port henderson : past & present - Royal Commission on the Ancient ...

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Port Henderson, Gairloch, was unfortunately drowned near Portree, from the smack “Look-out,” while the vessel lay to, and the rest of the crew - three young lads, were hauling the nets with the small boat. The morning was rough, with a heavy sea, and the boat was a decked one; and Mackenzie had a pair of heavy sea boots on, all of which, much impeded his movements. It is probable that he must have stumbled and fallen overboard. A search is being made for his body, though the chance of its recovery are remote. The South Side has by this catastrophe lost one of its best and most careful seaman, and much sympathy is felt for his bereaved parents. He was well-known as a most dutiful son. and a welldoing young man. The deceased was 36 years of age, and unmarried.’ From the 1871 census there is recorded a 27-year old unmarried fisherman, Roderick McKenzie, who lived with his father, Alexander, his mother Christy and his three younger sisters, Jane, Anne and Mary and his younger brother John. Alexander was 62 years of age and was recorded as a fisherman and a crofter. It is probable that the McKenzies lived in one of the fishermen’s houses, one with three windows, on croft 22 and certainly the name of Roderick and his age confirms that he may have been the fisherman in the article. (This family is only recorded on the 1861 and 1871 censuses. Alex may have formerly lived in 10 Opinan but there is no record as to where he and the family went in later years). Other boats One former resident and one <strong>present</strong> resident recall that there was a boat called the Baden Powell (see article above by Hector Mackenzie) on the sandy beach which was used by residents for changing under when they went swimming. (This boat belonged to Roddie ‘Seacrest’ MacKenzie and John Watson). All the children used to have great fun playing on an upturned boat on the green just above the beach. The boat was the ‘Baden Powell’ owned by John Watson of No. 13 (and Roddie ‘Seacrest’). We used to call it the Batten and it was only when I was grown up I discovered Batten was the Gaelic way of saying ‘Baden’ from the name Baden Powell. It was a big boat so we were able to play on top of it and inside it. Alice MacKenzie (née Maclean) Puffers carried coal around the coast from <strong>port</strong>s such as Glasgow and these boats are within the memories of some <strong>present</strong> day residents. Fishermen of Port Henderson The census forms from 1851 to 1901 record occupations. In 1851 there were 17 fishermen (and 14 crofters). In 1861 there were 18 fishermen (with two other men probably away at sea when the count was taken) and 21 crofters. 1871 recorded 15 fishermen and 19 crofters (with two men registered as both) whereas there were fewer fishermen in 1891 (13 as opposed to 22 crofters) but the number had risen again in 1901 to 20, with one wife recorded as a ‘fisher’. One of the fishermen was specifically recorded as a salmon fisher. 24
Before the crofts came into existence it seems as if most, if not all, of the inhabitants lived in houses along the shoreline and there might have been 22 (or even 23) of these, according to Estate records (which would correspond with the later croft allocation. See p.34 onwards for a detailed description of the early inhabitants). These houses and their byres and other outbuildings were built in joined pairs rather than the ‘terraced’ houses which have been recorded in other areas of the Scottish west coast. The 1901 census gave dwelling house names rather than croft numbers and 13 fisher’s houses were noted, although many of these houses were no longer on crofts with a shoreline. Although in these later years one of these houses had two windows and two others had three windows some of these fishermen’s houses must have been far more substantial than the other crofters’ houses as there were three houses with six windows and one other had seven. This would indicate that there might be an upper floor for the bedroom area rather than merely an attic area under the sloping roof. On the 1881 census one 56 year-old unmarried woman’s occupation was recorded as being a gutter of herring (see p.19). However, on the following census she was a domestic servant. Fishing was at its peak at the end of the 19 th and the beginning of the 20 th centuries. In 1886 there was detailed information on Gairloch fishing from the Re<strong>port</strong>s of the Fishery Board for Scotland. Scottish fishing was going through a bad period after the crisis of 1884 with the international herring markets and the population in the Gairloch area was falling due to emigration. But in the wider parish of Gairloch there were 614 fishermen, some 40% of the able-bodied manpower. There were 142 fishing boats. It was believed that there were approximately 30 fishermen in Port Henderson (although the 1881 census only records 13 and the 1891 only records 15) with about six to seven boats. It was usual that in the early years of the century the fishing boats, small with 14 to 16-foot keels, would be owned by a group of three to four men and they would share the expenses and the profits equally. In later years larger open boats with about 20 to 25-foot keels were used for cod and ling fishing. These had about six men for crew and they shared all the proceeds. The Fishery Board re<strong>port</strong>s showed that white fish landings and curings were at their peak and in the early 20 th century herring fishing was at its peak. By 1913 it was stated that there were still about 30 fishermen in Port Henderson and the same number of boats which landed their catch at Badachro where there was a suitable jetty. Each boat made seasonal gains of up to £100. Fishing continued well into the 20 th Remains of a row of fishermen's houses century (this is confirmed by residents’ accounts). The green above the Port Beag (see p.5) was used by the fishermen for drying their nets and laying up the boats when they were not in use and the land on croft 15 was also used for drying nets. The poles that were erected can still be remembered by residents today (see p.78). 25
Page 1 and 2: PORT HENDERSON : PAST & PRESENT The
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Page 4 1) Description, loc
Page 5 and 6: The name Port Henderson is also sai
Page 7 and 8: village of Port Henderson.’ At th
Page 9 and 10: used for washing, not for drinking.
Page 11 and 12: old sand dunes, am Mealbhán, the
Page 13 and 14: The cave of the gold (according to
Page 15 and 16: The man and the beast (as told by I
Page 17 and 18: Salmon-fishing using bag-nets was a
Page 19 and 20: egulations were abolished. Also nee
Page 21 and 22: egistered with the number U.L. (Ull
Page 23: Roddy ‘Seacrest’ MacKenzie (but
Page 27 and 28: the winter, could be fatal. Gaelic
Page 29 and 30: Henderson would be wise to stick to
Page 31 and 32: consequence of failure of the fishi
Page 33 and 34: (The first census gave no numbers f
Page 35 and 36: 1847 ‘as man on Poor Roll’. The
Page 37 and 38: Original 10/Croft 7. Alex McPherson
Page 39 and 40: law of young widow MacPherson and h
Page 41 and 42: pupils only spoke Gaelic. By 1826 t
Page 43 and 44: usual square Gairloch pattern. Crof
Page 45 and 46: foot spade and the tenants were all
Page 47 and 48: old and in poor repair internally.
Page 49 and 50: years and then the amount was reduc
Page 51 and 52: and then just two Macdonald childre
Page 53 and 54: There were statutory school holiday
Page 55 and 56: 1 Port Henderson had an eye examina
Page 57 and 58: ack on the road. ‘A part of the r
Page 59 and 60: and an Isabella Nicholson started w
Page 61 and 62: windows rattled in the wind making
Page 63 and 64: After the second world war school d
Page 65 and 66: have been killed. The fields were s
Page 67 and 68: (and according to the 1901 census t
Page 69 and 70: the second world war began. The las
Page 71 and 72: the war Murdo sailed from Glasgow i
Page 73 and 74: number is not recorded but it is co
Page 75 and 76:
preserve them when they were made o
Page 77 and 78:
Gairloch and John MacKenzie Bus Dri
Page 79 and 80:
still be seen today. The water was
Page 81 and 82:
couldn’t drive he would visit his
Page 83 and 84:
including her own mother, were very
Page 85 and 86:
section on boats). Crubaidh used to
Page 87 and 88:
My mother used to do washing and ir
Page 89 and 90:
Kirk Hand Weave (a shop in Gairloch
Page 91 and 92:
Memories of the village of Port Hen
Page 93 and 94:
We normally stayed overnight at the
Page 95 and 96:
front of croft 5 but then this was
Page 97 and 98:
Henderson it can be seen that Port
Page 99 and 100:
cigarettes) Household Radiant washi
Page 101 and 102:
his Factor, or estate manager. In 1
Page 103 and 104:
A local verse Mach a Port a’ Sgum
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