. ‘Harvesting’ of freshwater pearl mussels has taken place since pre-‐

Roman times. The earliest reference in Britain is by Julius Caesar's biographer,

Suetonius, who stated that Caeser's admiration of pearls was a reason for the first

Roman invasion in 55BC. In Scotland, the earliest reference dates back to the 12th

Century when Alexander I, King of Scots was said to have the best pearl collection of

any man living. The medieval poem 'The Parl' which dates from the late 14th Century is

another early reference to freshwater pearl mussels in Scotland.

Stuarts Pearl Fishing the Ythan in the 1930’s. Image From ‘The Summer Walkers’.

Scotland continues to support some of the largest remaining populations of freshwater

pearl mussels, with several rivers supporting populations of more than one million

individuals, but since 1970 mussels have been disappearing from Scottish rivers at the

rate of two rivers a year. Today, the freshwater pearl mussel is a globally threatened

species that is listed as 'endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of

Nature. Pearl fishing was largely a Traveller occupation in the Highlands20 but was

20 ‘A Traveller's Tale’ oral history interview discussing pearl fishing and whelk gathering -‐http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_photograph.jsp?item_id=142547

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made illegal in 1998. Some illegal pearl fishing continues but as an active skill and an

element of folk culture, it is now lost. The HFM holds a pearl fishing bucket and a pearl

mussel shell in its collection21.

2.3.3 ‘The Pony Man’

Ponies have been used for carrying deer carcasses down from the hill at least since

Victorian times. Highland ponies (Garrons -‐ the larger, heavier type of the breed) are

excellent weight carriers and their kind temperament makes them suitable for training

to carry another animal. They are not very tall, ranging from 13hh -‐ 14.2hh, making

them an ideal height for lifting a heavy stag onto. They are extremely sure footed and

their natural instinct teaches them how to navigate their way around and across the

many bogs and rocky ground.

Fred Taylor (now retired) carries a stag away from the shoot with Cassie, one of many hill ponies he

trained for stalking. Picture from The Scotsman

Before the turn of the last century Garrons were a fixture on most sporting estates,

when many landowners had at least 20 working ponies and nearly as many gillies and

‘A Traveller pearl fishing is nearly caught by a Kelpie’ Folk Story http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/42882/4;jsessionid=A0507DC024502F8EAC4191F7A199CA7B 21 You can see a Brittish Pathe film (1961) about the last Pearl Fisher Bill Abernethy here -‐ http://www.britishpathe.com/video/pearl-‐fishing/query/wildcard

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pony men. Numbers have seriously declined since, and by the 1970’s they were

deemed to be part of the past and were largely replaced by Agrocats. Some estates,

though, kept garrons for use in the most inaccessible corners of their land, and others

have come to see the value of these hardy animals and are now adopting them for the

first time. The trend on some estates to replace the ponies on all but the most difficult

ground with quad bikes is also reversing, as sporting clients prefer to see the old

traditional method. Highland ponies are less noisy than Argocats, are able to carry a 20

stone stag from the hill and are part of a living heritage. It is still possible to stalk a stag

and take it home by pony on The Queen’s Balmoral Estate, Atholl, Garrogie, Invermark,

Kinlochuichart, Tulchan of Glenisla and Reay Forest. Rhidorroch, Assynt, Dundonnel,

Gruinard, Eilean Darroch and Glen Affric have also been known to hire freelance ‘pony

men’ and Garrons, but do not have their own.

Today, these estates maintain the tradition of working Highland ponies on the hill and

use Garrons not only to carry deer but also when grouse-‐shooting; they carry the gun

equipment and cartridges on to the hill, and bring back the game in their wicker

panniers. Being able to load deer safely on to the ponies is an acquired skill and it is

very important that the weight of the deer -‐ whether stag or a hind -‐ is distributed

evenly over the pony's back, so that it doesn't cause any pressure points and that the

antlers are pointed safely away from the pony. Some of the deer saddles used at the

Athol Estate are more than a hundred years old; this appears to be not uncommon.22

The pony man has a specific role, and remains in radio contact with the stalking party

ahead, following at a discreet distance until he is required to bring the ponies forward

and collect the carcasses. There appears to be some concern regarding where the next

generation of ‘pony men’ will come from and how they will learn the skill due to a lack

of specialized training and the seasonal nature of the job.

2.3.4 The Falconer

Falconry is the hunting of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a

trained bird of prey. Evidence suggests that the art of falconry may have begun in

Mesopotamia, with the earliest accounts dating to approximately 2000 BC. Falconry

22 From an article in ‘The Field’ http://www.thefield.co.uk/features/529836/Highland_ponies_on_the_hill.

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was probably introduced to Europe around AD 400, when the Huns and Alans invaded

from the East. Historically, falconry was a popular sport and status symbol among the

nobles of medieval Europe, the Middle East, and Mongolian Empire. Falconry was

largely restricted to the noble classes due to the prerequisite commitment of time,

money, and space, and remained a status symbol long after it was popularly practiced.

In the UK and parts of Europe, falconry probably reached its zenith in the 17th century,

but soon faded in the late 18th and 19th centuries, as firearms became the tool of

choice for hunting. Falconry in the UK enjoyed a resurgence in the late 19th and early

20th century during which time a number of falconry books were published.

Chart by Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1920) illustrating falconers terminology.

Falconry is currently practiced in many countries around the world. In North America

and the UK, falcons usually fly only after birds. Large falcons are typically trained to fly

in the "waiting-‐on" style, where the falcon climbs and circles above the falconer and/or

dog and the quarry is flushed when the falcon is in the desired commanding position.

Classical game hawking in the UK saw a brace of peregrine falcons flown against the

red grouse, or merlins in "ringing" flights after skylarks. Rooks and crows are classic

game for the larger falcons, and the magpie is another common target. Short-‐wings

can be flown in both open and wooded country against a variety of bird and small

mammal prey. Most hunting with large falcons requires large open tracts where the

falcon is afforded the opportunity to strike or seize its quarry before it reaches cover.

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Most of Europe practices similar styles of falconry, but with differing degrees of

regulation. Medieval falconers often rode horses whilst hunting but this is now rare

with the exception of contemporary Kazakh and Mongolian falconry.

After a centuries-‐old existence in Britain, the sport of falconry was given formal legal

status in Great Britain by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which allowed it to

continue provided all captive raptors native to the UK were officially ringed and

government-‐registered. British falconers are entirely reliant upon captive-‐bred birds for

their sport. The taking of raptors from the wild for falconry, although permitted by law

under government license, has not been allowed in recent decades. Anyone is

permitted to possess legally registered or captive-‐bred raptors, although falconers are

anxious to point out that this is not synonymous with falconry, which specifically entails

the hunting of live quarry with a trained bird. Throughout the 20th century, modern

veterinary practices and the advent of radio telemetry (transmitters attached to free-‐

flying birds) increased the average lifespan of falconry birds and allowed falconers to

pursue quarry and styles of flight that had previously resulted in the loss of their hawk

or falcon.

Scotland has several bird of prey centres and falconry schools. They offer various

experiences such as demonstrations, corporate team building events and services such

as instruction and pest control. In the Highlands Andy Hughes is the resident falconer

at Dunrobin Castle and Corrour Estate uses David and Lilah Ford of West Highland

Hawking for guest activities.

3. THE CRAFTS

3.1 BASKET MAKING

CONTEXT

Basketry or basket weaving is one of the oldest traditional crafts in Scotland, but the

evidence of basketry heritage within the Highlands is actually comparatively sparse to

that of the rest of Scotland. This probably reflects a mixture of historical events, such

as the impact of the Highland clearances, the relative inaccessibility of the region and

22

migration. There is also much less material evidence of basketry in museum collections

and photo-‐archives from western Scotland and the Highlands than of eastern basketry,

with particularly rich material being available for the east coast fishing industry

between Edinburgh and Arbroath. Remarkably, there is surprisingly little

documentation of basketry from Caithness and Sutherland (as opposed to either

Orkney or Shetland, which have extensive collections and documentation of the role of

basketry in their recent past) despite this regions heavy involvement in the herring

industry.

‘Blind Benjie’ Finlayson is playing fiddle, sitting with his father who baits lines, feeding them into a deep Cromarty-‐style line scull. A half-‐finished scull lies on the ground between them, while a bundle of the materials for making it, probably willows or sauchies, lies behind near the wall. Image from

Am Baille

Historically, baskets were used at every stage of the fishing process from collecting bait,

storing fishing gear and catching fish, to landing the catch and selling the end product.

Obviously, being porous was a distinct advantage when carrying fish, especially on the

boats. A whole variety of baskets were needed for the fishing industry. These ranged

from highly adaptable and regionally variable sculls, murlins and rips to very precise

23

and prescriptive herring quarter crans (used for carrying and measuring fish). There

were also creels, which fishwives used to carry on their backs when selling fish, often

with rips balanced on top to display their wares. There were also baskets for locally

specific jobs associated with fishing, such as bait baskets and lobster creels, as well as

regionally specific forms such as Orkney and Shetland kishies, cassies and budies made

from dockens, rattan, heather or straw.

Heather cassie, Orkney. National Museum of Scotland, Baxter-‐Rintoul Collection

There is a tradition of piece working within the fishing community: women and retired

fishermen would take in nets for repair and make rope fenders for local

boats. Fishermen made their own lobster creels and often had rights to collect willow

or ash for the purpose. Some of the baskets in the Scottish Fisheries Museum

collection display features that suggest a familiarity with the techniques of

boatbuilding. A number of the sculls incorporate steamed wood in the rim; the

creation of which would require access to boatbuilding machinery. Most fishing towns

had at least one boatyard either building or repairing wooden vessels, and each would

have a steam box for shaping planks. It is unknown how widespread this method of

shaping wood was in basket making out with the fishing community, and is an

interesting example of craft knowledge and techniques diffusing into other fields of

practice.

24

Basket by Jane Nielsen

CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE

From the 1940s, fish began to be packed in boxes so the official quarter cran basket

was no longer required: the shape persisted, however, and even today the plastic

baskets used on prawn boats are a similar size and shape. By the 1960s plastic had

almost completely taken over the role of basketry in commercial fishing. Although

some woven eel and fish traps are still used today in Scotland, most baskets will rarely,

if ever, be used for their originally designed purpose if fishing related.

The skills needed to make baskets were developed in response to the necessities of

everyday, rural life in Scotland but over time basketry has grown to become a more

creative craft practice. Today, traditional Scottish basketry skills are used to produce

decorative, sculptural pieces as well as functional items. In addition to using locally

grown materials such as willow, heather and rushes, contemporary makers also

experiment with new materials such as recycled newspaper and plastics. There are

several basketmakers practicing either full time or as a hobbyists in the Scottish

Highlands. These makers range from the traditional, such as Tim Palmer to the

expressive, such as Caroline Dear. Basketry is also used today in some game rearing for

housing and as panniers for stalking ponies.

25

Hand made ropes by Caroline Dear

3.2 BOAT BUILDING

“I am often amazed by these pieces of wood fixed together by pieces of iron. You think

you’re creating something that has a life of its own. It’s like a living thing. You speak

about a boat as if about part of Creation. It’s a wonderful piece of mans handiwork.”

John Murdo MacLeod

CONTEXT

Scotland has over 6,000 miles of coastline and nearly 800 offshore islands, so it’s not

surprising that it also has a rich tradition of boat building. Boats were essential for

transport, trade and fishing and have played a central part in Scottish life since the

Norsemen came to Scotland between the ninth and eleventh centuries.

Unlike the fiberglass boats that are ubiquitous today, the design and manufacture of

the wooden boats of the Highlands took place at the heart of the community. The boat

builder would often be part of the whole process, from choosing and felling the tree in

the forest to delivering the finished boat to the customer. Boats were often built purely

by eye, without plans, and you had to trust the design of the boat to the expertise of

the builder – the only specification that was given would be the length. There was also

much repair work to do, and the tools and technology the builders had to hand was

often very basic. Boat building was by no means a monopoly – if you were a crofter

26

and needed a boat, but couldn’t afford one, you would learn to build it yourself. The

boat yard would be a hub of activity, and the boat builder was often also a coffin

maker, undertaker, coal merchant, furniture maker, joiner, fisherman and fish curer.

Clinker build boat from ‘Am bata’ in Plockton

Until the nineteenth century the bulk of Scottish fishing was still done close to shore

and most Scottish fishermen used small boats that were light enough to be dragged up

beaches and could be easily rowed. After a violent storm sank 124 boats and killed 100

fishermen in 1848, a government investigation recommended larger decked boats.

These allowed fishing further out to sea, they could weather stormier conditions and

could hold more fish. From the 1850’s onwards, this style of boat was the norm in the

Scottish fishing fleet. By the late nineteenth century fishing had become the main

occupation for many Scottish men who would previously have combined fishing with

crofting and other jobs. Harbours were built around the coast and consequently boats

were built on a larger scale, as they no longer needed to be beached.

The influence of the Norsemen can still be seen in traditional Scottish vessels such as

the Orkney Yole23, Shetland Yoal and Ness Sgoth. These were built in the same way as

23 A new Orkney Yole named ‘Lily’ was finished in 2008, built by Orkney’s last full-‐time boat builder and

27

Norse boats, with clinker or overlapping planking and could be rigged for sail or used as

rowing boats. The Orkney Yole was still used extensively by islanders until the 1960s,

for picking up coal, peat, animals and groceries from the mainland, although by the

1930s most boats had converted to motor. Until the 1860s, Shetland Yoals were

originally exported to Shetland from Norway as flat pack kits and Norwegian boat

builders travelled to Shetland to build them. From around the 1860s native Shetland

boat builders took over the construction. The Yoal was superseded in the mid

eighteenth century by the Sixareen, which is larger and could venture further from

shore. Many traditional Yoals still exist in Shetland and the advent of Yoal rowing

regattas has lead to many new Yoals being built.


The An Sulaire Trust was formed in 1993 to build and maintain a full size Sgoth Niseach

(Ness Boat). The design of the Ness Sgoth is closely related in shape to the Orkney Yole

and the Shetland Yoal, both clinker built boats. These boats were used in the

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by the fishermen of northeast Lewis, today

none survive from the fleets that were once counted in the hundreds. ‘An Sulaire’ was

bult by John Murdo Macleod, Master Boatbuilder, whose grandfather's boatyard was

the last to build commercially, and his assistant Angus Smith. She was launched in

December 1994 at Cuddy Point, Stornoway. 24 John MacLeod was a traditional boat

builder, as was his father and his father’s father, but he had never built the big

‘Lewisian Sgoth’, a massive 27ft, open sailing boat. Such a boat hadn’t been built for

two or three generations and there were no plans written down explaining how to go

about it. However, the knowledge had been passed down through generations of the

MacLeod boat builders and John wanted to see if he could revive the tradition. The An

Sulaire Trust was set up in 1993 as caretakers of the Sgoth and is based in

Andnamurachan. – They have since built a second boat -‐ ‘Cuach’ (cuckoo). Both are

sailing boats and tour regularly throughout summer. funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. 24 "An Sgoth" (Eolas for BBC Scotland) A year following traditional boatbuilder, John MacLeod, making the last Lewisian “Sgoth” from choosing the trees to the launch some 14 months later. Winner ‘Best Documentary’ at the 1996 Celtic Film & TV Festival. Camera/Director: Sam Maynard http://vimeo.com/34964223

28

John Murdo MacLeod, building ‘An Sulaire’ in 1994. This was the first Sgoth Mhor, (Big Boat) to be made

since his Grandfather last built

Traditional boat building skills are still practiced in yards around Scotland to produce

working vessels and pleasure boats. Am Bàta is a traditional boat building project set

up in Plockton in 2007. The project teaches traditional boat building skills to young

people at Plockton High School and to members of the community in evening

classes. At Am Bàta Mark Stockl teaches boatbuilding and repair of local small

craft. Mark is a graduate of the International Boatbuilding Training Centre at Lowestoft

and runs Mark Stockl Boatbuilders in Ullapool. Christopher Matheson is now

apprenticing with Mark in Plockton and Ullapool. In Grimsay, the Stewart style of

boatbuilding is carried on by the Boatshed's Craftsman/Manager, Ronald John MacLean

who trained with the last Stewart boatbuilder, Uilleam Thearlaich. Calum MacDonald

29

from Hougharry, North Uist is now apprenticing with Ronald John at the Grimsay

Boatshed. Traditional boatbuilding techniques can also be seen in contemporary

furniture that is steam bent – the work of Angus Ross is a good example.

‘Canoe Bench’ by Angus Ross

‘Canoe Bench’ (Detail), Angus Ross

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3.3 BOOKBINDING

CONTEXT

Leather has long been associated with book making. Western books from the fifth

century onwards were bound between hard covers, with pages made from parchment

folded and sewn on to strong cords or ligaments that were attached to wooden boards

and covered with leather. Luxury medieval books had leather covers decorated, often

completely, with tooling, blind stamps, and small metal pieces of furniture. Medieval

stamps showed animals and figures as well as the vegetal and geometric designs that

would later dominate book cover decoration.

The National Library of Scotland has an exceptional collection of decorative leather

book bindings produced in Scotland including the historic work of Edinburgh binders

James and William Scott, together with Arts and Crafts examples and new designs by

contemporary makers.

Laura West Bookbinding


There are a number of bookbinders working in Scotland today who continue to

produce new designs using a variety of binding styles and techniques.

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Laura West was the only Highland based bookbinder I could locate -‐ working from Skye

she is a traditionally trained bookbinder specialising in Coptic binding. She has

previously made leather stirrup cups, fishing maps, record books and ledgers for

Millden Estate (Angus). She works with a variety of leathers and has made several

tweed covered albums & ledgers over the years. We discussed the possibility of making

a photographic book for/about the exhibition. Possible covers could include salmon

skin, hide or tweed. Laura has taught classes at Logie Estate and would be interested in

teaching a leather binding master class.

In Shetland Jaquie Mansfield specialises in Medieval Bound books, which use no glue

but are very robust. They are made entirely in Shetland, employing traditional

bookbinding methods -‐ folding, cutting, gluing & pressing. Using -‐ acid free papers, silk

headbands and linen threads, where needed. She uses leather, suede & fish skin,

including Salmon, Perch, Wolf Fish & Stingray.

3.4 COOPERING

Cooper’s adze in the Timespan collection

CONTEXT

The craft of barrel making, or cooperage, was an essential part of the fishing industry

and many coopers were required to produce enough barrels to supply the herring

trade. Cooperage was therefore one of the biggest industries in the fishing towns. It

was highly skilled work with the coopers having to serve a long apprenticeship. At the

end of this time they were required to make apprentice pieces to prove their abilities

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(see image below). A skilled cooper could make 70 barrels in a week. Coopers making

barrels for the fishing industry were called dry-‐tight coopers and their barrels were the

highest quality among dry barrels.

This photograph of herring barrel coopers is thought to originate from Wick. There were six hundred

coopers in Wick in 1875. Am Baille Collection.

Barrels were generally made of wood imported from Scandinavia, usually spruce,

although in earlier times local larch and birch wood was used. The wood had to be dry

and heavy. The staves of the barrel had to be cut and planed to exactly half an inch

thick. If the joints were not straight they would not fit closely together and the barrel

might leak. The staves were held together by wooden hoops and were moistened

inside with water and heated until the cooper judged them the right temperature to

bend into shape. An adze was then used to cut the rim or 'chime' of the barrel. Once

33

the rim had been cut, a special tool called a croze was used to make the groove in the

lid. The 'head' or lid was then fitted on using a chive and flencher.

Strict regulations covered the making of barrels and their use in the fishing industry. In

1815 it was ruled that barrels staves had to be exactly half an inch thick, and the exact

number of hoops to be used. If the barrels did not meet the requirement, pickle could

leak out or air could get in, which would contaminate the fish and spoil the cure. To

stop the use of undersized barrels, a standard capacity of 32 gallons for a barrel was

introduced. A full barrel held a cran of herring (a volume measure of around 1000 fish).

The cooper worked closely with the curer to ensure his barrels met with these

regulations and were watertight.

Left -‐ Cooper apprentice pieces in the Timespan collection and Right -‐ Orcadian Bridal cog and cup


At the beginning of the 20th century the task of barrel making began to be

mechanised. By 1907, there were only 7 factories in operation in Scotland. Timber

shortages and the emergence of modern metal casks have seen the number of master

coopers seriously dwindle (only 1 remains in England). There are no professional

coopers left in Scotland today making herring barrels but the craft persists within the

whisky trade. Speyside Cooperage is a working cooperage mainly dealing with

rebuilding and repairing oak casks for wines and spirits, Loch Lomond distillery has

34

another active cooperage again dealing mostly with repair and refit for the whisky

trade. Recently Cambus Cooperage in Alloa was opened by Diagio and has 40 coopers

working there.

The routes of cooperage skills can also be seen today in the making of the Orkney

Bride’s Cog and might be worthy of further study. There are a handful of craftsmen in

Orkney who make the Bride’s cog, which is still used today as a drinking vessel at the

wedding dance.

3.5 CURRACHS

CONTEXT

Currachs, or Coracles are small, keel-‐less boats, traditionally made as a basketwork

frame, covered with an animal hide historically used in Ireland (particularly on the

River Boyne), Wales and Scotland. The word "coracle" comes from the Welsh cwrwgl,

cognate with the Irish "currach". There is evidence in cave paintings of them being in

use from the early Bronze Age, and perhaps as far back as the Ice Age.


In southwest Wales, net fishing from coracles is still practiced by some but is

increasingly under threat and is now restricted to three rivers in west Wales. However,

coracles are still to be found on the River Severn and large, sea-‐going versions

(currachs) are still in use on the west coast of Ireland.

Modern coracles tend to be built with sawn or hand-‐clefted laths and covered with

canvas or calico, or synthetic fabric and waterproofed with pitch or bitumen paint.

They can still be seen as regular working boats for transportation or fishing in many

countries including Vietnam, Tibet, India, Iraq and China. Currachs are no longer in use

in Highland Scotland but there are still those who make them for workshops and

display purposes, such as Jane Wilkinson in Fife.

35

Two men making coracles, River Boyne, Oldbridge, Ireland, June 1913

3.6 DECOY MAKING

CONTEXT

Hunting decoys are life–size models, most usually of birds (primarily ducks, geese, and

crows). The hunter places a number about the hunting area in order to encourage

flocking wild birds to land nearby. Originally these were carved from wood but most

decoys used for shooting today are made of plastic.

36

Duck carving by Patrick R. Godin


The craft of decoy carving arose in North America as a result of curbs placed on the use

of decoys for shooting in the early 1900’s and the later use of mass-‐produced plastic

models. Decoy makers, having lost their main livelihood, turned instead to the

manufacture of decoys as a decorative craft. Carving and pyrography techniques are

used to create a finished decoy that bears a strikingly close resemblance to the natural

bird. Vintage decoys from the early 20th century can fetch many thousands of pounds

in sale at auction. There are several decorative decoy carvers based in England today

but I could not find one based in Scotland. There are however, other contemporary

woodworkers who use birds as a theme such as Mick & Liz O’Donnell in Caithness.

3.7 ENGRAVING

CONTEXT

Before the development of corrosion resistant surface treatments for steel, gun

surfaces were engraved to retain more oil to prevent rust. In gun engraving, hand-‐

gravers or die-‐sinker's chisels are used to cut designs or pictures into the metal

surfaces of the gun, primarily the receiver. Precious metals such as gold and silver may

37

also be inlaid and engraved to further the design. Designs traditionally consist of

elaborate scroll-‐work based upon Acanthus leaves or vines, or may be of purely

abstract spirals. Images of game animals, birds, and hunting dogs are also common.

Excellent engraving may add significantly to the value of quality firearms. Other forms

of engraving, such as glass can be found on sporting trophies.

Gun Engraving by Katia Filipovik


In modern usage, guns are engraved purely for aesthetic reasons. Malcolm Appleby is

one of the most creative and skilled gun engravers practicing today. Gun engraving and

design have always formed a significant part of the Appleby oeuvre. Malcolm

discovered engraving at John Wilkes Gun & Rifle Makers in Soho. John Wilkes, who

died in 2010, encouraged him and he studied part-‐time as an engraving apprentice at

art school in the 1960ʹ′s. After his move to Scotland, Appleby continued to work with

Wilkes and other gunmakers, and in 1981 he began his ‘totem’ guns representing a bird

or beast. The guns of this style include the Woodcock, the Crocodile, the Pike, the

Dragon, and the Phoenix. In 1986, The Royal Armouries commissioned Appleby to

design and engrave the first modern masterpiece for their collection in the Tower of

London -‐ the Raven Gun.

38

Drawings for The Raven Gun (1986) The Royal Armouries collection in the Tower of London

Pheonix Gun by Malcolm Appleby

3.8 FLOAT MAKING

CONTEXT

It is impossible to say with any degree of accuracy who first used a float for indicating

that a fish had taken the bait, but the first known mention of using a float appears in

the book "Treatyse of fysshynge wyth an Angle" written by Juliana Berners in 1496.

Prior to about 1800, anglers made their own floats in natural and indigenous materials,

a practice that many still carry on today.

39


Today, floats come in different sizes and shapes, and can be made from various

materials, such as balsa wood, cork, plastic, reed or bird/porcupine quills. The float is

used to enable the angler to cast out a bait away from the shore or boat while

maintaining a reference point. An angler will select an appropriate float after taking

into account the strength of the current, the wind speed, the size of the bait, the depth

the angler wishes to present that bait at and the distance the bait is to be cast. Usually,

the line between the float and hook will have small weights attached, ensuring that the

float sits vertically in the water with only a small brightly coloured tip remaining visible.

The rest of the float is usually finished in a neutral colour to render it as inconspicuous

as possible to the fish. Each float style is designed to be used in certain types of

conditions such as slow or fast rivers, choppy or still water or small confined waters

such as canals. There are several fishermen who dabble in hand-‐made floats, but

Andrew Field who is based in Cambridgeshire creates the most beautiful examples I

could find.

Bobs inlaid with kingfisher feathers & Goose Quill Floats by Andrew Field

3.9 FLY TYING

CONTEXT

In medieval times fishing equipment was described as consisting of relatively simple

tied flies, long rods of ash, willow or hazel, and lines braided with horsehair. This

40

changed quickly when new machines of the industrial revolution produced a variety of

tapered manufactured lines. These could be cast with greater accuracy than those

made of hand woven horsehair. By the end of the 18th century, many fishermen were

buying their flies from tackle dealers, rather than tying their own.

The connection between salmon flies and the Victorian sense of style is plainly visible.

A growing interest in fashion and millenary made the importation of exotic feathers

and furs a profitable business. In the space of fifty years the salmon fly had been

transformed from a workmanlike object into a jewel and by the 1890’s, a vast selection

of patterns were available and the well-‐equipped salmon fisherman’s fly box was a

world of colour. The selection of materials in use was vast: tying silks, floss silks, seal’s

fur, pig’s wool and mohair, chenilles of various kinds, and feathers of cuckoo, golden

pheasant, blue and yellow macaw, scarlet macaw, toucan, Indian crow, jungle cock,

green parrot, bustard, guinea fowl, mallard, teal, pintail, widgeon, jay, ibis, turkey,

swan, peacock and ostrich. Patterns such as Thunder and Lightning, Silver Doctor, Black

Doctor, Silver Wilkinson and other fully dressed flies derive from this period and are

still used today.

Plate VII Fly Tying From ‘Rod Fishing With Flys’

41

The fly-‐tier Megan Boyd was born on January 29, 1915. Boyd lived in Brora, and was

hailed by many as the finest tier of fishing flies in the world.25 She began tying flies at

the age of 12 under the tutelage of a Sutherland keeper, Bob Trussler, and quickly

became adept in the craft. She made her reputation by tying classic and traditional flies

such as the Jock Scott, Silver Doctor, Durham Ranger and Wilkinson -‐ some of the most

complicated patterns that she tied can only be produced by an expert of her caliber.

Yet she never fished herself; she was a dedicated conservationist and a major

supporter of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund and its efforts to buy out all the salmon

nets which obstructed the return of wild salmon to their native rivers to spawn. She

regularly donated wonderful examples of her flies to be auctioned around the world to

help this cause.

Megan Boyd tying flies in her Sutherland cottage, watched by her dog. Picture: Stephen Gibson

With the help of a friend and a client, Jim Pilkington, she devised a fly that became

widely known as the Megan Boyd, and it became her trademark in dealing with

fishermen around the world.

25 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd.

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For over half a century she worked in her garden shed at Kintradwell, overlooking the

North Sea. A kidney-‐shaped dressing table served as her workbench, and on it she tied

flies with meticulous precision. Electricity did not reach her house until 1985, when she

was already 70 and suffering, not surprisingly, from failing eyesight. A few years later

she was forced to retire. In 1971 Boyd was awarded the British Empire Medal and in

the last year of her life the Prince of Wales visited her at her nursing home. ‘Kiss the

Water’ -‐ A film by Eric Steel about Meghan Boyd’s life is released in Scotland in the

New Year.


Synthetics such as rubber legs, plastic wings and transparent plastic cords can be

incorporated into the wings and bodies of today's artificial fly. The synthetics available

to the 21st Century fly tier have allowed them to replicate rare and sometimes illegal

or endangered furs and feathers as well as create modern designs of flies. Where lead

wire was the traditional method of weighting flies, today's weighting materials include

glass, brass and tungsten beads and cones as well as lead materials. Silicone, epoxy,

kevlar thread and other modern materials are being incorporated in artificial fly

patterns regularly.

There are several fly tiers based in the Highlands. Many anglers tie their own flies

(especially as an activity for the winter months) and there is also a vast range of mass

produced flies available to buy. The heritage of fly tying remains perceptible due to the

continued use of long successful vintage patterns.

3.10 GLASS TARGETS BALLS

CONTEXT

Live bird shooting preceded the clay pigeon, where tens of thousands of live birds,

particularly pigeons were flung from traps and shot. But from around 1876 to 1885,

glass balls became the target of choice due to a decline in the availability of live birds

and changing social attitudes. The balls were used in the USA particularly in exhibition,

43

circus and Wild West show shooting and were sometimes filled with feathers or

ribbons.


In their heyday, target balls sold for a little over a penny each; these balls are no longer

made and today are sought after collectables -‐ one ball has sold for as much as

$28,500, although more common balls (generally in amber or blue) can be acquired for

as little as $100. Glass target balls have been replaced by today’s mass-‐produced clay

pigeons, which are made of a mixture of limestone and pitch.

3.11 GUNSMITHING

CONTEXT

To pursue the entirety of this trade, a gunsmith must possess skills as a parts fabricator,

a metalworker and/or blacksmith, a woodworker, and/or an artisan; be knowledgeable

in shop mathematics, ballistics, chemistry, and materials engineering; be

knowledgeable in the use and application of a variety of hand, power, and machinists

tools and measuring devices; and be capable of working accurately and precisely.

Due to the great breadth of subject matter to be mastered, many gunsmiths specialise

in only a few of the skills required of the general gunsmith. Alternatively, some

gunsmiths learn many of the skills of the trade, but only apply them to a few weapon

types (e.g. only pistols, only shotguns, only specific brands or models).

44

Ross Haygarth in his machine shop


The general decline in gun ownership and tightened UK gun legislation has meant that

the number of gunsmiths has fallen drastically since its heyday in the 1800’s. There are

a handful of gun dealers and repairers in the Highlands but Haygarth and Sons based in

Dunnet, Caithness is now the largest and best-‐equipped gun repair facility in Scotland

and is Scotland’s oldest Riflemaker & practicing Gunmakers.

C.H. Haygarth & Son was established in 1957 by Colin Haygarth. Their core business is

rifle production and they also offer gun repair & restoration services. Haygarth do all of

their milling, turning & boring in-‐house. They have built Boxlock, Sidelock and

Hammer-‐action shotguns and still build stalking rifles that are hand built entirely on

the premises with the exception of the engraving. Haygarth & Sons are the only

Gunmakers & cartridge loaders to hold a Royal Warrant from The Queen Mother.

I discussed the possibility of displaying a Haygarth Shotgun with ‘Hunting for Lost

Crafts’ but due to liscensing restrictions this might not be possible. Another option of

displaying components and part-‐built guns as a manner of exposing the layers of

processes in gunsmithing seems to be a more viable option.

45

A Haygarth gun showing checkering on the wood

Haygarth part finished shotgun stock and rifle body in Turkish walnut

3.12 KNIFE MAKING

CONTEXT

As a weapon, the knife is universally adopted as an essential tool. Primitive knives have

been made in bronze, copper, brass, iron, obsidian, flint and bloodstone. Many

cultures have their unique version of the knife. The sgian-‐dubh may have evolved from

the sgian-‐achlais, a dagger that could be concealed under the armpit. Used by the

Scots of the 17th and 18th centuries, this knife was slightly larger than the average

46

modern sgian-‐dubh and was carried in the upper sleeve or lining of the body of the

jacket. The earliest known blades, some of which are housed in the National Museum

of Scotland in Edinburgh, are made from German or Scandinavian steel, which was

highly prized in the Highlands at the time.


Knives have evolved in construction as technology has and blades can now be made in

steel, ceramics, and titanium. Most modern-‐day knives follow either a fixed-‐blade or a

folding construction style, with blade patterns and styles as varied as their makers and

countries of origin. Modern Knife making involves processes of forging, welding and/or

casting. Typical metals used come from the carbon steel, tool, or stainless steel

families. Hunting knives are traditionally designed for cutting rather than stabbing, and

usually have a single sharpened edge. The blade is slightly curved on most models, and

some hunting knives may have a blade that has both a curved portion for skinning, and

a straight portion for cutting slices of meat. Some blades incorporate a guthook. Most

hunting knives designed as skinning knives have a rounded point so as not to damage

the skin as it is being removed.

Myrtle Handled Hunting Knife by Jake Clelland

In the Highlands today Jake Clelland has built his own gas forge where he hand-‐forges

his blades. He specialises in differential clay tempering to produce the combination of

toughness and flexibility made visible in the distinctive hamon. His primary focus is on

traditional Scottish knives -‐ the Highland Dirk and the Sgian Dubh; unlike many

commercial sgians, these are true knives, practical as well as part of traditional

Highland dress. Jake is largely self-‐taught but his father also makes knives. He uses local

bone, horn, wood and antler for his handles. Jake is based on Skye where Rob Miller, a

47

bladesmith who specialises in swords also works. Like many traditional handcrafts

there are only a few remaining knifemakers who have sole-‐authorship of their work.

Most of the UK knifemakers are still based in Sheffield, continuing the legacy of

Sheffield Steel.

3.13 ROD MAKING

CONTEXT

Prior to the widespread availability of synthetic materials, such as fibreglass and

graphite composites, fishing rods were typically made from long rods of ash, willow or

hazel, split bamboo or cane, as it was necessary that they be made light, tough, and

pliable. Rods were generally made in three pieces called a butt, midsection, and tip.

Handles and grips were generally of cork, wood, or wrapped cane. Many different

types of glue held these sections together most commonly bone glue until cement glue

was introduced because of its waterproof qualities. Guides were not added to fishing

rods until around the 17th century. Guides were made of simple wire loops or, later,

loops with ring-‐shaped agate inserts for better wear. Even today, split-‐bamboo rods are

still popular in fly-‐fishing.

A maker of split-‐cane rods, Alexander Grant (1856 -‐ 1942) was a native of Battangorm,

Carrbridge, which gave rise to his familiar name -‐ 'Battan'. As a boy he was exposed to

what were to become his two great passions -‐ fiddling and fishing. He went on to excel

in both areas; as an angler by inventing his own unique fishing rod known as the 'Grant

Vibration Rod', and as a fiddler by leading the Highland Strathspey and Reel Society for

almost forty years and by becoming an expert in fiddle making techniques. He also

invented a unique disc-‐shaped violin known as a 'Rondello'.26


Modern design and fabrication techniques, along with advanced materials such as

graphite, boron and fiberglass composites have allowed rod makers to tailor both the

26 An example of Grant's fishing rod, fiddle and Rondello is in the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery (IMAG) collection

48

shape and action of fishing rods for greater casting distance, accuracy, and fish-‐fighting

qualities. Today, fishing rods are identified by their weight (meaning the weight of line

or lure required to flex a fully loaded rod) and action (describing the speed with which

the rod returns to its neutral position). Despite their weight, people still use bamboo or

cane rods because they enjoy their feel. I couldn’t find a traditional rod builder based

in the Highlands today, but there are a handful in England and southern Scotland.

3.14 SADDLERY & LEATHER WORK

CONTEXT

Due to its excellent resistance to abrasion and wind, leather has been used in footwear,

clothing and accessories for thousands of years. It can be dyed, painted, carved,

stamped and molded.


In relation to HSF, leather is still used today in bridles, bags, falconry furniture,

cartridge bags and belts, cup cases, flask holders and deer saddles. Sandy Macarthur is

the only maker of deer saddles I could find still making in the Highlands today. Many

estates continue to use very old deer saddles that date back to the Victorian era. Today

there is a low demand for this type of saddle -‐ Sandy makes only one or two a year,

however he has a steady trade repairing old ones; some over a century old and still

functional. Each design has been developed to the preferred specifications of those

using them on different estates. This is why today there are so many different looking

saddles for this use. Traditionally, there are three types of deer saddle: the first style

being much like a conventional riding saddle in shape, with added straps for fastening

the stag on with. This is called a combination saddle. The second and third are the Glen

Strathfarrar and the Glen Quoich, which differ their strap arrangements and their sizes.

These saddles have two or three girths, a breastplate, breeching and a surcingle, all to

help with holding the saddle into position on the pony. In addition, there are several

straps for securing the stag in position on top of the saddle.

Sandy makes every part of the harness himself. Here tradition is maintained, and

wheat straw and wool flocking are components of the pad, with the straw next to the

49

animal’s skin to keep it dry. The padding is covered with a thick wool cloth, traditionally

checked. The whole harness is hand-‐stitched, the only concession to modernity being

the braided nylon used in the stitching. Custom dictates that blue canvas be used for

the three girths (brown for game bags), something that is strictly adhered to.

Falconry equipment such as hoods and gloves are found readily on-‐line but most are

mass-‐produced in Asia now. Some falconers make their own furniture, but I couldn’t

find anyone in the Highlands producing handmade falconry goods for sale. In

Gloucester, Ben Long has been crafting falconry furniture since 1970 in a time when

almost all falconers had to make their own falconry equipment. Ben Long Falconry

employs a small number of skilled craftsmen and craftswomen.

Falconry Furniture – Hoods by Frans Lenders

There are also a number of sporran and bag makers who work with leather in the

Highlands, their details can be found in the directory.

3.15 STICK MAKING

CONTEXT

Half a century ago shepherds were almost certainly crook makers. We may reasonably

assume that they regularly carried a stick of some sort, to aid their long uphill treks. A

small branch at the end could have been shortened to catch a sheep round the neck,

after which is was a natural step to take a curved rams horn found on the hill, shape it

and attach it to the stick. A strong, multi-‐purpose stick can be used for balance,

50

examining dangerous undergrowth and historically for defense against attack by

predators as well as being useful when walking across difficult or changing terrain.

When not in use, the crook could be hung over the arm, or rested on. The hook also

facilitates the recovery of fallen animals by ensnaring them by neck or leg. For this

reason the crook has been used as a religious symbol of care.


In HSF a stick or crook is still used by some stalkers when on the hill. Sticks are used for

beating but these are often very basic and ad hoc. Anglers use a wading staff as a

safety pole that allows them to find rocks and steep drop-‐offs in murky water and acts

as balance when crossing fast currents. Today Shepherds still make their own sticks,

and it appears to be a hobby for many who enjoy the simplicity of the craft. In

Strontian, Jack Liversedge makes shepherd's crooks, walking sticks, fishing rod stands

and wading poles. Highland Horn in the Black Isle stocks various types of horn, antler,

wood and sundry items for the stickmaker. They also supply material for archery,

gunsmithing and knifemaking.

3.16 TANNING

CONTEXT

For thousands of years leather has played a fundamental part in clothing and

protecting the human body. Animals would have been hunted for their pelts or hides as

well as for their meat. In the 16th century the people of the west coast of the Highlands

were said to be tanning using the roots of tormentil27 -‐ this practice existed primarily

for the making of shoes and lasted until the end of the 18th century.

27 Grant, p201 Highland Folk Ways.

51

Fleshing Board and Fleshing knives in Skyeskins.


The home tanning that would have taken place as part of the general practice of

crofting life is now lost. Today there are less than six tanneries left in Scotland, and only

one small-‐scale industrial tanning business in the Highlands. Skyeskyns is a family

business established in 1983, specialising in the manufacture and supply of sheepskins.

Traditional tannery methods and implements are used by the tanner there: the beam,

paddles, racks and buffing wheel, horse and iron as well as the lengthy hand finishing

processes. They produce roughly 2500 skins a year. They currently have a female

tanner apprentice learning skills on site.

3.17 TAXIDERMY

CONTEXT

The golden age of taxidermy was during the Victorian era, when mounted animals

became a popular part of interior design and decor. The father of modern taxidermy is

considered to be John Hancock, an English ornithologist. An avid collector of birds,

which he would shoot himself, he began modeling them with clay and casting in

52

plaster. Displays of birds were particularly common in middle-‐class Victorian homes -‐

and Queen Victoria was known to have amassed a huge bird collection. At the same

time in North America Carl Akeley was creating the most ambitious dioramas of the

American Museum of Natural History, including the Hall of African Mammals, and was

particularly known for carving anatomically correct forms for the skins that mimicked

the veins and musculature of beasts like elephants and gorillas. Akeley was a member

of the Explorers Club and is noted for killing a leopard with his bare hands on one of his

many expeditions to Africa.

Carl Akeley and the leopard he killed with his bare hands. Image via the American Museum of Natural

History in New York City

Interestingly, an encounter with a gorilla in the 1920s gave Akeley a change of heart

about “collecting” -‐ he declared killing for sport abhorrent and started the

conservation movement, encouraging King Albert of Belgium to open a gorilla refuge

on Mount Mikeno that’s now known as Virunga National Park, located in the Congo,

Africa.


53

Taxidermy had fallen out of favour after the 1940’s along with the post-‐war decrease in

the popularity of hunting. But today there has been a growing interest in taxidermy

and preserved animals have begun to appear in an increasing amount of contemporary

art. Taxidermy has become a potent medium to discuss a variety of issues: the division

line between humans and other animals, questions about conservation and species

loss, and more basically to provoke deeply enigmatic encounters with the natural

world. Most contemporary taxidermists adhere to a no-‐kill policy and use road kill,

animals that died of natural causes, livestock and animals considered ‘vermin’.

In Polly Morgan’s “Rest A little on the lap of Life” from 2009, copyright Polly Morgan.

British artist Polly Morgan, a member of the U.K. Guild of Taxidermists, is known for

her poignant pieces that bring death to the fore. Having studied with Scottish

taxidermist George Jamieson, Morgan began to play with and dismantle taxidermy

traditions, allowing some animals to appear dead rather than imitating life. There are a number of taxidermists based in the Highlands. Most are continuing in the

Victorian trophy tradition and work with stag heads and museum restoration. Kate

Macpherson has developed the Victorian taste for animal hide sporrans and fur head

54

stoles into her three dimensional taxidermy sporrans which is a unique combination of

tanning and taxidermy techniques.

Taxidermy Badger sporran by Kate Macpherson

Kate works mostly with roadkill, and in keeping with current legislation, she must

receive a letter from the person who finds a dead badger, explaining fully the

circumstances of its demise. This also applies to both tawny and barn owls, though not

to road-‐killed pine martens, which requires a license from Scottish Natural Heritage. No

matter the circumstances of a wildcat or otter’s death, it is now illegal to use their pelts

for sporran making.

3.17 TROPHY FISH CARVING

CONTEXT

Fly-‐fishing as a sport or pastime started to become fashionable during the reign of

George IV (1820-‐1830). Angling became a court amusement attracting the interest of

the upper classes, and as fishing gained in popularity so did the desire to preserve a

large or important catch. The earliest forms of preservation consisted of making a

plaster of Paris cast of the dead fish but because the casts were very heavy and

extremely fragile they never became particularly popular. As an alternative to

taxidermy and casts, carved wooden models of fish proved to be a more durable and

attractive way to display trophies.

55

It is thought that John Bucknell Russell of Edinburgh was the first to carve a trophy fish

out of wood. John was already a well-‐known painter and his carvings became popular

with the sport fishermen of Scotland. Three of John's children carved trophy style fish

and as it gained in popularity the craft spread to Scottish artists such as John Tully in

Fochabers and London artists such as the Hardy Brothers. As taxidermy techniques

improved and costs decreased, the demand for wooden carved fish declined.

Roger Brooks in his Studio


Todays 'catch and release' fishing policies mean that trophy style fish carving has

become popular again. Despite this craft being routed in Scotland, I could not find a

fish carver in the Highlands, but Roger Brooks, who grew up in the Highlands and is

now based in Hertfordshire, is excellent28.

28 Wooden Fish Carving article: http://www.fieldsportsmagazine.com/Art-‐and-‐Artists/carving-‐a-‐career-‐in-‐fish.html

56

Roger Brooks painting a carved salmon

3.18 TWEED WEAVING

CONTEXT

Harris Tweed has had a strong association with HSF attire since the mid-‐nineteenth

century. The introduction of tweed making in the Highlands arose from the weaving of

‘tweel’ (the Scots word for twill) in the Borders, a textile with a pattern of diagonal

parallel ribs of a course woollen fabric. This grew to become tweed. Harris Tweed is a

hand woven cloth made by islanders on the Islands of Lewis, Harris, North Uist, South

Uist, Benbecula and Barra in the Outer Hebrides.

Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the cloth produced by Harris weavers was

only used and sold locally. In the Highlands at this time the potato famine was causing

destitution and philanthropic landladies began to develop home industries amongst

their tenants in an attempt to alleviate their poverty. In 1846, Lady Dunmore, widow of

the Earl of Dunmore, chose to have their clan tartan replicated by Harris weavers in

57

tweed. The results were so successful that Lady Dunmore promoted the tweed to

wealthy friends and it quickly became sought after by merchants across the country.

The emergence of the Arts and Crafts movement which saw a growing aesthetic

interest in the handmade crafts was paired with the demand for warm country clothing

by those who indulged in hunting, shooting and fishing as sport, and by the late 1840s

a London market for Harris Tweed was established.

Image from the Harris Tweed Authority Archive

By 1903, tweed was being produced across the Outer Hebrides and carding and

spinning mills were built to meet demand. The Harris Tweed Association Ltd. was

established in 1906 and an application was filed to register the Harris Tweed Orb and

Maltese Cross. The trademark was granted in 1909 and was altered in 1934 to include

yarn spun in mills on the island as well as handspun yarn. There are now over 4,000

58

commonly used patterns and colour combinations in the Harris Tweed Association’s

pattern books.

Image from the Harris Tweed Authority Archive


The authenticity and reputation of Harris Tweed is rigorously protected by the Harris

Tweed Authority, which was created by an Act of Parliament in 1993. Harris Tweed is

defined as “handwoven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished

in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer

Hebrides.” Despite a period of modernisation in the 1990s when weavers were

retrained and new wider, softer, lighter tweed was introduced, just recently the future

of Harris Tweed looked uncertain. The number of weavers had fallen below 100 and

many of those left were ageing. However, Harris Tweed is now enjoying a resurgence

after a period of concerted marketing and through associations with brands such as

Nike and designers including Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. Harris

Tweed is now exported to over fifty countries and used in couture clothing, interiors

and traditional tailoring. In 2012, production was estimated at a million meters, the

biggest production run for 15 years.

59

The craft of tweed weaving is still strongly associated with hunting, shooting

and fishing and continues to be worn today especially when stalking as it is warm and

crucially does not rustle with the body’s movement. Tweed weaving is probably the

best example of an indigenous craft that has adapted with the times without sacrificing

its authenticity. Tweed weavers in the Highlands include ‘Skye Weavers’ in Skye and

‘We Are One Creative’ in Moray.

4. SUMMARY

Many of the crafts represented within this report embody skills and trades

originally acquired and practiced out of necessity -‐ they are products of functional life.

Historically they reflect locally available materials and resources and many are part of

Highland cultural identity. Contemporary practice of these crafts is based on received

traditions, making them vulnerable to a break in the chain of knowledge or if the

pursuit associated with the craft is no longer practiced.

When a hunting activity ceases, often skills become lost or are endangered such

as is the case with guga hunting, falconry or pearl fishing. For pursuits that have ended

the crafts and tools associated with them will often have been lost as well. Many HSF

related objects that were once handcrafted have become mechanised and are now

produced in a global market by international experts such as optics specialists, or are

mass produced in plastics rather than hand made in natural materials such as fishing

floats. For the most part regional crafts are no longer exclusively made in their original

geographic locations 29 and skills have transferred within the mobile society.

Although there is a broad range of techniques, materials and processes used in

relation to the crafts of HSF, there are not that many craftspeople active in the

Highlands working at a high level of skill and with a strong link to HSF. This is most

probably symptomatic of the issues previously mentioned and is reflective of the

practice of heritage crafts in the UK as a whole. Those working in Heritage Crafts have

been aware of a serious potential loss of skills for many years.30 In Scotland, we still

have world-‐class craftspeople and there is still demand for their products, but makers

29 Louise Butler -‐ Glorious Obsession © 2000, the Scottish Arts Council 3 May 2000 30 Mapping Heritage Craft -‐ Towards a Definition of Heritage Craft

60

are currently competing in an international market, against mass produced goods, and

at a time of prolonged recession. The sector is characterised by micro-‐businesses and

sole traders, and devoting time to training or employing assistants or apprentices is

often difficult because of the need to prioritise craftwork to make a living. Many are

approaching retirement without successors. In the 2012 Creative & Cultural Skills

report ‘Mapping Heritage Craft’ this problem was highlighted:

‘The sector is ageing; however, the vast majority of practitioners state that they are not

passing on their skills and knowledge to a next generation. Young people will need

routes and guidance into the sector if it is to be sustainable.’31

Some crafts practices have not changed but have shifted in context such as

taxidermy, which has found a contemporary home in conceptually driven art practice,

decoy carving has become purely decorative rather than functional, and cooperage has

shifted from holding herring to whisky. Due to the fields’ continued association with

elite and high-‐end production, there is still a niche for certain bespoke and highly

skilled craft practices such as gun engraving, bookbinding, boatbuilding and fish-‐

carving. Tweed weaving and basketry remain reasonably well-‐practiced heritage crafts

in the Highlands due to their geographic legacy and basic hand techniques involved.

Of the nine craftspeople32 I met with, all were willing to engage in the Hunting

for Lost Crafts project in one manner or another. Some have experience of taking

workshops and masterclasses already, others have valuable skills that they have not

shared with anyone, and others still might benefit from the opportunity for further

learning themselves. As there are already an established number of people working in

leather in various ways in the highlands perhaps some would be interested in learning

specific skills through masterclasses such as deer saddle making. We might have the

opportunity to bring back some of the lost crafts to the highlands such as trophy fish

carving – a craft practice which was established in Scotland but no longer appears to

have any leading practitioners here. Perhaps those already engaged in stone carving,

sculpture or woodwork might find this activity appealing.

Gunsmithing, boatbuliding and knifemaking are more complex crafts that often require

31 Mapping Heritage Craft -‐ Towards a Definition of Heritage Craft http://creative-‐blueprint.co.uk/library/item/towards-‐a-‐definition-‐of-‐heritage-‐craft1 32 Haygarth Guns, Skye Weavers, Wildsporrans, Laura West Bookbinding, Jake Clelland, Angus Ross, Caroline Dear, Heather McDermott Jewellery, and Skyeskins

61

specific tools, spaces and dedication to practice in order to teach and to learn. And yet

it may well be possible to offer taster sessions to a selected group of people if the

practicalities and logistics were well considered.

Engraving masterclasses would most likely prove popular with established

jewellery makers but perhaps we should be thinking further outside of these material-‐

led groupings and investigate whether other creative people would benefit from an

extended knowledge base. Perhaps gun engraving might appeal to those who

demonstrate a high level of workmanship and hand skills in other disciplines such as

glass engravers or people who etch, woodcut, print etc. Even a skilled tattooist might

excel given a familiar process with an unfamiliar material. Sharing specific crafts skills

with a broader range of people who have proven proficient in one field might be the

most progressive way of breathing new life into these traditional practices.

Opening more dialogues between disciplines might be one way to expand the

skill base but there is also a way in for people through the pursuits of hunting shooting

and fishing themselves. This research has demonstrated that many of those who make

objects do so because they are functional tools related to the pursuit. This is not just a

case of practicality as many of these items can often be purchased easily now, but is

instead a mark of their enthusiasm and dedication to their chosen pursuit. Involving

specific interest groups such as ghillies, gamekeeping students and anglers might be

another way in. Fly tying, floatmaking and crookmaking are all reasonably well

established hobby activities for many in the Highlands – it would be interesting to see if

any of these could be taken further and in what direction. There are most probably

enough dedicated anglers who may wish to learn how to build their own rod, but is

there one who might develop it to a professional level? An important aspect of this

project going forward will be to engage further with the sporting estates themselves.

Links with Cawdor, Brahan and Borrobol have already been established, and

there might be the possibility of two of the estate managers giving

presentations on modern estate management. Perhaps it might be possible to

hold at least one master class within one of the estates. I would suggest that in

order to build on this research viable areas for workshop and masterclass learning will

have to be carefully selected, this will require more work on the ground in order to

62

open channels between those willing to teach and those eager to learn.

5. CRAFT MAKERS DIRECTORY

Anna King ‘An Allegory of Supposition’ jute cord, waxed cotton and pheasant feathers

• BASKET MAKERS

CAROLINE DEAR

Contemporary Baskets and Weaving

Studio Fanks, by Portree, Isle of Skye IV51 9PX

01470 582330

*Inspiration from traditional practices – has an old creel base given to her by retired

fisherman – would have been made with hazel struts. Local materials – ropes and nets

– eel traps – baskets used by poachers for torches -‐ lighting river. Look at baskets from

the collection for her to create a response to?

63

TIM PALMER

Traditional basket styles and methods

[email protected]

07968 220 775/ 01463 234852 (eve)

Dun Macbeth 14 Auldcastle Road Inverness IV2 3PZ UK

LISE BECH

Wee Darnhunch Glenbuck, Ayrshire KA18 3SD

01290 661082

[email protected]

[email protected]

TIM JOHNSON

http://www.timjohnsonartist.com

EWAN BALFOUR

Ewan Balfour, a landscape architect and basket maker from Shetland

Linglea

Braw

Shetland ZE2 9QG

01806 522363

[email protected]

LIZZIE FAREY

Lizzie Farey (fish trap weaving) Galloway

[email protected]

ANNA KING

Basket and Feather work

Anna king 4 Craighouse Terrace Edinburgh, EH10 5LJ

0131 447 1546

64

http://www.scottishbasketmakerscircle.org/annaking.html

PIP WEASER

Traditional Baskets

[email protected]

The Horse Park Kilmelford Oban Argyll PA34 4XD GB,

(0)1852 200 260

• BOAT BUILDERS

EWAN THOMSON

Caroline Dear’s Son -‐ just completed boat-‐building training at Boatbuilding Academy in

Lyme Regis and starting up a new business in Skye

[email protected]

01470 582330 / 07748535765

MARK STOCKL BOATBUILDERS

3 Loggie, Lochbroom, Ullapool, IV23 2SG

01854 655336 or 07903 816508

[email protected]

www.markstocklboatbuilder.co.uk

THE GRIMSAY BOATSHED

Grimsay Boatshed, Kallin, Grimsay, North Uist HS6 5HY

01870-‐602954 / 01870-‐603399

http://www.acrosstheminch.org

AN SUILAIRE

Company Secretary/ Treasurer -‐ Animisha Holley McCoy

An Sulaire Trust, 30 Vatisker, BACK, Isle of Lewis, HS2 0JZ

AM BATA

65

Am Bàta, Plockton High School, Ross-‐shire IV52 8TU

01599530800

www.am-‐bata.org

JANE WILKINSON

(Coracle Building Workshops)

01250881241

• BOOK BINDERS

LAURA WEST -‐ BOOKBINDERY

21 Cearn Romasdail, Portree Isle of Skye IV51 9TX

01478 613 123

JAQUIE MANSFIELD BOOKBINDING

Westerskeld, Shetland, ZE2 9NL

[email protected]

(0)1595 860 331 / (0)7949 684 422

• DECOY MAKERS

CHRIS HINDLEY

Chris Hindley Decoy Art

http://www.decoyart.co.uk/

TERESINHA ROBERTS

Teresinha Roberts Bird Carver

http://www.birdcarver.co.uk

Unit I-‐135, The Custard Factory Gibb Street, Birmingham B9 4AA,

(0)7979 770865

MIKE WOOD

66

bird carvings

[email protected]

BARRY WOODCRAFT

Bronze casts of wooden bird carvings

http://www.woodcraft-‐art.com

• COG MAKERS

ORKNEY FURNITURE

Kevin Gauld, Work Road, St. Ola, Orkney KW15 1UF

www.orkneyfurniture.co.uk

[email protected]

MICHAEL FLETT

http://www.mjfcustomwoodworking.com

07745406384

• COOPERS

SPEYSIDE COOPERAGE

Dufftown Road, Craigellachie, Banffshire, Scotland AB38 9RS

[email protected]

www.speysidecooperage.co.uk

(01340) 871108

• ENGRAVERS

Gun & Silver engraver

MALCOLM APPLEBY

Grandtully, Scotland

01887 840 484

67

Email: [email protected]

KATIA FILIPOVIK

Gun engraver

http://www.gunengraving.co.uk/

07765435922

ROD KELLY

Silver Engraver

http://www.rodkellysilver.co.uk/

DENNIS MANN

Glass Engraver

http://denismann.com

• FLOAT MAKERS

ANDREW FIELD

Handmade Fishing Floats (Cambridgeshire)

[email protected] or call 01354 651917 / 07899 996190

http://www.lureofthefloat.co.uk/about.html

http://handmadefloats.blogspot.co.uk/

PAUL ADAM

Lure maker

Liverpool

[email protected]

http://homeluremaking.blogspot.co.uk

• FLY TIERS

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KEN WALKER

Highland Fishing Tackle

Forres Tackle Shop 97D High Street Forres IV36 1AA

01309 672936 [email protected]

SKYE FLY GUY

Garry Shaw – Ghillie & Fly Tier

http://www.skyeflyguy.co.uk/

• FALCONRY FURNITURE

Ben Long Falconry

P.O. Box 3182

Gloucester

United Kingdom

GL1 9BH

01452 678631 / 07970 038169

http://benlongfalconry.co.uk

• FURNITURE

ANGUS ROSS

Beautifully made contemporary furniture – often steam-‐bent and inspired by

boatbuilding techniques. I have spoke to Angus about this project.

Angus Ross Ltd

The Workshop, Burnside, Aberfeldy, Perthshire, PH15 2AU

(0)1887 829857 . 07941 552409

[email protected]

CLOCK HOUSE FURNITURE

Clock House make Antler Furniture primarily using Scottish Red Deer antlers -‐ Clock

House now have the largest collection of Antler furniture made in Europe.

69

01620 842870

enquiry@clockhouse-‐furniture.com

Clock House Furniture Ltd

Drem Airfield, Fenton Barns, East Lothian, EH39 5AW

JOHN MURPHY

Tornapress -‐ designs and makes contemporary furniture usually on a one-‐off basis

using native timbers such as Oak Ash

Kishorn, Wester Ross GB, (0)1520 733 243

john @tornapress.co.uk

http://www.tornapress.co.uk

• GUNSMITHS

ROSS HAYGARTH

CH Haygarth & Sons Gun & Rifle Makers

Dunnet, Caithness, Scotland KW14 8XQ

01847 851602

www.haygarthguns.co.uk

Lathe at Haygarths Workshop

• KNIFE MAKERS

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JAKE CLELLAND

Syke Knives, 2 Cruachan cottages Orbos, Skye

01470 511 313 / 01470 521 243

http://www.knifemaker.co.uk

[email protected]

• The ‘evolution’ of the knife – a series of (3 or 4) knives from very raw steel block

– roughly forged, then hammered developing into the final finished knife. Also

had a flint-‐textured steel knife blade – unfinished.

Unfinished Knives by Jake Clelland

ROD MILLER

Sword Maker

Castle Keep, A Chuibheall, Torrin, Isle of Skye IV49 9BA

http://www.castlekeep.co.uk

[email protected]

• LEATHER WORKERS

SANDY MCARTHUR

(Deer Saddle Maker)

Rogie Farm, Contin, by Strathpeffer, Ross-‐shire, Scotland

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JOURNEYMAN LEATHER

Handmade bridles and saddles.

Journeyman Leather

Sandness, Shetland, ZE2 9PL UK

+44(0) 1595 870243

info@journeyman-‐leather.co.uk

MOORE LEATHER

John Moore

Deer stalking accessories, scabbards, rifle accessories, specialist leatherworker based in

East Lothian

http://www.mooreleather.co.uk

[email protected]

FINE SHOOTING ACCESSORIES

Handmade Gannochies, Cartridge bags, pouches and belts.

Hirsel Law, Coldstream, Scotland TD12 4HX

[email protected]

SPORRAN NATION

Jennifer Cantwell

jen@sporran-‐nation.co.uk

56 Innes Street Inverness IV11NS

(0)1463 232 644

http://www.sporran-‐nation.co.uk

CELTIC LEATHER

Iain Gunn

5 Argyle Street Ullapool Ross-‐shire Iv26 2ub

Telephone: 01854 612 689

72

• ROD MAKERS

DAVID NORWICH

Split cane fishing rod maker

Hillside Works, Fountainhall, Nr. Galashiels, Scottish Borders. TD1 2SU,

01578 760 310

[email protected]

http://www.davidnorwich.com

COLIN LEATHERBARROW

Professional Rod Builder

54 Westmorland Rd, Urmston, Manchester, M41 9HL

0161 747 9129 / 07854 886913

www.custombuiltfishingrods.co.uk

BURNS RODS

Hooks & Tackle, 40 Huntington Road, York YO31 8R, England

[email protected]

http://www.burnsbuiltrods.co.uk

Bruce and Walker Limited

25C High Street, Upwood, Huntingdon, PE26 2Q, England

01487 813 764

http://bruceandwalker.co.uk

[email protected]

• STICK MAKERS

COUNTRYMAN’S STICKS

Jack Liversedge

shepherd's crooks and walking sticks, fishing rod stands and wading poles

Countryman's Sticks, East of the Meadow, Strontian, PH36 4HZ

73

01967 402346

IAN HAMILTON

crook maker

http://www.shepherds-‐crook.co.uk

25 Galabraes Crescent, Bathgate, West Lothian EH48 4DT

01506 632631

FEARNDALE CARVING

Stcks and Decoys

Peter Fearn

07790 651724

MARTIN HYSLOP

The Highland Horn Company Ltd.

Taigh na Corrach Knockmuir Brae Avoch Easter Ross IV9 8RD.

01381 622488

0774 810 5415

• TANNERS

74

Skye Skyns

SKYESKYNS

17 Lochbay, Waternish, Highland IV55 8GD 01470 592 237

Skyeskyns -‐ manufacturers and suppliers of sheepskins. a family business established in

1983. Traditional tannery methods and implements used by the Tanner: the beam,

paddles, racks and buffing wheel, horse and iron as well as the lengthy hand finishing

processes. Produce 2500 skins a year. Traditional apprenticeship (not supported) –

female tanner apprentice.

*Red Deer hides and fish shins also tanned (as well as some select road kill such as

otter) – used in collaboration with Laura West – to make a book?

THE BARHEAD LEATHER COMPANY

(Specialists in Highland Deer Skin)

[email protected]

The Barrhead Kid Co. Ltd., Broadlie Works, Lochlibo Road, Neilston, Glasgow, G783AB

J HEWIT & SONS TANNERY

J. Hewit & Sons Ltd.

12 Nettlehill Road,

Houstoun Industrial Estate Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 5DL,

(0)1506 444160

• TROPHY FISH CARVER

ROGER BROOKS

Excellent Trophy Fish carvings

(Grew up in Caithness – now based Hertfordshire)

http://www.rogerbrookes.com

• TAXIDERMISTS

WILD SPORRANS

75

Kate Macpherson -‐ Taxidermist and Sporran Maker

Breakachy Farm, By Beauly, IV4 7AE

[email protected]

Kate MacPherson

STUART JEFFERIES

Invernesshire

01997 477330

http://www.stuartjefferiestaxidermist.co.uk

[email protected]

[email protected]

MONARCH TAXIDERMY

Traditional Taxidermy

Peter Laird, 3 Cuaich Cottage, Dalwhinnie, Inverness-‐Shire, Scotland PH19 1AB

p[email protected], 01528 522354,

http://www.monarchtaxidermy.co.uk

NORTHERN NATURAL HISTORY TAXIDERMY

http://www.nnh.co.uk/taxidermy/taxidermist.html

[email protected]

76

GEORGE C JAIMESON

(Taxidermy Tutor)

Cramond Tower,

Kirk Cramond,

Edinburgh EH4 6HZ

(0)131-‐336-‐1916

info@scottish-‐taxidermy.co.uk

POLLY MORGAN

London

020 8 985 1795

[email protected]

JULIA DEVILLE

Australia

[email protected]

0414 617 350

KELLY MCCALLUM

London

[email protected]

• THEMATIC WORK

Alison Weightman

‘Shot gun’ ceramics

[email protected]

School Hall, Inverlael, Ullapool Scotland IV23 2RG

(0)1854 655310 / (0)7767 447446

HEATHER MCDERMOTT JEWELLERY

77

Aird old church, aird of sleat, IV45 8RN -‐ 01470 844 362

‘Tidal Surge’ series – buoys, creels and tangled ropes/nets.

*Fly fishing floats -‐ colourful

Has taught two workshops – more of a creative approach rather than a technical one.

GILLY LANGTON JEWELLERY

Rope making techniques used in bangles -‐

[email protected]

7 Station Road Plockton Ross-‐shire Highlands Plockton IV52 8TX

Telephone: 01599 544 755 / 07715 489 597

http://www.gillylangton.co.uk

CROCHETDERMY

Shauna Richardson's

http://www.shaunarichardson.com

ROHAN CHHABRA

– Ethical Hunting Jackets

hello@rohan-‐chhabra.com

http://www.rohan-‐chhabra.com

• TWEED WEAVERS

SYKE WEAVERS

Andrea & Roger

(Harris tweed loom)

Skye Weavers 18 Fasach Glendale Isle of Skye IV55 8WP

01470 511 201

Bolts produced in 30 meter length minimum (usually 60 m) needs 3 months lead time

from dying to weaving *Tweed in Herringbone weave – blues, greys and silvers using

locally produced natural hand dyes from Shilasdair Dye shop.

[email protected]

78

WE ARE ONE CREATIVE

Sam Goates

32 west street, fochabers, moray IV32 7DJ

+44 7748 014970

[email protected]

http://www.weareonecreative.com/home.html

• OTHER CONTACTS

CROFT WOOLS

They make and sell natural grey knitting wool produced from their own Gotland sheep

and dyed and spun wool, hand-‐woven scarves, throws and bags. They dye the wool

with plants and lichens that grow locally, as well as madder and indigo.

LESLEY AND THOMAS KILBRIDE

Cuaig, Applecross, By Strathcarron, Wester Ross, Scotland IV54 8XU

01520 755 260

[email protected]

ANNA LEWIS

[email protected]

www.linkedin.com/anna-‐lewis

+44 (0)1792 875836 +44 (0)7968 078483

STEPHANIE BUNN

Dr. Stephanie Bunn – Basket researcher

sjb20@st-‐andrews.ac.uk

ANGUS CLYNE

[email protected]

07775811280

http://www.angusclyne.co.uk/contact.html

79

LIZ & MICK O’DONNELL

Bird Carvings & bowls

http://www.woodturning.uk.com/

GEOFF KING

http://www.woodlandtreasures.co.uk

[email protected]

Lower Arboll Croft Portmahomack Tain Ross-‐shire IV20 1SQ

(0)1862 871 639

BRODIE NAIRN

[email protected]

2 Chapel Street Tain Ross-‐shire IV19 1EL

(0)7830 022 222

http://www.brodienairn.com

SHILASDAIR

The Skye Shilasdair Shop, 10 Carnach, Waternish, Isle of Skye, IV55 8GL

(0)1470 592297

http://www.theskyeshilasdairshop.co.uk/

DUNROBIN CASTLE

Andy Hughes, our professional resident Falconer

Dunrobin Castle, Golspie, Sutherland, Scotland KW10 6SF

(01408) 633177

[email protected]

WEST HIGHLAND HAWKING

David and Lilah Ford, (works with Corrour Estate)

Hill Haven, Kinlochewe, Achnasheen, Ross-‐shire, IV22 2PA

01445 760204

80

[email protected]

ELITE FALCONRY

The Falconry Barn

Cluny Mains Farm

Cluny

Kirkcaldy

[email protected]

RAPTOR WORLD

Parkhill House

Blairgowrie

Perthshire

PH10 7HD

[email protected]

6. Museum Collections

• 6.1 Inverness Museum & Art Gallery

The IMAG collection includes a large number of stuffed animals – individuals, dioramas

and vitrines; these include stag, wolf, fish, game birds and birds of prey. One Osprey

requires conservation work and is missing the fish that it once perched upon – there

might be an opportunity to reinstate the fish should there be a fish carving master

class. Of particular interest are the contents of John MacDonald’s taxidermy workshop

inherited by IMAG on his retirement from MacPherson’s Sporting Stores in the 1970s.

MacDonald took over from John MacPherson, one of Inverness’ leading taxidermists

during its Victorian heyday, in the early 20th century. Materials available range from

part finished specimens and stuffing books to tools and workshop paraphernalia -‐

including his workbench, vice, stool and desk. There are a number of photos, press

cuttings and other ephemera associated with John MacDonald and MacPherson’s

taxidermy, which could be used in the supporting narrative.

81

I think this has the potential to look very interesting if recreated and installed in the

exhibition. There are also part heads of badgers ready for sporran making, which might

suit going next to Kate MacPherson’s contemporary Sporran work.

MacPherson’s taxidermy workshop Badger and otter heads prepared for making sporrans.

Selection of tools -‐ chisels, gouges, files, paintbrush, knives, awls, scissors and shears.

The unique collection of Alexander Grant fishing rods and tools again might help to

show an element of the making process, which would be beneficial. These items are of

great interest internationally to fly fishing enthusiasts. Perhaps it might be interesting

to pair these in a display with modern fishing floats such as those of Andrew Field.

82

Alexander Grant Vibration Fishing Rod Andrew Field Contemporary Floats

Fish scales, salmon skins, flint and bone artefacts like needles might be utilised as an

illustration of pre-‐historic hunting activity. Items such as the powder horns, spoons,

snuff mulls in horn, hoof and silver; Ivory jewellery and feather fans in the collection

illustrate the ubiquity of the products of hunting from the Victorian Period. A Trap

Gun, Mantrap and Gin trap are held in the collection and illustrate some of the

poaching deterrents in common usage throughout the Highland Estates in the early

19th century. The IMAG collection also includes 3 volumes of Struy lodge gamebooks

covering 1899-‐1902. The gamebooks and photo albums list the weekly hunt of local

wildlife and has photographs of the week’s events, from shoots and picnics to

landscapes and family portraits – this is a unique portrait of life on a late Victorian

estate.

The collection includes a 17th century crossbow and 18th, 19th and 20th century

sporting rifles used for deer stalking, as well as an 18th century fowling piece and 19th

century shotguns by Inverness gunsmiths along with associated items. The best of the

collections’ pistols, sporting rifles, shotguns and muskets could be shown with the gun

sample pieces from Haygarth Gunsmiths.

A mid to late 19th century percussion lock double-barreled shotgun made by Inverness gunsmiths

83

The glass target balls and feathers might be grouped with these guns or with a

contemporary taxidermy piece – Polly Wales’ ‘MS Found in a Bottle’ would be an

appropriate choice.

Glass Target Ball with Feathers ‘MS Found in a Bottle’ Polly Morgan

The Image collection is particularly rich source and could provide some very good

narrative references for objects in the collection, which might be expanded upon

through digital applications. This could perhaps also include examples of the 18thC

landscapes from the collection.

• 6.2 Highland Folk Museum

Rachael Chisholm (HFM assistant curator) knows the HFM collection well and she

mentioned several items that may be borrowed from the collection from April 1st 2014. 33 These items include sporting guns, various traps, baskets used to carry game off the

hills, salmon poachers baskets and Gamekeepers outfits from Sutherland. The stuffed

Highland stallion head of “Knocknagael Marksman” -‐ a famous Department Stallion his

pedigree can be traced back to the Gaick ponies of Badenoch (used for breeding –

33 Table – top looms belonging to HFM could be used for weaving master classes

84

perhaps for ghillie pony – needs conservation work), various guns, pearl muscles & a

pearl harvesting tin with glass bottom (Pearl necklace was returned to owner).

There is also some poachers’ guns, ‘Leicesters’ (Salmon spears) and a poachers ‘otter’ -‐

the poachers gun might be interesting when seen next to a contemporary Haygarth

Shotgun. The mussel with semi-‐formed pearl and pearl fishing tins will group nicely

with a pearl ‘Leaping Salmon’ ring which can be borrowed from the NMS Scottish

Development Agency collection.

Grass Salmon Bag – HFM Collection

Dear Skin Kist – HFM Collection

Woven Panniers – HFM Collection Straw Horse Collar -‐ – HFM Collection

85

• 6.3 Scottish Fisheries Museum

The SFM has a lending collection that includes cran baskets, models of boat hull

sections showing clinker technique &wooden peg technique.

A list can be downloaded from here http://www.scotfishmuseum.org/lending-‐

collections.

• 6.4 National Museums of Scotland

I visited the NMS in order to look at the Scottish Development Agency/ Scottish Crafts

Agency Collection –from the70’s/80’s.

The collection included:

‘Leaping Salmon’ ring by Margaret I Shepherd, Set with 2 fresh water pearls from the

river Naver, Caithness, red, yellow & white gold.

‘Plate Rack’ (carving inspired by west coast fishing) by Will Maclean,

Engraved Silver bowl by Malcolm Appleby,

Also -‐ Hand Tied Flies, Hand made cane fishing rods & baskets

Their Geology Department has freshwater pearl mussels with partially formed pearls as

well as examples of Scottish freshwater pearls.

Contacts:

Dorothy Kidd runs the Scottish Life Archive

Rose Watban Art & Design Dept-‐ Scottish Development Agency Collection

Peter Davidson Geology Dept. (Pearls)

86

‘Leaping Salmon’ ring by Margaret I Shepherd

• 6.5 Timespan

Timespan museum collection contains bone spoons, and a horn snuffbox belonging to

the Countess of Sutherland c1880’s, also two very large horn spoons.

Helmsdale cooper tools with very nice example of apprentice cooper pieces – drinking

vessels.

Rabbit snare & Man trap (for trapping Roe deer & foxes), various blacksmithing tools.

• 6.6 Northlands Glass Collection

Master class pieces donated, many inspired by Herring fishing heritage of local area –

Whaligo Steps etc.

• 6.7 Wick Heritage Centre: http://www.wickheritage.org/

• 6.8 Laidhay -‐ http://laidhay.co.uk/

Both Wick heritage museum and Laidhay were closed for the season but I know them

to contain good examples of crofting tools and equipment and many objects associated

with the herring fishing Industry.

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7. GALLERY OF THEMATIC WORKS

Julia deVille Object: Couverts à salade 2012 Blue-‐faced Parrot Finches, rose cut black diamonds 0.24ct,

Antique Blackington Co sterling silver enamelled salad servers

Julia deVille Object: Peter 2012 Rabbit, Silver, Glass

88

Kelly McCallum -‐ based Sculpture: ‘Billy Bob Gunner Jackson’

Kelly McCallum Sculpture: ‘Gyr Falcon’

89

Willemijn de Greef Fishing Necklace

Annie Turner derives forms for her ceramics from the cage-‐like structures used as riverbed moorings

90

Shauna Richardson's 'crochetdermy’ http://www.shaunarichardson.com

One of Børge Mogensen’s ‘Hunting Chair ‘1950. The frame is made of oak while seat and back are of butt leather with adjustable straps.

91

Queen Victorias Deer Tooth Earrings – Royal Collecton

Anna Lewis -‐ Wales

92

Ceramic Horn, France, late 18th or early 19th century Glazed pottery, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Modern stone and flint tools by ami drach + dov ganchrow

93

Rohan Chhabra, Elephant and Rhino ‘Hunting Jackets’

94

Catrin HowellI explores animal mythology in her ceramics

Stifle (LEFT) & Gag (RIGHT) By Kate MccGwire Image courtesy of All Visual Arts -‐ Photographer Tessa Angus.

95

‘Sluice’ by Gag By Kate MccGwire Image courtesy of All Visual Arts -‐ Photographer Tessa Angus.

‘Evacuate’ By Kate MccGwire Image courtesy of All Visual Arts

96

Allison Weightman -‐ ‘SHOTGUN CERAMICS’

97

8. APPENDIX

8.1 A List of Gaelic proverbs relating to Hunting Shooting & Fishing

Selected from ‘A collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar Phrases, Based on

Mackintosh’s Collection’ By Alexander Nicolson, Published By Forgotten Books 2013

(Originally published 1882)

“Na feann am fiadh gus am faigh thu e.”

Don’t skin the deer till you get it.

“Far nach bi na féidh, cha réidh an toirt as.”

From the place where deer are not, they’re not easy to be got

“Is geal-‐làmhach bean iasgair, ’s is geal-‐fhiaclach behan sealgair.”

The fisher's wife has white hands, the hunter's wife white teeth.

“Is e innleachd seilgea sior leannmhuinn.”

The art of hunting is ever pursuing it.

“Is e sin an tòll a mhill an t-‐seiche.”

That's the hole that spoiled the hide.

“Breac a linne, slat a coille,'s fiadh a fireach,

-‐ mèirle nach do ghabh duine riamh nair' aisde.”

A fish from the pool, a wand from the wood, a deer from the mountain

-‐ thefts no man ever was ashamed of.

“Ma chumas tu do dhubhan fliuch 'an còmhnaidh,

gheabh thu iasguair-‐eigin.”

If you keep your hook always wet, you'll get a fish some time.

98

“lasgachna curra.”

The crane's fishing.

(A model of patience.)

“Cha dean brògan tioram iasgach.”

Dry shoes won't get fish.

“Cho marbh ri sgadan.”

As dead as a herring.

(No other fish dies so quickly on being taken out of the water.)

“Far am bi an t-‐iasg, 's ann a bhios na h-‐eoin. "

Where the fish is, the birds will be.

“Glac thusa foighidinn',s glacaidh tu iasg.”

Get you patience, and you'll get fish.

8.2 Groups of Interest

• The Moray Firth Gansey Project http://www.gansey-‐mf.co.uk/

• An Sulaire Trust Ltd, Andnamurachan http://www.ansulaire.com

• Am Bata -‐ Plockton High School, Mark Stockl Boatbuilders in

Ullapool. Christopher Matheson is now apprenticing with Mark in Plockton and

Ullapool www.am-‐bata.org

• The Woven Communities project -‐ an initiative and collaboration between a

group of Scottish basketmakers, the Scottish Basketmakers Circle, and an

anthropologist from the University of Saint Andrews, Dr Stephanie Bunn, This

AHRC funded project aims to collect and document all the diverse research

conducted about Scottish vernacular basketry. http://wovencommunities.org

99

• Royal Armouries Museum -‐ the United Kingdom’s National Museum of Arms

and Armour, including artillery. – They hold the Raven Gun – engraved by

Malcolm Appleby http://www.royalarmouries.org

8.3 References

‘The Art of Deer-‐stalking : Illustrated by a Narrative of a Few Days' Sport in the Forest of

Atholl, with Some Account of the Nature and Habits of Red Deer, and a Short

Description of the Scotch Forests; Legends, Superstitions, Stories of Poachers and

Freebooters ... ’ By William Scrope, Publsihed 1883

The above book contains many stories and folklore associated with Hunting in the

Highlands, including an account of the death of the last wolf to be killed in Scotland.

Grant, I.F (1995) Highland Folk Ways, Birlinn Ltd.

Luxmoore, E (1980) Deer Stalking, Brittish Library Publications

Neat, T (2002) The Summer Walkers: Travelling People and Pearl-‐Fishers in the

Highlands of Scotland , Birlinn Ltd

Rixson, D (2004) The Hebridean Traveller Birlinn Ltd

Wigan, M (1991) A Highland Estate -‐ Preserving an Environment , Swan Hill Press

8.4 Papers/Reports

Heritage Crafts Association | Manifesto for Making Report prepared by Greta Bertram,

September 2013

Glorious Obsession © 2000 The Scottish Arts Council, Louise Butler, One O’Clock Gun

Design Consultants Ltd. ISBN: 1 85119 100 3 May 2000

Crafts and Conservation, Lucy Donkin 21st June 2001 -‐ ICCROM

Mapping Heritage Crafts (England) 2012, Creative & Cultural Skills

Towards a definition of Heritage Craft, 2012, Creative & Cultural Skills

‘From Creels to Quarter Crans: the form and function of baskets used by the Scottish

100

fishing community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries’ by Linda Fitzpatrick,

Curator, Scottish Fisheries Museum FROM http://wovencommunities.org/

8.5 Websites

An Sulaire Trust Ltd. http://www.ansulaire.com

Association of Salmon Fishery Boards -‐ http://www.asfb.org.uk

Boatbuilding Academy -‐ http://www.boatbuildingacademy.com

British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) http://basc.org.uk/

British Stick Makers Guild -‐ http://www.thebsg.org.uk/contacts.html

Buckie and District Fishing Heritage Centre: http://www.buckieheritage.org/

Fraserburgh Heritage Centre: http://www.fraserburghheritage.com/

Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust -‐ http://www.gwct.org.uk/

International Boatbuilding Training College -‐ http://www.ibtc.co.uk/

Knife Makers Association -‐ http://knifemakersassociation.org

Nairn Museum: http://www.nairnmuseum.co.uk/index.html

Scottish Crookmakers Association -‐ http://www.scottishcrookmakers.org.uk

Severn Wildlife Carvers http://www.severnwildlifecarvers.net

The Angus Macleod Archive -‐ http://www.angusmacleodarchive.org.uk

The British Decoy Wildfowl Carvers Association -‐ http://www.bdwca.org.uk/bdwca/

The British Falconers’ Club -‐ http://www.britishfalconersclub.co.uk/

The Coracle Society: http://www.coraclesociety.org.uk/history

The Hand Engravers Association -‐ http://www.handengravers.co.uk

The Harris Tweed Authority -‐ http://www.harristweed.org/

The Heritage Crafts Association www.heritagecrafts.org.uk

The Moray Firth Gansey Project http://www.gansey-‐mf.co.uk/

The Scottish Fisheries Museum http://www.scotfishmuseum.org/

The Scottish Hawk Board -‐ http://www.hawkboard-‐cff.org.uk/scottish_hb.htm

The Scottish Basketmakers’ Circle http://www.scottishbasketmakerscircle.org

The Woven Communities project http://wovencommunities.org

Timespan: http://www.timespan.org.uk/

101

Tobar an Dualchais: http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/

U.K. Guild of Taxidermists http://www.taxidermy.org.uk/

Wick Heritage Centre: http://www.wickheritage.org/

8.6 Audio Visual Resources

• The ‘An Sgoth’ boat and Film -‐ http://vimeo.com/34964223

• A Traveller's Tale -‐ Pearl Fishing & Whelk Gathering

http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_photograph.jsp?item_id=142547

• ‘A Traveller pearl fishing is nearly caught by a Kelpie’ Folk Story

http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/42882/4;jsessionid=A0507D

C024502F8EAC4191F7A199CA7B

• The Gaelic Song ‘Dìrich Mi A-‐chaoidh’ -‐ A complaint song composed in anger at

being deprived of hunting liberties in Skye. Sung By Sandy MacKay

http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/90611/41

• Polly Morgan -‐ BBC4 series, ‘What Do Artists Do All Day?’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5PxZbqjlcE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnL2uub1UO0

• Deer Stalking in the Corrieyairack

http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_audio.jsp?item_id=39544

• Harris Tweed weaver, Donald John Mackay, talks about the history of the cloth

which his family has weaved at home for generations

http://www.theguardian.com/society/audioslideshow/2012/nov/09/donald-‐

john-‐mackay-‐harris-‐tweed-‐hebrides

• British Pathe film (1961) about the last Pearl Fisher Bill Abernethy:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/pearl-‐fishing/query/wildcard

• British Pathe film (1927) about making decoy ducks:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/making-‐decoy-‐ducks

• ‘Kiss the Water’ -‐ A film about Meghan Boyd By K. Steel, Screening in Timespan

and Eden Court between Jan.17th -‐ Jan 23rd See the website for more details.

http://kiss-‐the-‐water.com

102

• Garrons on Reay Forest Estate -‐ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s4sz4

• The Guga Hunters of Ness

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/nature/the_guga_hunters_of_ness_creating_th

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