Crofters, Spring and Early Summers’ Work.

In my previous blog on the hardships endured by the Swinister crofters of the late 1800s it came to mind the similarities faced by our fellow Islanders in Skye. I was to hear first- hand from an elderly Skye crofter of the clearances when on holiday in Skye in 1986 we stayed with my wife Catherine’s family who were crofters on the outskirts of Portree in the crofting township of Drumuie. It was here that I was made aware of a crofting legend John Macpherson known as the Skye Martyr so called as he was one of the leaders of a group of Glendale crofters who dared to stand up against the lairds and politicians who sought to clear the crofters from their homes. It was in Glendale in February 1882 that John Macpherson held a public meeting to set up the Land League, which was to give crofters more power in the running of their crofts. In 1887 after seven years and despite time spent in prison and standing up to the law and armed marines, in 1887 there came a breakthrough and a successful outcome in the courts the Glendale Martyrs changed the shape of crofting not only in Skye but in all crofting communities including Shetland giving the crofters more control over their lives.

That visit to Skye and our time spent on the croft was so like crofting life back home, the major difference as far as I could see and unfortunately feel whilst shearing was being bitten by the cleg-fly a common species of horse fly which thank goodness we don’t have in Shetland. Fortunately nearby was a river I could jump in to relieve the pain which was a bit more serious than our Midge bite!

This past spring and early summer was ideal weather for “Voar” work on the croft that is the time to prepare the soil for planting seeds and kale plants as we did earlier in the spring and early summer on Guddon croft in Yell. It was also the time of year weather permitting to cast the peat for the winter’s fuel for the fire in order to cook and keep the croft house warm in the colder darker winter months. In times past on the croft “Voar” work would have been a crucial part of the crofters life it would map out the rest of the crofting year a successful “Voar” could mean avoiding starvation in the event of a poor planting season.

Our own contribution to the spring work on Guddon croft brought home to me what an arduous and back breaking chore delving was, as I rested leaning on my spade I would look across at the long abandoned rigs of the neighbouring crofts of Murrister, and Swarister I could appreciate the demanding laborious work that went into improving that rugged land.

This was all put into context albeit in words I was to read at the Hay family history gathering in the Aith hall in June this year. One of my wife Catherine’s ancestors her Great Grand Uncle Gilbert Hay resided on his croft at Berfield, Sandsound in the 1930s. Looking through all the texts and writings documenting regarding the Hay family I came across a record of his crop work in spring and early summer 1935 written by Gilbert Hay which was discovered in the Shetland archives to which we are once again indebted to for saving a valuable piece of past crofting life.

  Started to delve the “ley” February 21^st, to prepare the land for cultivation. March 9^th finished the “ley”. March 9^th. Delved the Kale yard, March 11 (new one started). Started to Delve stubble, (the cut stalks of cereal plants left sticking out of the ground after harvesting) March 18^th sown Shetland oats next oats March 19^th. Delved stubble for tatties March 20. Delved the other yard & set the plants March 22^nd. Set the first taties 23^rd and 25^th, 3 “kishies” (straw basket or creel). Next tatties 26^th nearly 6 “kishies”. 1 “ kishie for Duncan’ ley. Black Orion corn sown 27 & 28 March. Set 3 kishies tatties 29^th March ( Kippletons).

Sown white oats 1&2^nd of April & 3. Snow on the ground 4^th of April. Snow the 4^th of April. 2 “kishies put into Duncan April 8^th. 1 “kishie” to ourselves the same day. Finished our “Voar” work April 13^th last oats sown 9-12 Tattie mould set the sprouts 15^th April & finished setting our tatties.

Finished the big Kale yard April 22 nd and hoed the new Kale yard, Turnips sown May 27, 28, 29 & 30^th and the mould gathered 31 & the 1^st of June and turned all the peats 3^rd.

Sown Duncan’s crub & the lower town one on June 27^th & started to barrow the Hammer peats and got 46 barrows in the stack & 14,17 and 12 in the “ roog” ( heap or pile). 28^th June 20, barrows. 29^th June 20^th 31 barrows. I have now found out that Duncan was a fellow crofter who lived to the north of Berfield this was another instance of the crofting community helping each other.

Bight peats. 46, 97,

July 2^nd          20, 43

52 barrows up 31, 143 BP

66 barrows down Stack 97.

 So as detailed above the winter fuel for heat and cooking  having climbed the steep hill above Berfield and walked through the former peat banks which Gilbert would have worked, one could appreciate the back breaking work of casting the peats and the journey back down to the crofts of Berfield most likely with his barrow. My photo taken from across the sea from Sand you can clearly see the impressions of former rigs which again were quite steep and back breaking work to delve.

At one time in Sandsound there were as many has 33 houses most of them home to crofters and similar to most Shetland crofting communities they would work together to “ caa” gather the hill sheep, we found evidence of this when walking out the headland called Russaness where we happened upon the remains of  a former “ cro “ sheep pen situated close to the banks and next to a convenient beach where sheep and their wool would be transported by boat along the coast to the East Beach and then onward to the croft.

My father told me when he was a young man they would journey by boat from Burra Isle to the East beach to collect shingle to use in the building of houses back home. The two dwelling’s remains situated just above the beach are called Beach House and the Bod one of which he said had been a shop at one time, he also said there was an old lady in one of the houses who would make them very welcome and give them a cup of tea.

Crofting life in days gone by was a struggle to survive back breaking work in order to exist a far cry from today with modern agricultural machinery such as tractors for ploughing, ditching and draining and motorised quads which replaced the arduous trekking through the knee high heather. I have been very fortunate in my work place to meet crofters and hear stories of life in days gone by in crofting communities, not just tales of hardship but also of happy times which I will write about in another blog on the social side of crofting life.