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INTO THE ARCHIVE: Jail records offer fascinating insight into rogues' gallery and characters including notorious Highland clearance factor Patrick Sellar


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The Dornoch jail book's opening page, 1814.
The Dornoch jail book's opening page, 1814.

Today we are going slightly further afield and looking at the burgh of Dornoch.

Dornoch was created a royal burgh in 1628, by a charter from King Charles I, and has held a proud place in Highland history ever since.

The Dornoch Burgh collection includes town council minute books (from 1729 onwards), abstracts of accounts, assessment roles, electoral registers and a number of other documents. Of particular fascination are the Dornoch Jail Books and lists of prisoners.

A look through these volumes, which date from 1814-1840, gives an insight into the types of crimes which were taking place across Sutherland in the early 19th century, and how the accused were disposed of.

The earlier of the two volumes contains a list of prisoners split into two sections. Those who have been arrested for civil debts and excise penalties appear on the left-hand side while prisoners for crimes and offences appear on the right.

The criminal prisoners list opens with one Robert Mackay in Cranich, parish of Durness, who was arrested on a charge of ‘Clandestinely working horses’. The crime can’t have been considered too serious as he was only held for 12 hours until payment of fine, unlike John Ross of Claggan who was imprisoned for sheep stealing, found guilty and banished from the country for 14 years!

One particularly interesting story is that of Adam Mackay from Elderable, Kildonan. Arrested for murder in 1817, Mackay was tried in Inverness but was ‘acquited on the score of insanity.’ Later that year he appears in the list of prisoners with his crime recorded as ‘maniac’ and a note from January 1818 records that ‘Early this morning Adam Mackay from Ederable and Alexander Macdonald from Tomich both in the parish of Kildonan effected their escape from the jail of Dornoch, by one of the open turrets in the attic room, and from there by means of a ladder on the top of the adjoining house and a rope fastened to it, came to the ground.”

An extract from the Dornoch jail book regarding the escape of Adam Mackay, 1818.
An extract from the Dornoch jail book regarding the escape of Adam Mackay, 1818.

Perhaps most renowned person to appear in these volumes is Patrick Sellar, the infamous factor of the Sutherland estates, who appears in 1815 under a charge which included ‘wilful fire-raising, culpable homicide and oppression’ for having set fire to the house of a tinker in Rosal, Strathnaver. A note next to the entry records his liberation by warrant of the High Court of Justiciary, trial in 1816 at the Justiciary at Inverness, and honourable acquittal.

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