Lucky break in lockdown sheds fascinating light on Leckmelm clearances for new book: '
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Previously unseen information about the Highland Clearances in Ross-shire has been unearthed in a local author's new book, The Clearance of Leckmelm.
Leckmelm is a crofting community which sits on shores of Lochbroom, a few miles from Ullapool. The book follows the stories of the Leckmelm clearances, with previously unseen information and letters. This gives the book strong historical content while also following the narrative of those caught within the conflicts.
Author of The Clearance of Leckmelm, C.M. Holms, is a jeweller based at Fisk Gallery in Achiltibuie. But with a lifelong interest in Scottish history, and previously working for Historic Scotland and English Heritage, she took it upon herself in lockdown to explore the complex history of where she lives – Leckmelm.
"Reading through it I realised that I had discovered a storyline that read like a contemporary film, with just as many plot twists. The letters read like transcripts of interviews, with just as much spin and deception but also with a great deal of courage, decency and defiance."
Author C.M. Holms said: "It all started during lockdown when I was unable to get to my studio to work. Finding myself with time on my hands, I started researching the infamous Leckmelm evictions which took place just a few miles from where I was living. I was intrigued that they took place around 1880, much later into the nineteenth century than the time normally associated with Highland Clearances. Although references to the Leckmelm episode were often described as ‘notorious,' the details were sketchy.
"At first I was just researching to satisfy my own curiosity about what happened, and to discover the ultimate fate of the crofters, when I had a lucky break and came upon an incredible collection. I found dozens of previously unpublished letters, unseen since the time they were written, by all the main protagonists of the clearances: Mr. A. G. Pirie, Aberdonian Paper Mill owner who bought the estate in 1879, and his land agent, civil engineer C. R. Manners. Between them, they initiated the evictions of the residents of Lochbroom. In return, the residents of Lochbroom started a campaign against them, not least of whom was the Free Church Minister in Ullapool at the time, Rev. John MacMillan.
"Many of the letters were not written directly between the protagonists, but to local newspapers of the time, including the Ross–shire Journal which had only begun circulation for a few years since 1875. But unfortunately many of the letters were missing, so the search was on to find the missing pieces of the jigsaw. I searched through estate records, newspaper archives and records of political meetings, and eventually I managed to put together a complete timeline.
"Reading through it I realised that I had discovered a storyline that read like a contemporary film, with just as many plot twists. The letters read like transcripts of interviews, with just as much spin and deception but also with a great deal of courage, decency and defiance.
"The evictions were not on the scale of other better–known clearances, affecting only around 100 crofters, but they were in many ways are like a microcosm of the Highland clearances nationally, with the degree of verifiable detail giving a unique insight into the political forces and philosophical ideas that let them happen."
The Clearance of Leckmelm by C.M. Holms is published by Seann Taigh, and is available in bookshops now or can be ordered in your local library.
