Old Photograph Crofters Torrin Scotland

Old photograph of crofters and cottages at Torrin, Isle of Skye, Scotland. This Scottish crofting and fishing village lies on the eastern shore of Loch Slapin, five miles south west of Broadford on the road to Elgol. The village boasts good views of Blaven and Loch Slapin. Crofting evolved from a turbulent period in the nineteenth century during the Highland Clearances. It was largely a means to sustain populations. In the 21st century, it is found predominantly in the rural Western and Northern isles and in the coastal fringes of the western and northern Scottish mainland. The Crofters' Holdings Scotland Act of 1886 provided for security of tenure, a key issue as most crofters remain tenants. The Act encouraged tenants to improve the land under their control, as it ensured that the control could be transferred within families and passed to future generations. Croft work was hard, back-breaking work, mainly done by women which yielded a subsistence living.



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Old Photograph Bay Portree Scotland

Old photograph of the Bay at Portree, Isle Of Skye, Scotland. The current name of this coastal village, Port Rìgh translates as " king's harbour ", possibly from a visit by King James V of Scotland in 1540. However this etymology has been contested, since James did not arrive in peaceful times. The older name appears to have been Port Ruighe, or " slope harbour. " Portree was the last meeting place of Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746.



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Old Photograph Church Portree Scotland

Old photograph of the Church and Bank at Portree, Isle Of Skye, Scotland. In the 1700s, the town was a popular point of departure for Scots sailing to America to escape poverty. This form of use repeated during the famine in the 1840s. Both times, the town was saved by an influx of boats, often going between mainland Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, who used Portree's pier as a rest point. The town also began exporting fish at this time, which contributed greatly to the local economy.
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Old Photograph Quarry Broadford Scotland

Old photograph of workers at the Marble Quarry near Broadford, Isle Of Skye, Scotland. Marble was discovered near Kilchrist in Strath Suardal about 3 miles south west of Broadford around 1907. A large factory was built near the quarry for cutting and polishing the quarried blocks. A light railway extended 4 miles from Broadford pier to the quarries, and there was a branch line to the factory. The railway was operated by a Hunslet Engine Company steam locomotive named Skylark, which was acquired second hand from Ireland.



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Old Photograph Whisky Distillery Tobermory Isle Of Mull Scotland

Old photograph of the Whisky Distillery at Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland. The distillery was founded as Ledaig distillery in 1798 by John Sinclair, ten years after the founding of Tobermory by the British Fisheries Society. Sinclair had originally arrived in the village as a merchant dealing with soda ash from burning the locally available kelp. In April 1797, he applied for 57 acres to the south of the harbor in order to build houses and a distillery. The current buildings were constructed and were licensed in 1823. It was acquired by John Hopkins & Company in 1890, and by Distillers Company in 1916 before closing in 1930 following a drop in the demand for whisky due to ten years of prohibition in the United States. In 1972 it was reopened under the name of Ledaig Distillery Tobermory Ltd. In May 1975, production had to stop for a month as storage space for the whisky had run out. It closed again until 1989, and in 1991 it was purchased by Burn Stewart Distillers. Burn Stewart Distillers were bought out by Trinidad–based CL Financial in 2002, including the distillery at Tobermory and Deanston. It remains the only whisky distillery on the Isle of Mull, in the main village of Tobermory at the northern tip of the island.



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