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From Calder to Cawdor: the history and evolution of a village in

Northeast Scotland

by

Thorsten Hanke October 2008

From Calder to Cawdor: The History and Evolution of a Village in Northeast Scotland

1

Table of Contents

i Note on the Text 2

ii Acknowledgments 2

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 The Middle Ages: The Evolution of Cawdor until c. 1780 6

1.3 The Making of the Village: The Evolution of Cawdor during the 19th and 20th

Century

12

2.0 Conclusion 17

2.0 Consulted Literature 18

3.0 Picture Credits 23


2

i Note on the Text

The village under consideration is known under two names, ‘Cawdor’ and

‘Calder’, of which the latter was widely used until c. 1800. This essay is

employing the modern version, ‘Cawdor’. However, it occasionally quotes

documents in which their authors refer to the village, the estate or the parish as

‘Calder’. Both terms have the same meaning.

ii Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to the Earl of Cawdor for allowing me to use

the archives of Cawdor Estate and to Mr. Angus McNicol and Mr. Ivan Leibov

for their kind support.


3

1.1 Introduction

The village of Cawdor, located less than 10 miles south of Nairn and some 30

miles east of Inverness, constitutes one of the most picturesque rural

agglomerations of Northeast Scotland. Unlike many of the settlements along the

northern and eastern seaboard it was not created in a specific endeavour to

encourage regional economic improvement, but grew in a fairly slow process

which commenced long before the age of enlightenment.1 This phenomenon is

hardly surprising – similar things happened in the case of many other Scottish

towns and settlements. But Cawdor is unusual for not betraying any dynamic

morphological development during the 20th century, neither in its first nor in its

later decades. Physical features such as roads, edifices, surfaces and

plantations have remained relatively untouched. With few exceptions, the village

evolved within its natural constraints but did not extend its boundaries beyond it.

Plate 1 Planned villages in Scotland

between 1730 and 1830 with the location of Cawdor.

1 For the agricultural improvements of late 18

th century Nairnshire, see Donaldson, J., General View of the

Agriculture of the County of Nairn, the Eastern Coast of Inverness-shire, and the Parish of Dyke, and Part of Edenkeillie, in the County of Elgin, and Forres, London 1794. For improved villages, see Smout, C., ‘The Landowner and the Planned Village in Scotland, 1730-1830’, in: Philipson, N.T. and Mitchison, R. (eds.), Scotland in the Age of Improvement, Edinburgh 1970, 2

nd ed. 1996, pp. 73-106 and Houston, J.M., ‘Village

Planning in Scotland, 1745-1845’, in: The Advancement of Science, Vol. 5, No. 18, 1948, pp. 129-32.


4

John Grant and William Leslie comment on this remarkably stable condition as

early as 1798: “The people [of the parish of Cawdor], in general (…) dispose of

a considerable quantity of victual at Inverness, Nairn, and Fort George, where

their fat cattle and sheep are likewise sold (…) they are contented with their

situation, and discover no desire to leave the parish, although every other year

a few lads, as adventurers, apprentices or servants, seek their fortunes in

Edinburgh, London, or America; they complain of the uncertainty of their leases;

and they are troubled by the caprice, wantonness and extravagance of the farm

servants.”2

Plate 2 The population of the parish of

Cawdor between 1801 and 1951.

3

By the end of the 18th century, when Grant and Leslie were writing these notes

in their Survey of the Province of Moray, the population of the parish of Cawdor

measured some 980 people, thus making it the principal community of

Nairnshire apart from Nairn. This number rose to a peak of 1041 inhabitants in

1851 and declined to a number of 887 in 1871.4 It was in these decades that

the village of Cawdor saw its principal development, acquiring most of its

currant layout. 80 years later, in 1951, Cawdor counted 823 souls, most of them

affiliated to the estate of Cawdor. Nowadays the settlement has the status of a

‘conservation village’, disposing an attractive blend of contemporary and historic

features.

2 Grant, J. and Leslie, W., Survey of the Province of Moray: Historical, Geographical, Political, Aberdeen

1798, p. 203. 3 Source: Earl of Cawdor, ‘The Parish of Cawdor’, in: Hamilton, H. (ed.), The Third Statistical Account of

Scotland: The Counties of Moray and Nairn, Vol. 17, Glasgow 1965, p. 438-44. No numbers are given for the year of 1941. 4 Earl of Cawdor (1965), p. 438. It is important to keep in mind that these numbers do not describe the

demographic development in the village of Cawdor but refer to the parish of Cawdor.


5

The following notes, which intend to provide a firm scholarly foundation for the

currant design projects, aim at a further consideration on the evolution of

Cawdor.5 They analyse the morphological development of the settlement in the

light of contemporary maps and records and strive to identify regional planning

as an ongoing historical process.

5 Much has been written on Cawdor Castle and it is here not necessary to reiterate previous research. The

same goes for the parish of Cawdor. This essay, by contrast, aims to place its priority on the village of Cawdor. For Cawdor Castle, see in particular Earl of Cawdor, Cawdor Castle, 1992 and Gifford, J., The Buildings of Scotland: Highland and Islands, New Haven and London 2003, pp. 270-4. For the parish of Cawdor and the county of Nairnshire, see MacNeill, J.G., History of Cawdor, with Biographical Notices of its Ministers, from 1567 to 1898, Glasgow 1893; McLauchlan, S.F., ‘Parish of Cawdor’, in: The Ministers of the Respective Parishes, under the Superintendence of a Committee of the Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy, (eds.), The New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol. 13, Edinburgh and London 1845, pp. 19-26.


6

1.2 The Middle Ages: The Evolution of Cawdor until c. 1780

The village of Cawdor comprises a church and a green, an inn and a shop, neat

orchards and old trees, and such a townscape evokes the perfectly established

image of the village in rural Britain. However, this notion of the rural settlement

as a firmly fixed local community was alien to most parts of medieval Scotland.

In Scotland shared farm units – so called fermtouns and clannachs – took the

place of the ‘English’ type of village, and the latter largely did not emerge before

the enlightenment.6 Both the archaeology and sociology of medieval Scottish

fermtouns have been discussed in several scholarly works,7 but, due to the

limited tenability of the employed building materials, it is difficult to be precise on

their actual appearance. Indeed most of the landscape of the Scottish Northeast

is hardly older than some 250 years,8 and virtually no original fabric testifies on

the architecture of its medieval communities. This factum is the principal

problem for writing on pre-18th century Scottish vernacular architecture and it is

necessary to allow for a certain degree of hypothetical and lateral thinking.

Perhaps it is William Roy who should be credited for providing the first tangible

clue on the early appearance of Cawdor. In his military survey of Scotland,

which he undertook in the years between 1747 and 1755, Roy denotes a

number of local features, namely ‘Calder Castle’, ‘Calder Kirk’ and the ‘Manse’.9

Further to this he depicts human settlement by using red dots attached to red

squares, obviously indicating the existence of landed property, albeit without

specifying any architectural details. Roy hardly accounts for any roads, apart

from those connecting Calder Kirk with the Mill of Kilraook in NS-direction and

Calder Castle with Geddes in EW-direction.

6 Houston (1948), p. 129.

7 See, for instance, Barrow, G.W.S., ‘Rural Settlement in Central and Eastern Scotland: The Medieval

Evidence’, in: Scottish Studies, Vol. 6, 1962, pp. 123-44; Dodgshon, R.A., From Chiefs to Landlords: Social and Economic Change in the Western Highlands and Islands, c. 1493-1820, Edinburgh 1998; Fairhurst, H., ‘Scottish Clachans’, in: Scottish Geographical Magazine, Vol. 76/2, 1962, pp. 67-76; Fairhurst, H. and Dunbar, J.G., ‘The Study of Medieval Settlements in Scotland (to 1968)’, in: Beresford, M. and Hurst, J.G. (eds.), Deserted Medieval Villages, Gloucester 1971, 2

nd ed. 1989, pp. 229-46; Fairhurst, H. and Petrie, G.,

‘Scottish Clachans II: Lix and Rosal’, in: Scottish Geographical Magazine, Vol. 80/3, 1964, pp. 150-63; Fenton, A., A Farming Township: Auchindrain Argyll, Perth 1979; Gailey, R.A., ‘The Evolution of Highland Rural Settlement’, in: Scottish Studies, Vol. 6, 1962 , pp. 155-77. 8 Shepherd, I., Aberdeen and North-East Scotland, Edinburgh 1996, p. 9.

9 For these buildings, see plate 131 of the military survey. Roy still uses the old name of Cawdor, Calder.


7

With regard to the depiction of the settlement, it is intriguing to note that Roy

refrains from showing any kind of hierarchical order. Instead he shows several

individual units which are neither intertwined into a network of roads, nor

grouped around the church or a square.10

Plates 3 and 4 Cawdor as surveyed and depicted

around 1750 by William Roy and the township of Auchindrain.

It is reasonable to suggest that Roy was depicting clachans,11 the ancient

townships that featured as the basic pattern of settlement in the North, West

and East of medieval rural Scotland.12 A note by Archibald Campbell from 30

November 1725 confirms the relatively modest state of rural housing in Cawdor

during the early decades of the 18th century. Referring to the tenants of the

estate of Cawdor as “(…) numerous and generally poor (…)” and describing

their houses as “(…) all of faile”, Campbell argues in favour of 19 year leases,

with the intention to urge tenants “(…) to build their houses in stone, enlarge

their gardens, and plant above their several possessions.”13 The buildings

described by Campbell must have resembled the edifices preserved in

Auchindrain, one of the few remaining townships that still convey the structure

of medieval Scottish settlements.14

10

Roy, whose emphasis was put on the reliable depiction of physical details rather than actual geographic precision, nevertheless paid attention to militarily relevant details such as roads, bridges and dykes. For further details, see Tabraham, C., ‘The Military Context of the Military Survey’, in: Roy, W., The Great Map: The Military Survey of Scotland 1747-55; with introductory essays by Yolande Hodson, Chris Tabraham and Charles Withers, Edinburgh 2007, p. 32. 11

The symbol of red dots stands, according to Fairhurst, for fermtouns and clachans. Both terms describe the same feature, with the latter being used in the case of Highland-settlements. See Fairhurst/Dunbar (1989), p. 231. 12

The Southeast of Scotland was the only Scottish region which evidently new ‘villages’ during the Middle Ages – doubtlessly due its proximity to Northern England. 13

For this and the previous quotations, see Spalding Club, The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor. A Series of Papers selected from the Charter Room at Cawdor, 1236-1742, Edinburgh 1859, p. 430. 14

For the township of Auchindrain, see Fenton (1979).


8

In Nairnshire this general condition of housing must have prevailed well into the

second half of the 18th century. As late as 1794, James Donaldson was able to

refer to comparatively dark cruck cottages made of timber and turf,15 houses

that, according to his contemporary William Leslie, were ubiquitous until about

1760.16

Plates 5 and 6 Cawdor as depicted by Joan Blaeu (1654, left)

and Timothy Pont (c.1590, right).

By this time the settlement of Cawdor was extant – presumably – for at least

300 years.17 The term ‘Caldall’18 is mentioned around 1590 by Timothy Pont in

his map ‘Pont 8’ – together with symbols referring to an (unspecified) church

and the seat of the Thanes of Cawdor. Sixty years later, Jean Blaeu, employing

material provided by Pont and his successor Robert Gordon of Straloch,

publishes a map of Moray and Nairn, in which he is using the term ‘Caldell’.19

15

“The habitations of the poorer tenants in the district, however, are mean, dark and dirty cottages built of turf, without order or connexion with each other. The proprietor in general affords what is called the great timber, and the tenant is at the expence of cutting the turf and erecting the fabric.” For this quotation, see Donaldson, J., General View of the Agriculture of the County of Nairn, the Eastern Coast of Inverness-shire, and the Parish of Dyke, and Part of Edenkeillie, in the County of Elgin, and Forres, London 1794, pp. 20-1. It must be conceded that Donaldson’s remark does not specify any particular location. 16

Leslie’s account of local vernacular architecture is quoted in Rampini, C., A History of Moray and Nairn, Edinburgh and London 1897, pp. 305-6. 17

A building licence, referring to Cawdor Castle, was granted in 1454 to William Thane of Cawdor and scholarship attributes the oldest parts of the extant castle to the late 14

th or early 15

th century. While the

existence of a castle does not conclusively prove the existence of a settlement, it makes it highly probable. The internal organisation of a lordly residence has required a large number of subjects affiliated to the estate, who, doubtlessly, must have settled somehow close to the seat. For the early history of Cawdor Castle, see Gifford (2003), p. 270 and the Earl of Cawdor (1992), p. 4. For the structure of a lordly household, see Tabraham, C., “The Scottish medieval tower house as lordly residence’, in: Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol. 118, 1989, pp. 267-276. 18

This term was used by Pont instead of ‘Calder’, which has the same meaning as the term ‘Cawdor’. The term ‘Calder’ was still employed in the first edition of the Statistical Account. 19

Blaeu, J., ‘Moravia Scotiae provincia, ex Timothei Pont / scedis descripta et aucta per Robert: Gordonium a Strathloch’, in: Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, Amsterdam 1654.


9

By comparing the two maps, it becomes evident that the position of the church

has changed. Pont still places the symbol of the church south of Cawdor Castle.

Blaeu, on the other hand, depicts it north of the keep. Moreover, he places it far

more closely to the castle and accompanies the symbol with the denotation ‘Kirk

of Caldell’, thus specifying it as a place of worship that was obviously explicitly

related to the estate of Cawdor. Blaeu’s map already reflects the erection of the

extant church – the building was instigated and funded by Sir John Campbell of

Cawdor and Islay in 1619,20 while Pont still refers to the old church of Barevan,

which was in use until that year.21 The erection of the church tells us a lot about

the condition of the settlement in the 1620s as it shows that a sizable

community must have existed in close proximity to Cawdor Castle.

One can assume that the fortunes of ‘Caldell’ took an upturn in these times.

Four years after the building of the church, in 1623, Cawdor was erected into a

free burgh of barony,22 underlining that it enjoyed a certain regional importance.

However, as the neighbouring settlement of Geddes was elevated to the same

status even earlier,23 we should perhaps not too readily assume that Cawdor

was the principal centre of rural Nairnshire. It is very reasonable to conclude

that the township of Cawdor emerged with the creation of the estate,24 that it

benefited from the proximity to the castle, and that it had gained some regional

recognition by the early 17th century. Yet whether Calder had already developed

the typical features of a ‘modern’ village by that time or not remains doubtful.

20

MacNeill, J.G., History of Cawdor, with Biographical Notices of its Ministers, from 1567 to 1898, Glasgow 1893, pp. 32-3. 21

MacNeill (1893), pp. 32-2. 22

For the erection of Cawdor into the burgh of barony, see Marwick, J.D., List of Markets and Fairs Now and Formerly Held in Scotland: With Notes as to the Charters, Acts of Parliament, and other Documents by which the Right to hold them has been conferred, Glasgow 1890, p. 30. For the legal and social structure of Scottish bughs of barony, see Pryde, G.S., ‘Introduction’, in: Pryde, G.S. (ed.), The Court Book of the Burgh of Kirkintalloch 1658-1694, Edinburgh 1963, pp. xi-lxxxix. 23

Erected into a burgh of barony on 6 March 1600 by James VI in favour of William Ross of Kilravock. See Marwick (1890), p. 58. 24

This assessment invites an interesting hypothesis, suggesting that the settlement took its eventual location when the thanes of Cawdor moved their seat to its currant position. The thanage of Cawdor is older than their currant seat – indeed the lineage goes back at least to the early 13

th century. The ancient

seat of Cawdor was located north of the currant castle and it should be expected that the subjects affiliated to the estate settled there as well. For the early history of the thanage of Cawdor, see MacNeill (1893), p. 13.


10

Kitchin, in his 1749 map of Moray and Nairn, mentions neither Cawdor Castle

nor Cawdor Village, although he marks, for instance, Tornaway (= Darnaway)

with the symbol of the castle and shows the location of Geddes.25 Some forty

years later, Grant explicitly refers to the status of Cawdor, stating that a “(…)

small village was begun at Calder some years ago” – hence not earlier than in

the later decades of the 18th century. 26 The same reluctant attitude to

characterise Cawdor as a village is visible in the work of other late 18th century

authors: Donaldson does not list Cawdor among the villages of Nairnshire,27

and his view is shared by Millar, who, in his map The Province of Moray, does

not characterise Cawdor as a village either.28

But how does this help us to understand the evolution of Cawdor? Indeed there

appears to be a striking contradiction in the statements of Kitchin, Grant,

Donaldson and Millar, at least when we keep in mind that Cawdor was made a

burgh of barony almost 200 years earlier. How is it possible that a burgh of

barony is not even recognised as a village? Perhaps we should assume that

late 18th century authors such as Grant and Donaldson had already adopted a

modern approach towards settlement-design, using the term ‘village’ in a very

specific way. Did they have the picture of the church and the green in mind, with

the cottages being grouped around these municipal centres, and did they

perhaps fail to regard the Clannach of Cawdor as a ‘real’ village? To delve too

deeply into this problem goes beyond the scope of this study. However, this

question reminds us of the subjective nature of historic texts, and it is, therefore,

most rewarding to evaluate the views of Kitchin, Grant, Donaldson and Millar

through the analysis of an estate map of Cawdor dating from 1782.

25

Kitchin, T., ‘A Map of the Shires of Elgin and Nairn’ in: Geographia Scotiae: Being New and Correct Maps of all the Counties and Islands in the Kingdom of Scotland. Containing The Universities, Cities, Presbytery, and Market-Towns, Rivers, Locks, Roads, Etc. with A General Map of the whole Kingdom, from the latest Observations, London 1749. 26

Grant (1982), pp. 739-40. 27

Donaldson mentions Dyke, Auldean and Campbeltown, each of them possessing between 30 and 100 houses. See Donaldson (1794), p. 10. 28

Millar’s map is attached to the Survey of the Province of Moray: Historical, Geographical, Political, which was written in 1798 by John Grant and William Leslie. Interestingly Millar employs the village-symbol in the case of Dyke, Auldean and Campbeltown, hence the very settlements mentioned by Donaldson. This may suggest that Millar had access to Donaldson’s General View of the Agriculture of the County of Nairn while working on his map and that he may not have inspected the region in close detail.


11

This map, produced some 30 years after William Roy’s military survey, is far

more informative than the already discussed maps of Pont, Blaeu and Roy.

Indeed the drawing is extraordinarily valuable because it not only shows the

individual buildings in their exact location, but also the network of roads and the

shape of parcels.29 Thus it enables us to draw far reaching conclusions on the

dynamics of settlement-evolution, as well as to evaluate the lost world of an

early 18th century Scottish settlement.

Plates 7 and 8 Cawdor in 1782 (left) and

2007 (right).30

The estate map confirms that the most significant physical boundaries of the

currant village – which consist of a stream flowing in NS-direction, and a U-

shaped road running from east to west – were already in existence during the

second half of the 18th century. Further to this it shows that the basic shape of

the parcels was established by that time and that the church functioned as the

eastern termination of the settlement. Thus, apart from the vast majority of

currently existing buildings, all relevant urban elements were in place in 1782.

29

The development of the road network in Cawdor and its vicinity cannot be understood using the early maps of Pont, Blaeu and Roy. Neither Pont nor Blaeu were paying attention to the depiction of roads and Roy’s map was produced at a time when the state of roads in the Highlands was still in its infancy. For the significance and accuracy of early Scottish estate maps, see Third, B.M.W., ‘The Significance of Scottish Estate Plans and Associated Documents: some local examples’, in: Scottish Studies, Vol. 1, 1957, pp. 39-64. 30

Plate 8 shows the 1782 features copied into the currant ordnance survey of Cawdor. Extant ancient features are depicted using the colour red.


12

1.3 The Making of the Village: The Evolution of Cawdor in the 19

th and 20

th Century

The village of Cawdor conveys – perhaps more than anything else – the idea of

the Victorian settlement. This impression is not only effected by the typology

and style of the individual buildings – for instance, cottages with neatly arranged

dormers, brightly painted doorways and picturesque timberwork – but also by

the abundance of natural elements such hedges, trees and orchards. Many of

these plants appear to be older than 100 years, pointing back into a time in

which villagers new little about concrete, cars and building regulations.

Plates 9 and 10 Elements of nature and architecture.

The 19th century is indeed the period in which most of the currant surface of

Cawdor was shaped. But, as the principal layout of the village can be identified

already on the previously discussed 1792 estate map, Cawdor should by no

means be mistaken as a genuine 19th century institution. Characteristic for the

urban evolution during the Victorian time is elaboration rather than creation; this

development led to a ‘facelift’ which saw aging architectural fabric being

replaced my more modern elements. Yet this happened largely within the

existing parcels,31 generally along the internal side of the U-shaped main road,

but occasionally also at other building sites. The 19th century builders and

house-owners of Cawdor thus overlaid the existing structure with a new layer of

fabric rather then creating distinctively new settlement-quarters.32

31

Sometimes this also involved the division of formerly larger parcels. 32

“Since the New Statistical Account was published (…) the number of houses in Cawdor village has shown little change. (…). Although a few new houses have been built, generally speaking old houses have either been modernised or rebuilt on their original sites. (…).” For the quotation, see Earl of Cawdor (1965), p. 442.


13

Both the village and the castle had seen vibrant building activities during the

19th century. The work at Cawdor Castle resulted in several extensions, namely

at its southern side, and the parish church was given an additional aisle in

1830.33 These kind of improvements were extended more or less to the entire

village – eventually leading to an almost complete loss of its pre-19th century

buildings.34 The castle and the parish church are indeed the only local buildings

which show a significant amount of medieval fabric.

Plates 11 and 12 The village between 1869 (left) and

1905 (right).35

Who was occupying these edifices? It is, in order to evaluate the social

structure of mid-19th century Cawdor, most rewarding first to return to the 1790

edition of the Statistical Account and subsequently to embark on a comparison

with the situation sketched in the New Statistical Account some 50 years later. It

is striking that Grant, writing in the 1790s, hardly mentions the settlement at all

– he refers to “a small village (…) begun at Calder some years ago, but not

improved to any height.”36 He mentions a population of about 850 heads,

consisting mainly of farmers but also of traders, dyers, carpenters, shoemakers,

wheel-wrights, tailors, smiths and masons.37 Talking about “(…) a parish (…)

better populated now than it was some years ago” Grant obviously describes a

society in the making, a social body that comprises its principal parts but still

has plenty of room for improvement.38

33

For the building activities at Cawdor Castle, see Earl of Cawdor (1992), p. 18. For the work related to the church, see McLauchlan (1841/2), p. 24. 34

Both the 1850 estate map and the ordnance survey of 1869 show several long and narrow buildings. It is likely that Cawdor had comprised a large number of thatched cruck cottages. 35

The images show the alteration of existing fabric between 1869 and 1905. The buildings marked by a yellow circle have been demolished. All other encircled buildings have been either altered or extended. 36

Grant (1982), pp. 739-40. 37

Grant (1982), pp. 733-40. 38

For the quotation, see Grant (1982), p. 733.


14

Turning to the situation some 40 later, it is again intriguing to analyse the

writings of contemporary witnesses. The New Statistical Account numbers 1187

inhabitants of the parish of Cawdor for the year 1831,39 thus suggesting that

the parish was growing by 39% over the first three decades of the 19th

century. 40 The author, Simon McLauchlan, also makes clear that several

improvements have happened already: “(…) their dwellings have been of late

years much improved.”41 This process, which continued throughout the 19th

century,42 is clearly visible in the urban fabric of Cawdor.

Plates 13 and 14 The road-system of Cawdor

in 2007 (left) and 1782 (right).43

A few words should finally be devoted to the state of public facilities such as

roads, public houses and schools. Here, again, it is enlightening to start the

analysis with the consultation of the 1782 estate map. Although a number of

lanes have evidently been created in the 19th and 20th centuries, the principal

roads of Cawdor date at least from the 18th century. This again confirms that the

basic structure of the village was emerging well before 1800, with further

sophistication during the 19th century.

39

McLauchlan (1841/2), p. 23. 40

It is important to note that the numbers given by the Earl of Cawdor in the Third Statistical Account differ from the numbers mentioned by McLauchlan. Neither McLauchlan and the Earl of Cawdor specify the exact conduct of the census and different methodology might account for the differing numbers. However, both calculations convincingly confirm that the population numbers of Cawdor were peaking in the 1830s and 1840. For the census mentioned in the Third Statistical Account, see Earl of Cawdor (1965), p. 438. 41

McLauchlan (1841/2), p. 23. 42

MacNeill has provided a vivid account on the general condition of Cawdor and its people during the 19th

century: “The farmers [of Cawdor] are a very energetic, enterprising, industrious, well-behaved class of people. By their industrial pluck and agricultural intelligence they have, since 1843, converted large tracts of barren heath into arable land. They are getting new farmhouses and out-houses erected, and the better class of old dwellings has been of late years enlarged and improved.” It is likely that MacNeill was referring not only to the dwellings within the village under consideration but also to the farms of the wider estate. See MacNeill (1893), p. 23. 43

Plates 13 and 14 depict the evolution of local roads using the following system: red (extant by 1783); blue (extant by 1869); green (extant by 1905); orange (extant by 2007). The maps are based on the 2007 ordnance survey.


15

The main road, which touches the village at its northern edge, appears on the

1782 estate map,44 showing that Cawdor was included into the wider system of

communication by the late 18th century. As the 1905 ordnance survey of

Nairnshire identifies this road as ‘General Wade’s Military Road’, it must have

been constructed between 1727 and 1737 – with the improvement of the bridge

completed in 1938.45 Provided that Wade was not using an already existing

ancient track,46 the 1782 map could even suggest that the internal road-system

of Cawdor was evolving between 1727 and 1782. The northern boundaries of

the parcels found at Cawdor conjunct with Wade’s road, thus underlining the

possibility that the currant urban layout of Cawdor may have emerged with the

construction of the main road, either in the time of General Wade or earlier.

Plates 15 and 16 The public spaces of Cawdor

in 2007 left) and 1905 (right).47

The 19th century public houses of Cawdor are located at the junction of the main

road and the river. This location is occupied by Cawdor Hall and the Change

House, which was used by travellers for the change of horses on their route

towards the East or the West.48 The pre-20th century communal centres of

Cawdor – change house, hall and church – are thus located at the fringes of the

village rather than in its centre.

44

The road can be identified on the 1782 estate map. 45

A date stone bearing the date of 1938 appears at the bridge. For the construction of the road between 1727 and 1730, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wade, accessed 26.10.2008. 46

This problem cannot be evaluated without further research. However, the existence of a “(…) bridge of Calder (…)” and the so-called Change House, both mentioned by Archibald Cambell in 1725, may well suggest that an ancient E/W-track was already extant by the 1720s, possibly since the Middle Ages. For the bridge of Calder (which was dilapidated in 1725) and the change house, see Spalding Club (1859), pp. 427-30. 47

The following colour code has been used: red (extant by 1783); blue (extant by 1869); green (extant by 1905); orange (extant by 2007); yellow (public houses and public greens). The maps are based on the 2007 ordnance survey. 48

The former building appears on the 1905 ordnance survey, while the latter was found in a very dilapidated condition in 1725. For the change house, see Spalding Club (1859), pp. 427-30.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wade


16

It was only in recent times that public places had been created in the village

centre, for instance the bowling green and restaurants. Located not very far

from these institutions is the school, which has a history dating back to the time

of the New Statistical Account. The school was rebuilt around 1855 and it saw

further extensions during the 20th century.49

Plates 17 and 18 The school of Cawdor.

49

Earl of Cawdor (1965), p. 441.


17

1.4 Conclusion

Among the settlements of Northeast Scotland the village of Cawdor is an

important architectural landmark. Of particular note is that it has preserved the

basic elements of its 18th century road- and parcel system. These features,

which may have medieval origins, allow us to understand the internal

organisation of a pre-modern Scottish settlement. This is a very important

aspect in a region, which is devoid of almost all its pre-19th century rural

structures. The village offers, due to its large amount of extant 19th century

fabric, also interesting insights into the architectural and urban ideas of Victorian

Britain. Cawdor has not only preserved many edifices dating from this time, but

also architectural and natural elements such as hedges, fences, dykes and

trees. The arrangement of these features is well balanced, adding much to the

pleasant image of the settlement.

While the village is an important architectural structure, it is also a significant

reminder of the Campbell family in Northeast Scotland. Having its roots in the

creation of the Thanage of Cawdor, the morphological development of the

village happened in close proximity to Cawdor Castle. Thus the settlement is

also an important document testifying on the interdependence of village- and

estate evolution.


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19

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22

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3.0 Picture Credits

Plates 3, 5 and 6: National Library of Scotland.

Plate 4: Fenton, A., A Farming Township: Auchindrain Argyll, Perth 1979, pp.

10-11.

Plate 7: Cawdor Estate.

All other images: Thorsten Hanke.

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