THE

KINTYRE ANTIQUARIAN & NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

MAGAZINE
No 1 April 1977
THE MAGAZINE
of
The Kintyre Antiquarian & Natural History Society.
President: A. I. B. Stewart, O.B.E., B.L.

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NUMBER ONE SPRING 1977

CONTENTS

Foreword & Introduction :

Duncan Colville, Life President
A.I.B. Stewart, O.B.E., B.L., President............ 2
Editorial ............................................... 3
History of the Society
Hector L. MacKenzie, M.A........................... 4
The Jet Necklace
Frances Hood....................................... 6
Largie
J.R. Maxwell-Macdonald, J.P........................ 7
The North Carolina Connection
Angus MacVicar, M.A................................ 9
Sika Deer in Kintyre
T.W.G. Coulson, B.Sc, F.I.F....................... 13
Excavations at Balloch Hillfort
E.J.Peltenburg, B.A., Ph.D., F.R.S. Scot.......... 16
Kintyre in Ontario
Efric Wotherspoon................................. 18
Mary : A Hundred & Fifty Years Ago
Margaret MacDougall, M.A........................... 22
William MacTaggart
Isabella Dunnett................................... 24

EDITOR : M. G. Hunter, M.A., B.Sc. COVER : J. Hex.

ARTICLES & LETTERS to POSTAL REQUESTS for MEMBERSHIP

Mrs. M. G. Hunter, and copies of MAGAZINE to
Merkland, Mr. A. McNair,
Southend, Campbeltown. 47 Limecraigs, Campbeltown.
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F0REWORD by Duncan Colville, Life President.

As a founder member and the first Honorary Secretary of the original Kintyre Antiquarian
Society, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the publication of this magazine. I am sure it
will meet a long felt want, and I wish it every success in the future.

INTRODUCTION by A. I. B. Stewart, President.

In an age when scholarship is at a discount and change is regarded by many as

synonymous with improvement, it seems to me that it becomes all the more important to
look over our shoulders at the lives and achievements of our ancestors, for only by
understanding the past can we prepare for the future.

This publication is an effort by the Kintyre Antiquarian and Natural History Society to give
some permanence to the work done by our members in recording our past history and the
natural features of our beautiful environment.

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EDITORIAL
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For over half a century The Kintyre Antiquarian Society as it originally was has held
meetings where talks on all aspects of life in Kintyre were given. In addition many of these
lectures were published, but are now out of print. The Society's Library contains a large
collection of books and manuscripts relating to Kintyre. Recently a sub-committee of the
Society was formed to go into the question of making new and old material available to its
members and others. This Magazine, which it is hoped to publish twice a year, is the result.

In this, our first number, we have included a variety of articles, touching on topics of
interest to members. Much interest has always been shown by the descendants of Kintyre
emigrants in this district, and perhaps this periodical will appeal to them also. In our limited
space we have been unable to touch on all the many facets of the work of the Society, but
we hope to repair some of our omissions in succeeding Issues. Meantime perhaps some of
our readers will be inspired to send contributions for other numbers. These could be
anecdotes as well as full length articles. We aim to record the present before it becomes
past and forgotten.

The Editor thanks the members of the sub-committee and in particular the Chairman, who
has shared the editorial task; all who have contributed; the Editor of "The Kist" of The
Natural History & Archaeological Society of Mid Argyll, without whose help this Magazine
would not have got going; and the Editor of "The Glynns" of The Glens of Antrim Historical
Society for understanding and encouragement.

And lastly, we thank our subscribers, and hope that they will bear with our omissions and
errors, and that they will enjoy reading our Magazine.

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A SHORT HISTORY OF KINTYRE ANTIQUARIAN AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Hector L. MacKenzie

On 14th June, 1921, the then Macdonald of Largie (father of the present Laird) and Sheriff J.
MacMaster Campbell issued a circular letter convening a meeting in the Argyll Arms Hotel
on 21st June, relative to the proposed formation of a society for the study of the
Archaeology, History and Antiquities of Kintyre, and the preservation of the older records of
the district.

The gentlemen convened were Col. Charles Mactaggart, Col. George Rome, Dean of Guild
MacArthur, ex-Provost James Lothian, Dr.J. P. Brown, Rev. C. McEachern, Rev. A. MacKenzie,
Messrs. T. Galloway, Latimer Maclnnes, D. MacKinlay, and Duncan Colville. Of these founder
members only one is still with us - the venerable Mr. Duncan Colville, Life President of our
Society, now in his 93rd year. At the first A.G.M., two ladies, Miss Moira Campbell, only
recently deceased, and the late Mrs. Archd. Stewart, mother of our President, were ad-
mitted to membership.

Right away in its first year, the society inaugurated what was to become a regular feature,
an annual outing to some place or places of archaeological Interest. The first was to Largie
and Clachan districts, followed by lunch at the Temperance Inn at Clachan, and by tea at
Largie Castle.

Mr. Duncan Colville was appointed first Hon. Secretary and Treasurer. Largie was the first
President, but he died in his first year of office and was succeeded by Sheriff J. MacMaster
Campbell, who remained President until his death in 1939.

In April 1932, was admitted to membership the Rev. Father Webb, who, when he died in
1974, bequeathed a generous legacy to the Society, as well as all his antiquarian, historical
and archaeological papers, which are currently being edited by Dr. Eric Cregeen.

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The meetings of the Society were suspended In 1940 "until," as the minute says, "the war is
over." The
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first meeting after the war was on 19th October, 1946, but the Society did not regain its
vigour for some time. Two members, however, were very active and all enquiries relating to
the antiquities of Kintyre were referred to them. Mr. Colville and Father Webb were both
active archaeologists, and continued to further the aims of the Society. Father Webb, for
example, took advantage of the excavations made in preparing the ground for pre-
fabricated houses at the Calton site in 1947. More than 400 flints were found, and other
relics, which constitute, as one authority has said, "the earliest unambiguous remains of
man in Scotland." "The dwellers in these 'prefabs' wrote Father Webb in characteristic
fashion, "had the honour of living upon the occupation site and working stance of the first
human inhabitants of Scotland at a remove of something like 8,000 years."

In 1962, Mr. Frank Bigwood, a master at the Grammar School, excavated a fort at Kildalloig.
This highly commendable piece of amateur excavation was carried out with the ready
assistance of the School and of our Society, and the results can be seen, fully detailed and
documented, in the local museum.

In 1969 the Secretaryship was taken over by Mrs. Margaret Macaulay. Regular meetings
were held and the membership took a great leap forward. It was decided in 1970 to widen
the aims of the Society, and its title was changed to "The Kintyre Antiquarian and Natural
History Society." Mrs. Macaulay, unfortunately, had to leave Kintyre in 1970, and the
Secretaryship was taken over by Mrs. Elfric Wotherspoon, who still holds that office and
whose unobtrusive management keeps the society together.

In its fifty-five years of life, the society has provided a focal point for the people of Kintyre
who have an interest in the history of their district. It has nourished this interest for over
two generations, and hopes to enlist the further support of all Kintyre people who realise
that the present is a product of the past.

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THE JET NECKLACE

Frances Hood

In 1970 some former farm land on the right hand side of the old avenue Into Stronvaar
House was being prepared for building. This land was owned by the McGrory family of the
former Kintyre Nurseries, and while bull-dosing the land, Mfc. X. McGrory discovered a
Bronze Age Cist. His bull-dozer had badly damaged the Cist, but fortunately Mr. McGrory
realised the value of his discovery, stopped work, and contacted the late Father Webb and
Mr. Duncan Colville, Kintyre's most able historians, who photographed the remains of the
cist and made all possible notes on the discovery.

Father Webb contacted Dr. E.J. Peltenburg, the extramural Tutor for Argyll, whose
archaeology class was just starting for the winter. On his first visit, Dr. Peltenburg found
over one hundred Jet Beads, the skeleton which had been wearing it having crumbled to
dust. Later when he and his extra-mural class visited the site with sieves and riddles,
several more beads were found, and also a flint knife. After treatment with preservatives in
Glasgow, the necklace was reconstructed and proved to be the longest ever found in Argyll,
and consisted of 134 beads. The necklace was to have remained in Edinburgh at the
Rational Museum of Antiquities, as it was one of the finest examples of a jet necklace the
authorities there had seen. Those who had shared in the work of discovery felt that their
find should remain permanently in Campbeltown, and due to the tireless efforts of Miss

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Cissy McGrory the necklace and the flint knife were returned to the Campbeltown Museum,
where they are displayed In a burglarproof case.

The necklace belongs to the Bronze Age Period*, roughly 1800 - 1500 B.C., and the jet is
believed to have been imported from Whitby, although a more local source may yet be
found. So far ten necklaces of this type have been found in Argyll, but this is the only one
on display in the place where it was found. Others are in museums in Glasgow and
Edinburgh, and one found in Campbeltown years ago Is In Inveraray Castle.
Note: The front cover shows a drawing of this necklace.
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LARGIE
J. R. Maxwell-Macdonald

The first and only connection of Largie Estate with genuine archaeology was the finding of a
very early stone axe-head at Ballure in, I think, 1909. It is now in the Campbeltown
museum. The history of Largie and of the family of Macdonald of Largie is an integral part
of the history of Scotland and of the Peninsula of Kintyre.

The Estate is said to have been given by the Lord of the Isles, who was also Earl of Ross, to
Ranald Bane, grandson of John, Lord of the Isles, who married Margaret, daughter of Robert
II of Scotland (grandson of Robert the Bruce). It was given to Ranald Bane for his services at
the battle of Inverlochy in 1431, and the family thereafter came to be known as Clan
Ranaldbane. This battle should not be confused with the much more famous battle at the
3ame place, in Montrose's campaign against the Covenanters in 1645. The first battle of
Inverlochy was fought between the Earls of Ross and Mar, who were cousins, and
perpetually at war with one another.

Ronald Bane's father, John More, known as Tanister, because he had succeeded through
tanistry, an old Scots law which enabled a son (or daughter) who was not the eldest, to
succeed, was murdered at Ard Ehu in Islay by one James Campbell. Very likely Regent
Albany, father of the Earl of Mar, was behind this murder, and this, quite probably, was the
real reason for the first battle of Inverlochy.

John More had married Marjory Bisset, heiress of the Earls of Antrim, which is the reason
why the family is connected with Antrim, rather than with Skye or Glencoe.

The tenth laird, Angus, was a follower of Montrose and Charles I, and consequently the
Estate was forfeited and given to Campbell of Inverawe. At the Restoration in 1660 the
family regained possession of the Estate.

The next, and perhaps most interesting connection with history, is with Flora Macdonald,
the rescuer of Prince Charlie in 1746. A daughter of Largie married

Page 8

the Rev. Angus Macdonald, Minister of Gigha and Cara,who also served for a time in Killean
Parish, in the church, now ruined, at Killean, and where there are some interesting stone
carvings. The Rev. Angus moved to South Uist, where his daughter met and married Ranald
Macdonald of Milton. They had two sons, the younger of whom was accidentally shot in
Cara, and a daughter, Flora. Her adventures with the Prince are too well-known for inclusion
in this article. She visited her cousins at Largie more than once, and when she took sail
finally for America, it was in a ship that sailed from Campbeltown.

Meantime John, 14th of Largie, had attempted to join the Prince. He only got as far as
Clachan, where he called on the Minister. The latter brewed punch, and unfortunately (or
5
perhaps fortunately) upset the kettle over Largie's foot, which prevented any further
attempt by Largie to join the Forty-five.

There is abundance of coal within three miles of Campbeltown, and a canal lately made to
convey it to the town, where the small cart load (of which three should make a ton) sells at
2s.7i^d. About 40 carts a day are consumed in the town. Turf or peat is commonly used in
the country; as it is also by many of the poorer sort within the town. There is likewise in this
parish abundance of Fuller's earth, and soap rock, which, It is thought, may be
manufactured into fine ware, or British china.

The mole, formerly unknown, has lately made an inroad to the extent of some miles within
the isthmus.

From the First Statistical Account of Scotland 1794 "Parish of Campbeltown" by the
Reverend Dr. John Smith.
In 1791 there were four schools in the Pariah of Southend: (1) the parochial school, (2) a
school in Glenbreckerie, founded by the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge,
(3) a school in the Learside supported by the Duke of Argyll, and (4) a private school at
Machrimore Mill.
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THE NORTH CAROLINA CONNECTION

Angus MacVicar

In Kintyre, as compared with other parts of the Highlands and Hebrides, there Is no history
of forced Clearances. And yet, from about 1750 to the present century large numbers of
people regularly left the district, seeking a better living overseas. For example round 1750
the population of Southend was approximately 3,000.When my father became minister of
the parish In 1910 It had dwindled almost to Its current level of about 500.

In a paper published In 1962 (reprinted In 1964) by the State Department of Archives and
History in North Carolina, concerning men and women from Kintyre who had settled there In
the years 1774 and 1775, the following reasons are given for their emigration: "Low wages,
high rents, low prices of cattle, high prices of bread due to distilling, the conversion of
arable lands into sheep pastures, and the exactions of landlords."

Around the rocky shores of Southend there can still be seen, grass-grown and deserted, the
ruins of townships from which some of those people came. Balmagomery, Balmavicar,
Balimacmurchle, Bailevearhil (township of Mac Michael), Balimackleconalich (township of
Conley's son), Balinamoll - the names are like an old song sighing down the wind. Today
such places appear to be of Interest only to local shepherds and to the Royal Commission
on the Ancient Monuments of Scotland.

But when strangers from abroad come visiting, sometimes an old song can acquire a new
and vigorous tune. In the summer of 1975 Mrs. Harvey B. Hunter of Charlotte, North
Carolina, unexpected dropped in to see us. She was accompanied by her daughter-in-law, a
lecturer in history at the University of North Carolina.

Mrs. Hunter is a formidable lady, eighty years of age, who, with the help of two sons,
conducts the business of a large dairy farm. At the gate of her house, she told me, in an
attractive Southern accent which I had imagined existed only in the movies, there stands
the model of a cow, twenty feet high.
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She and her daughter-in-law had less than three hours to spare. Could I In that time, give
her any Information about her ancestor, Daniel Caldwell, who had emigrated from Southend
in 1774? She showed me a copy of the testimonial to his good character which he had
carried with him to America. It was signed by David Campbell, minister of Southend, and
John Raid, elder.

We stood on my lawn, looking out over the sunlit bay at the Rock of Dunaverty and at the
old jetty which lies close to it. American hustle is all very well, but this was ridiculous.
Suddenly, however, the name sparked off a memory of something I had read in Andrew
McKerral's book, "Kintyre in the Seventeenth Century." I went into the house and looked up
the reference; and there, sure enough, was a master clue. In 1774 the Caldwells had been
tenants in the farm of Christlach.

I went back out on to the lawn, where the ladies were talking to my wife and admiring our
roses. They reckoned they were better roses than they themselves could grow in North
Carolina. Delighted by such evidence of American magnanimity, I cut two of the best
blooms and presented them with one each. I looked over the bay again at the jetty near
Dunaverty, and another memory occurred to me.

"Do you know the month in 1774 when Daniel Caldwell left Southend ?" "August," said Mrs.
Hunter.

"The ship he sailed in, was she by any chance the Ulysses ?" "Say, that was the very
name ! How did you know ?"

I knew (or thought I knew) because a story about the Ulysses used to be told in Southend:
how she had anchored in the bay while emigrants were taken out from the jetty in a small
boat, and someone on the shore had played a lament on the bagpipes.

"It is possible," I told Mrs. Hunter, "that your ancestor sailed for America from out there,
less than half a mile from where you are standing now."
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She found words difficult. Her daughter-in-law made notes and worked hard with her
camera.

"How then," I said, "we'll use my car and have a look around."

I stopped first at the graveyard at Keil, where I showed them the gravestone of John Reid,
the elder who had signed Daniel Caldwell's testimonial. I told them that his descendants
still live in the parish, and that a modern John Reid is a friend of mine.

Mrs. Hunter was all eyes, scrambling about the knolls and hollows of the ancient burying
place like an adolescent. I admired her fitness and said so. "I can still take a ladder and
repair the roof of our chicken run," she announced, somewhat tartly. Her daughter-in-law
took more photographs.

Then I drove them three miles north to Christlach Farm, where Daniel Caldwell had tried to
help the meagre family income by working - without much success, it appears - as a part-
time shoemaker. More photographs were taken. Mrs. Hunter sighed. "Just wait," she said.
"Just wait till I tell them about this back home !"

Finally we went to the church: St Blaan's Kirk in the centre of the parish. I told them it had
been built in 1773 and opened for public worship early in 1774. I explained that the pews of
Norwegian pine were the original ones, adjusted in numbers, but otherwise unchanged for
more than 200 years.
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While her daughter-in-law made still more notes, sunlight from one of the small, lead-paned
windows cast a golden brown light over the old pews. "Your ancestor, Daniel Caldwell, was
obviously a good church-goer otherwise he wouldn't have got a testimonial signed by both
the minister and an elder. In the early part of 1774, therefore he must often have sat in
these very seats."

Mrs. Hunter sat down carefully on the polished pine.

"Two hundred years doesn't seem such a long time now," I remarked.
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She said nothing, staring up at the empty pulpit. Then, quietly, she began to cry. "Oh, my,"
she said, this is the moat wunnerful day of ma life !" It was a wonderful day for me, too.

When Mrs. Hunter returned to North Carolina she sent me a letter, enclosing photostat
copies of the "Records of Emigrants from Scotland", transcripts of which are in the
possession of the North Carolina Historical Commission. Prom these it appears that among
the emigrants from Kintyre who, on 18 August, 1774, sailed with Daniel Caldwell in the
"Ulysses" (James Chalmers, master) were the following, all of whom gave as their reason for
emigrating either "high rents and oppression" or "poverty occasioned by want of work":

John Greenlees, 25, farmer, and his wife, Mary Howie, 25; Peter McArthur, 58, farmer, his
wife, Chirst Bride, 52, and their children, Ann, John and Jean; Robt Mitchell, 26, tailor, and
his wife Ann Campbell, 19; Alexr Allan, 22, workman; Iver McMillan, 26, and his wife, Jean
Huie, 23; John Perguson, 19, workman; Rob McKlchan, 32, farmer, his wife, Janet
McKendrick, 24, and their son, Neil; Malm McMullan, 58, farmer, his wife, Cathn McArthur,
58, and their children, Daniel, Archd, and Gelbt; Donald McKay, 20, tailor, Daniel Campbell,
25, farmer; Andw Hyndman, 46, farmer, his wife, Cathn Campbell, 46, and their children,
Mary, Margt and Angus; Malm Smith, 64, his wife, Mary McAlaster, 64, and their children,
Peter and Mary; Duncan McAllum, 22, and his wife, Cathn McAlester, 30; Neil Thomson, 23,
farmer; David Beaton, 28, farmer, and his wife, Flora Bride, 29; John Gilchrist, 25, farmer,
and his wife, Marion Taylor, 21; Neil McNeil, 64, farmer, his wife, Isobel Simpson, 64, and
their children, Danl, Hector, Peter, Neil, Wlllm and Mary; Allan Cameron, 28, farmer; Angus
Cameron, 18, and his wife Katrine Cameron, 21.

"The Highland church too, so long wanted and so much needed, is about to be rebuilt."
From the First Statistical Account of Scotland, 1794. "Parish of Campbeltown."
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SIKA DEER IN KINTYRE

T. W. G. Coulson

The Knapdale-Kintyre land mass projects south-south-westwards from the mainland of

Argyll, forming a barrier between the Atlantic and Loch Fyne - Firth of Clyde. It is about 50
miles long and varies in width from 6 to 14 miles. The land rises from sea level fairly steeply
to a spine of hills of no very regular pattern; the highest being about 1,500 feet. The bulk of
the drainage runs eastwards with the burns occupying valleys of pre-glacial origin. The soil
and vegetation are variable. The bulk of the interior is peat covered over quartzose mica
schist, though running almost the whole length of the peninsula is a narrow band of
metamorphic limestone and an adjacent narrow band of greenbeds which gives rise to
better quality grazing than the acid schists. In Knapdale the land tends to be poor as
opposed to Kintyre where there are substantial areas of arable which increase to the south
particularly on the alluvium and Old Red Sandstone in the neighbourhood of Campbeltown.
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The climate along the coast is extremely mild and the east coast so sheltered that many
exotic plants can be grown.

The variety of topography, vegetation and soil is matched by a variety of bird and animal
life which make the fullest use of this varied habitat. Outstanding among the animals is that
most elusive and elegant of mammals, the deer. Within Kintyre four species are to be
found. The small Roe Deer and the large Red Deer are native to the locality Roe are present
in moderate numbers throughout the area but prefer the sparse scrub woodlands of the
glens, straths and gullies as well as the newly formed conifer plantations of the Forestry
Commission. Red are decidedly uncommon and may not number more than ten beasts In all
and they are wandering stags. Intermediate in size between the Roe and the Red are two
introduced or feral species, the Fallow and the Japanese Sika.

An interesting story Is provided by the latter species which was introduced into the
Carradale Estate by Major Austin MacKenzie from a herd he owned near Harlow in 1893.
Our worthy Hon. President, Mr. Duncan Colville, has recorded that he was present on the
S.S.Davaar when he saw six animals being off-loaded, apparently two stags and four hinds,
on to Carradale Pier. They were held, together
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with some Fallow Deer, in a pound on Carradale Point until the 1914-18 War when the fence
fell Into disrepair and they made their way out Into the neighbouring woodland in the fertile
Carra Valley. At that time there was thought to be about twenty representatives of each
species. Since then, the Fallow have remained in the "Deer Park" locality, immediately to
the north of Carradale without any change in population. In the past two years there have
been reports of a buck having been seen in Rhunahaorine Wood near Tayinloan.

The Sika population has increased in the most dramatic manner until by the outbreak of the
Second World War in 1939 they had spread throughout the peninsula to number over 400
animals, and on into Knapdale. Currently they are to be seen in Awe District and Cowal. An
accurate estimate of the total population would be difficult but it must exceed the 1,000
level and constitutes one of the largest if not the largest group in the Kingdom.

The Japanese Sika Deer was first introduced into Britain in the mid-nineteenth century to a
few deer parks from which there were escapes to form feral colonies. They are now to be
found principally In the Lake District, Dorset, the New Forest, Peebles and Inverness. Their
natural home as with all deer is wooded country with thick cover but they may be seen
feeding along the margins of woodlands at dusk. In areas such as Kintyre where woodland
is sparse, they live in small numbers on the open hill particularly to the North of
Campbeltown and South of Glenbarr; and in the Sklpness area. Numbers in the Mull locality
South of Campbeltown are low, perhaps not exceeding 50 animals.

The first indication of the presence of deer in an area is probably given by their tracks and
droppings both of which have characteristics common to the species. It is beyond the
scope of this note to describe them in detail but interested readers can consult one of the
references given at the end. Voice too is characteristic, although deer are normally silent
animals, this being a feature of the rutting season when the stag makes a whistle rising to a
crescendo and declining down-scale to a concluding grunt, usually uttered three to four
times in rapid succession. When in heat, Sika hinds have a special bleat rather plaintive and
subdued.
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Page 15

In size Sika are similar to Fallow and lie approximately mid way between the large Red Deer
and the small Roe Deer. Stags stand to the tips of their antlers at approximately five feet
9
and the hinds three feet. Only the Stag carries antlers which are normally cast in April and
grow over the period May to August; during this time they are covered with skin which is
shed in the latter month. The process of shedding is assisted by the beast rubbing its horns
against a hard surface or a tree which suffers in the process. With age, the size and quality
of the antlers improve, feeding is also important, as is also heredity, soil and weather.
Kintyre animals are of very good quality. Antlers are thought to be of great social
significance to a stag; as he grows a new set each year their social value must be re-
learned and co-ordinated with a range of expressive gestures which play an important role
in the process of natural selection.

A good age for a Sika is ten years. There Is a seasonal change of coat from Summer, buff
brown, to the Winter coat of longer, sooty, brown hair. In habit the animal tends to be
gregarious but less so than Red or Fallow. The Stags normally travel alone or with one or
two of the same sex except towards the end of the winter Just before the antlers are cast
the males form small groups. In autumn, winter and spring hinds and calves also associate
in small groups. The rutting or breeding season is from mid-September until the end of
November when the stags mark out their territory and fight for the females. Calves are
born from the beginning of June to the end of July.

The full story and status of Sika Deer in Kintyre are not well known. Information is required
on seasonal movement; territorial demands; what antipathy, if any, occurs between each
species e.g. there are indications in Kintyre that the Sika are driving the smaller native Roe
out of their habitat - there Is evidence of Red Deer crossing with Sika, the resultant hybrid
could have an economic significance; and antler development.

REFERENCES
"British Deer and Their Management" Whitehead (Country Life)
"A Herd of Red Deer", Fraser Darling, Oxford.
"A Field Guide to British Deer" Journal of the British Deer Society. Enquiries can be made to
T.W.G.Coulaon, Secretary, Knapdale & Kintyre Deer Society, Lochside,
Campbeltown.
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SUMMARY REPORT ON THE EXCAVATIONS AT BALLOCH HILLFORT 1973 - 1976

E. J. Peltenburg.

Balloch Hlllfort is strategically situated above Oatfield House, where it overlooks the whole
of the Laggan and the pass to Southend. It is one of a group of forts that ring the Laggan,
others of which are at Largiemore, where a Roman coin was found, and at Knock Scalbert,
overlooking Campbeltown Loch. Excavations at the Balloch multi-ramparted hillfort were
carried out to Investigate, for the first time in the West of Scotland, this important type of
site, and to see what role its builders played in the Irish Sea province, probably at the time
of the Roman occupation further to the south-east.

Kintyre has an extensive series of pre-historic forts, but large forts are much less numerous
than the duns, some of which should be contemporary with this hill-fort, and the social
organization required for sites like Balloch suggests an intrusive influence. We may be able
to unravel the relations between the hillfort and the duns such as Kildonan Galleried Dun,
which the Society excavated under the guidance of Dr. Horace Fairhurst.

As erosion at a quarry on the southern side of the Balloch Hillfort was taking place and its
secondary buildings were slowly disappearing, the Department of the Environment
encouraged the excavation of the 3ite. The Kintyre Antiquarian and Natural History Society
kindly supported the initial stages of the project, and thereafter continued its
encouragement with a steady stream of willing and ever more capable volunteers. I am
grateful to both bodies and to the staff and pupils of Campbeltown Grammar School.
10
The inner rampart of the fort is built of large facing stones retaining a rubble core; a small
entrance faces east and it encloses an area of 1,000 sq. metres. Its plan, incomplete as we
now know, is illustrated on p.66 of the Royal Commission's Inventory of Argyll I. Excavations
have shown that a much more complex development took place at Balloch than was
hitherto thought possible, and one that is exceptional in our present state of knowledge for
Scotland as a whole. Bearing in mind that it was regarded as a conventional hillfort in which
one '
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fort, represented by the outer rampart, preceded another during the Iron Age, the following
resume of our results are of considerable interest :

Activities are now known to have taken place first during the Neolithic period (arrowheads
and scrappers). The hill was then reused in the Middle Bronze Age (cremation burials) by
people able to command wealth (elaborately decorated accessory cup and bronze awl). At
some period in the Iron Age the hill was fortified by two walls; a possible third with ditches
may in fact belong to the Neolithic period. The outer had a foundation cut into bedrock, or
was a revetment for a wooden palisade; the inner was massive (about 3 metres high),
perhaps with a wattle superstructure (fallen charcoal) and perhaps incomplete (weak
entrance). Its inhabitants probably lived there permanently (circular timber houses, flint
knapping, cooking and perhaps industrial processes), gathering wood locally (hazel, willow,
and larch or pine) and cultivating the fields below (barley). They may have been overcome
(a hasty widening and strengthening of the ramparts by the entrance) and the fort
abandoned.

Subsequently two circular buildings were hollowed out of the internal collapse of the inner
rampart and reoccupation for some time took place (fixed hearth, jet and glass beads,
lignite bracelet, iron spearhead, nails). We have therefore a long, if interrupted, sequence of
human endeavour on the hill, stretching from the Neolithic through to the medieval period.

Much work clearly remains to be done, especially with regard to the levels involving those
people who expended most effort on the hill, and who gave its top its present distinctive
outline, the Iron Age fort builders. As we have dealt with the medieval (?) buildings, only a
thin layer of soil now remains to be removed in order to expose a large area belonging to
the original inhabitants of the fort. With the good wishes of the Society, this work will take
place next summer.

"Whip behind," a cry by pedestrians to the driver of a carriage or coach, resulted in the
coachman taking suitable action with his long whip, and so dislodging boys who had
clambered on to the rear axle of the carriage,
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KINTYRE IN ONTARIO
Efric Wotherspoon

In the township of Elderslie, Bruce County, Ontario, there was a settlement of Kintyre
emigrants. The name still remains, painted on the gable end of an immense barn, spelt,
rather interestingly, Cantyre Farm. The school, no longer in use, was Kintyre School, and
there is a Kintyre Graveyard, changed some time ago to St. Andrew's Graveyard, but still
better known and remembered as Kintyre Graveyard.

The school was very similar to our Scottish village schools, consisting of one large room, but
with an enormous iron stove in the middle of it, giving off a great heat, very necessary in
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the depths of a Canadian winter. The school stood at the junction of two roads, these ruler-
straight roads, intersecting at right angles. Now-a-days the children are taken by the
ubiquitous yellow bus to a central school.

Life must have been arduous for these first settlers. They were allocated a 'lot', a long strip
of land covered by bush, and not bush as we know it, actually dense forest. A descendant of
one of these first settlers told me his forebears' first home was a bark covering, attached to
a fallen tree, making a primitive shelter until a log cabin was built. It was interesting to see
in some of the older farms the progression to more prosperous times. The log cabin became
the hen-house, the second and larger wooden house became the 'hired man's' house, and
the farmer then lived in a substantial stone house. Recently the Canadian Government
awarded plaques to be fixed to the farm houses which had been in the same family for a
hundred years.

Upper Canada was the name of the area in which the Kintyre settlement was located,
between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. Prior to 1763 this was a part of the French Colonial
Empire, but the French had not made any agricultural settlements. The area was
transferred to British Rule and the British were anxious to have this part of the country
colonised. The first settlers were 'Empire Loyalists', who tended to stay near the trading
posts of Kingston and York. The earliest emigrants were restricted in their choice of location,
as the land had not been
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entirely surveyed. Free land was offered at first. A famous Governor, John Simcoe,
suggested that groups, led by a settlement leader, should colonise Upper Canada. Each
settler was to erect a dwelling place and clear five acres per hundred acres of virgin bush.
An attempt was made to have the settlers register their land at York, but as travel was
difficult, there are no records that this was enforced.

Many Scottish emigrants left from Greenock. Often the ship had to beat about the Clyde,
awaiting a favourable wind to take them round the Mull of Kintyre. There is a story told of a
young Southend couple, who had left from Greenock. Several weeks later there was a
severe gale. The parents of the wife, whose house was near the shore, heard a loud
knocking on the door. The emigrant ship had been driven ashore on the rocks, and
recognising the coast, the couple had made their way to the cottage. It is not known if they
made a second attempt !

Fire was a great danger to the early settlers, and I was told of a 'jump' fire which travelled
at great speed, setting fire to the tops of trees. Fortunately there was a lake close to the
settlement and everyone took refuge in the water, human beings, domestic animals, and
wild life including bears. By soaking blankets and keeping them over their heads they all
survived.

Bears were a great trial in the early days, and they had a particular liking for pigs and
would carry them off, for despite their clumsy appearance they could travel very fast. The
women were frightened of Indians, but there is no record of Indians molesting them.

The ground was tremendously fertile, untold years of falling leaves having enriched it, but
there was back-breaking work to be done by the early settlers before crops could be grown.
The trees, many of them of enormous girth, had to be uprooted and even with the help of a
horse and chains, it was hard labour.

The intense cold of a Canadian winter was also a test of endurance. One severe winter the
nails inside the log cabin were shining with frost and there was a thin film of ice on the
bedclothes. A huge stock of wood logs had to be made ready for the winter.
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Page 20

In maple syrup time the woods were full of the sound of the drip, drip of the sap into tin
cans. The syrup was boiled to the right consistency and was an enjoyable addition to the
store cupboard. Vegetables were kept in the root cellar and milk and butter in a stone-lined
hole in the ground. It must have been a time of great adjustment, particularly for the
women.

In 1770 the brigantine 'Annabella' under command of Captain Robert Stewart left
Campbeltown with emigrants. They survived the voyage, which was not always the case.
There is one recorded incident of a ship on which one hundred people died on the long
voyage across the Atlantic. The 'Annabella', unfortunately, was wrecked on the north coast
of Prince Edward Island, and the list of names of those rescued still exists.

It included the names of Smith, Sinclair, McGougan, Ramsay, Woodside, Taylor and
Montgomery,and others from Kintyre. The name Montgomery occurred quite frequently in
the Kintyre Graveyard, and there were still Montgomeries in Campbeltown within living
memory. It is said that the Indians were very good to the ship-wrecked passengers, who
later continued on their journey to Ontario.

KINTYRE GRAVEYARD

The names in the graveyard were all familiar. Many had istles carved on the stones.
Frequently there was carved (a native of Argyleshire), and I took note of those names which
had the actual place of birth in Kintyre:

Christena Taylor, a native of Kilcalmonell, died 1871, wife of Peter Reid, Saddell

Mary Taylor, a native of Clachan, wife of Dugald Gillies, died 1882.

The name Gillies is perpetuated by 'Gillies Hill' a place name in Bruce County. There were a
considerable number of Gillies's but for identification purposes, unfortunately just stating 'a
native of Argyleshire' e.g. Hugh, Donald, Helen, John Gillies.

Dugald Blue and his wife (died 1859)

Mirren McKinnon, native of Killean, Kintyre, Argyleshire.
Neil Stewart, native of Kintyre.
Peter Thomson a native of Skipness died 1864.
Margaret Walker wife of Alex Taylor Killean, natives of Kilcalmonell, Kintyre.
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Donald McFadyen born 1825

Malcolm McFadyen " 1829
Margaret McPadyen " 1826 the family of Lachlan and Ann McFadyen
Flora McKillop died 1891
Malcolm McKillop
Malcolm McConachy born 1836
Lachlan Bell, his wife Christina Bell
James Bell, his wife Catherine McCalder
Mathew Freeman a native of Islay
Catherine Taylor a native of Clachan, wife of Angus McNeill.

One feels oneself in Argyll in this small roadside graveyard, and one wonders if the wrench
of leaving home was ameliorated by the fact of having so many people of their own

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countryside with them, making the most of the new country. Or was the heart 'forever
Highland'?

Toward the end of the 18th Century a blacksmith, who only spoke Gaelic, left Drumlemble
to work in Sheffield. The owner of the works there guarded his trade secrets well, end saw
that his workmen did not get full knowledge of them, but he did not feel it necessary to
maintain strict supervision over this dullard who could not speak English. A few years later,
in possession of the trade secrets, the Gaelic speaking MacNeil left Sheffield and started his
own forge in Stirlingshire. A son went to Tzarist Russia and started or developed the forge
at the Sebastopol Arsenal. Until recent years his descendents, still in the iron trade, had two
large works in Govan.

When the founder of the forge at Govan opened his own business he had to borrow some
money. This was the sum of £300, in 1876, when Income Tax was 3d. in the pound !
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Page 22

MARY - A HUNDRED & FIFTY SEARS AGO

Margaret MacDougall

What was it like living in Campbeltown 150 years ago ? We have some idea of the number
of people in the town, what they did for a living, what kind of house they lived in. But what
kind of people were they ? What made them laugh and what made them cry? We need a
good gossip. Some one who was living in Campbeltown at that time and who had a sharp
eye and a keen ear for the little details of everyday living which brings dry statistics to life.
And luckily we have one. Her name was Mary Streete Campbell, and she came to live in
Campbeltown in 1815 when she was nine years old. Her father, who was a native of the
town, had been in command of a company of the Argyll Militia during the Napoleonic Wars,
and Mary, together with the rest of her family, had led a peripathetic life following his
various postings in Scotland, Ireland, and the south of England.

But by 1815 Napoleon had been disposed of, and Thomas Campbell returned home to take
up an appointment as surveyor of roads in Argyll. In Campbeltown Mary grew from child to
woman, the dutiful eldest daughter in a large family of 11 sons and daughters. She never
married and in 1839 went out to the West Indies to join the household of her eldest brother,
Donald. Like many a Campbeltown family before and since the Campbells scattered across
the world. Four of Mary's brothers are buried in Jamica (where an older generation of the
family owned estates), and at least one brother and sister settled in the United States.

In the course of her long life (she died in 1900 in her 90th year) Mary lived in both the
United States and the West Indies. But when she was a very old lady, living in Edinburgh,
and was given a present of a diary In which to record her memories, her thoughts went
back over sixty years to Campbeltown, and to the precious time when the family were
growing up together in their home in Kirk Street. Later her diary was printed as a slim
booklet under the title, "A Nonagenarian's Memoirs."

Campbeltown was a close-knit community, with much interchange between all its
members. The Campbell children went to school in the town, and got the rough edges
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Page 23

rubbed off them. Mary went to a dame school and tells a tale against herself of how she
tried unsuccessfully to persuade one of her friends not to mix with a schoolmate out of
school because she was "socially in a quite different rank of life." For some time after
whenever Mary took her favourite walk down Kilkerran Road she had to endure shouts of
"Royal blood," and "Proud feet."
14
Mary's brothers, meanwhile, found their way in the Grammar School with one brother,
Dugald, thrashing the "Toddles," the school bully. Nicknames were apparently as common
then as now, and the headmaster of the school Gillespie, was known as "Snipe" because of
the sharpness of his nose!

The lower orders themselves were not easily abashed. There was, for instance, "Trumlan
Jock," a local character known to all. One day, Mary records, he was in the street when a
carriage drove past, owned by a parvenu. Jock watched its progress, then sourly
commented, "The lakes o' hum wi' a coche." Another character was the Cricket. A
remarkably decent quiet man when sober, says Mary, "but that was a condition in which he
was very seldom seen." One day he followed Mary's father into a shop and came up to him,
redolent of what he had been Imbibing. Mary's father recoiled, only to be told, "It's a good
smell, Thomas."

The family took part In all the activities which were popular then. The boys learned to swim
at the quay and indulged in bare backed riding of the pigs which still roamed the
Campbeltown streets. John introduced the velocipede to Kintyre roads, and broke his arm
when it failed to take a turn in Limecraigs Avenue. Donald walked to Carradale to see a
famous whale and wouldn't stop for the smell, and Charlie was almost killed when he fell
between the mill wheel and the wall at Auchaleek.

Mary lived less dangerously. After all she had the shirts to sew at home. But she too knew
and loved the Kintyre countryside, and spent many happy hours searching for specimens
for the botany box with her father at Glen-ramskill. She even ventured to the Mull
Lighthouse with a friend, travelling by farm cart, on horseback, and finally on foot.
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WILLIAM MCTAGGART 1835 - 1910

Isabella Dunnett.

William McTaggart was one of the finest painters Scotland has produced, and an original
genius, a pioneer of impressionism before it even had a label. In his early years he taught
himself drawing and painting, and already at the age of twelve he was able to earn extra
money and delight friends with his ability as a portrait painter* McTaggart was born of
crofting parents at Aros, at the present day a farm beside the east end of the airfield at
Machrihanish. His parents were Gaelic speaking and his mother was a granddaughter of the
religious poet, Duncan Mac Dougall* His parents are burled in Kilkenzie churchyard, and in
her later years his mother came back from Glasgow to live in Campbeltown.

At the age of twelve William McTaggart was an apprenticed apothecary to Dr. Buchanan of
Campbeltown, who quickly recognised his ability and encouraged him. His starting wage
was half a crown a week and his dinner on Sunday. William's parents had opposed his desire
to train as an artist but his employer encouraged him to continue with his painting and
portraiture, placing his library at his disposal, and introducing him to some of the wealthy
local who gave him commissions and also the chance to see other paintings in their houses.
When his apprenticeship was over William McTaggart took the bold step of sailing off to
Glasgow with his savings, determined to make his living from painting. In February 1852
aged sixteen he stayed with an elder brother and sought the advice of Sir Daniel McHee to
whom he had an Introduction. He was advised to enrol at the Trustees Academy, Edinburgh.
This academy owed its origin to the Treaty of Union, and had been founded In 1760 by the
Board of the Manufacturers of Scotland to Improve design for textiles etc., but had de-
veloped Into an art college. At the time McTaggart entered the school Robert Scott Lauder
(1805 - 1809) was the director of Antique Life and Colour Studies. He inspired a group of
well-known artists, most of whom later moved to London. This teacher's passion for colour
and understanding of the properties of oil paint was taken up by the students and became
15
the principal characteristic of most Scottish painting. McTaggart was carefully trained and
during this time he managed to support himself by painting portraits.
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Page 25

Between 1852 and 1860 painting by the Pre-Raphaelites Milais and Holman Hunt were
exhibited in Edinburgh but, although excited by their pursuit of naturalism, McTaggart
moved further to perfect a truth to atmosphere by a more exact use of broken colour. David
Fincham in the introduction to the "McTaggart Centenary Exhibition 1935" in the Tate
Gallery writes "As early as 1875 McTaggart had invented a system of impressionism
different from but comparable to that of Sisley, Monet and Renoir.

Although William McTaggart lived most of his working life in Edinburgh and after 1889 at
Lasswade, he returned nearly every year to Kintyre, and places in this peninsula were the
sites and inspiration of many of his paintings completed in his studio during the winter. In
1859 while still a student he was elected an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy. In
1860 he was able to take a painting holiday around Campbeltown Loch, and when on a visit
to New Orleans on the Leewardside Road he met Mary Holmes, who was also on holiday.
McTaggart painted his first study of the sea, called "Hesperus" on this holiday, and in June
1863 he married Mary Holmes in Glasgow. The marriage was very happy and seemed to
stimulate his painting, which improved steadily. As part of their honeymoon the young
couple made a brief visit to London where Mrs. McTaggart met some of her artist husband's
early friends.

In 1862 some of McTaggart's closest friends migrated to London, but he could never be
persuaded to make the move and, although he showed pictures at the Royal Academy in
London between 1866 and 1875, he rarely visited the capital, and settled in Edinburgh.
With a growing family his holidays by the sea were for some years on the East Coast. He
painted at Carnoustie and Broughty Ferry out of doors, and had a studio in his flat in
Charlotte Square. As a result many of his patrons were from Dundee and nearby and the
best public collections of his pictures are to be found at Broughty Perry and Kirkcaldy.

McTaggart and his family came to Kilkerran, Campbeltown, for a holiday in 1870 - a working
holiday as he was always a very energetic painter. After 1870 nearly every summer found
him and his family in Kintyre, at Machrlhanish, Tarbert, Carradale or Southend. His output
was tremendous. He had a large family and throughout his life he never stopped painting or
lowered his standards or aspirations. His paintings were much sought after and commanded
high prices. Some regard as his best those pictures painted
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about 1870, the year he was elected an academician. At that time he was probably the best
open air painter in Britain. In 1875 "The Village, Whitehouse" was exhibited in the London
Academy. MoTaggart painted several pictures of Whitehouse. To journey there from
Campbeltown meant catching the Campbeltown-Tarbert coach and starting at 5.a.m.

In 1876 MoTaggart began water-colour studies at Machrihanish. These sketches were

sometimes worked into pictures in oils painted later in the studio. The year 1884 must have
been a very sad one for the artist. Early in the year his mother died in Campbeltown. On
returning home his wife developed an illness which she had already and died on December
15th. His youngest daughter was inseparable from her father even when he went visiting.
When he was wooing the lady who became his second wife Jean went too, and also on the
honeymoon. He painted a beautiful portrait of this child in a red frock with a lace collar. It is
called "Belle" and is owned by her sisters. William McTaggart's eldest daughter and his
second wife, MarJorie Henderson, had a wonderfully happy relationship. They were really
like sisters and the whole family were devoted to each other. McTaggart often included his
16
family and young friends in his pictures, as for example in "Consider the Lilies." He was a
most understanding and approachable father.

By 1889 McTaggart felt sufficiently established to abandon direct commission and paint the
subjects he preferred - pictures of the sea and countryside. Before he removed from
Edinburgh, Dowells held a sale of his accumulated works in the spring of 1889. A total of
£4,000 was realised - at that time an unprecedented success in Scotland. In 1877 he had
sold a painting for 330 guineas, which showed that he earned a satisfactory income, was
able to paint what he wanted and still fulfil all family demands. In May 1889 he moved to
Dean Park, Broomieknowe, on the outskirts of Lasswade, Midlothian, and built himself a
studio in the garden. Later on in 1895 he built a bigger studio cum gallery, and painted at
Broomieknowe from 1889 - 1910.

During the 1880»s McTaggart painted a lot In water-colours. There are many beautiful
sketches of Klntyre, Glenramskill, Machrihanish, Kildavie, Bonnie Coniglen, Pennyseorach
Bay, Southend, Dunaverty, Brunerican and
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many pictures of Carradale were painted "on the spot." The summer visits of 1887 and
1888 were completely given over to watercolours, some to be transformed into larger
compositions in oil in the studio.

In 1892 McTaggart altered his holidays to visit Kintyre in June instead of August and
thereafter came practically every year i" this month till 1908. He found in the long light
days new effects of light to study. 1894 was a particularly busy year for him and 1895 a
particularly fine one for weather. This was the year his new studio was built and he painted
a well known studio picture called "Consider the lilies." It shows a bed of large white lilies
with two rings of dancing children. McTaggart never missed a R.S.A. Exhibition between
1855 and 1895. He showed a hundred and ninety pictures of which seventy two were
portraits and nineteen water-colours all exhibited after 1875. Hugh Cameron, a well known
critic, gave his opinion of McTaggart. "It was pioneer work - he put aside convention after
convention in his consistent and purposeful development towards the expression of the
things in nature which fascinated him." Another opinion was "Best open air painter in
Britain." In 1894 the "Art Journal" of that year devoted an article to McTaggart's work
entitled "A Scottish Impressionist."

1897 was the thirteenth centenary of the death of St. Columba. That summer when he
visited Machrihanish he found that the Cauldrons bays had filled with sand and this unusual
happening gave him the subject matter for his famous painting "The Coming of Saint
Columba" which hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland. The year before this (1896)
McTaggart had a serious illness but recovered completely by 1898. In that year his long
standing friend and patron, Mr. Orchan, died and left his collection of pictures, after his
wife's death, to Broughty Ferry. So there are about twenty of McTaggart's pictures on show
there. It was felt that there had been no exhibition of his pictures for some time so in 1900,
Mr. D. McOmish Dott purchased twenty nine pictures for £5,000 and showed them in
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. In 1901 the "Scottish Artists' Benevolent Association"
was started with a sale of prominent painters' works for its funds. William McTaggart took a
leading part in the foundation of this association and gave an early Broomleknowe painting
"Green Fields" for the sale. In the same year he visited Southend and painted some
wonderful pictures in a fine August,
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"Where the Smuggler Came A3hore" and "The Sounding Sea" - a masterpiece as is "The
Paps of Jura" (1902).
17
Nearer home McTaggart painted some pictures at Cock-enzle on the Firth of Forth and the
sea in these pictures is a completely different sea to that of the Atlantic paintings. In 1903
McTaggart was saddened by the death of his son, Hamish, at the early age of thirteen and
came to Rosehill on Campbeltown Loch for a change. The family still came to Machrihanish
for a summer painting holiday up to 1907 when McTaggart painted his last oil paintings
"Cauldrons Bay", "Atlantic Surf", "summer Sea" and Mist and Rain Machrihanish."

The names ere evocative in themselves. There is a photograph of the artist painting on the
beach at Machrihanish - coat flying in the breeze and his heavy easel and canvas held down
by an assistant - probably a member of the family. He was a master painter at depicting the
changing moods of sea and sky - the shining wind caressing western seas. The figures in his
pictures are usually subordinate to or enhance the mood of the picture. "He loved to
wreath the beauty of nature with the charm and innocence of childhood." As a Belgian
artist, Emile Claus said in 1916 "Ah ! C'est lui qui peint les enfants comme des fleurs."

William McTaggart died peacefully in April 1910 and is buried in Newington Churchyard,
Edinburgh. His paintings even in reproduction are an inspiration and delight.

Sources: Sir James Caw's Biography 1917.

The McTaggarts' Exhibition Catalogue 1974.

St. Couslan...

inculcated in the strongest manner the "Indissolubility of the marriage tie... end if lovers did
not find it convenient to marry, their joining hands through a hole in a rude pillar near his
church, was held, as it continued to be till almost the present day, an interim tie of mutual
fidelity so strong and sacred that it is generally believed in the country none ever broke it,
who did not soon after break his neck, or meet with some fatal accident.
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