Strathnaver
Museum is a locally run museum which first opened to the public in 1976. It is
housed in what was at the eastern end of Bettyhill on the north coast of
Sutherland.
Head east along the coast for a visit to Strathnaver
Museum, run by dedicated local volunteers and home to a fascinating collection
of local artefacts and archive materialThe Highland Clearances
Many thousands of crofters, whose
families had lived on the land for generations, were forcibly evicted, leaving
empty glens and desolate villages.
A storytelling from Elliot Rudie with Rosemary Mackintosh Strathnaver Museum
The Highland Clearances are a notorious part of Scottish history. The 19th
Century is known as the age of improvement, a time when all the landlords looked
at their estates to see how they might be made more productive and financially
rewarding. What the landlords thought of as necessary "improvements", later to
become known as the Clearances During what became known as the ''Highland
Clearances'', it was not just a hundred or so victims who suffered eviction, but
tens of thousands of men, women and children. They led to mass emigration to the
sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies.
The clearances were part of a process of agricultural change throughout the
United Kingdom (called enclosure elsewhere), but were particularly notorious as
a result of the late timing, the lack of legal protection for year-by-year
tenants under Scottish law, the abruptness of the change from the traditional
clan system,
Achanlochy Clearance Village
The foundations remain of 14 buildings but only the barest of outlines
are visible Rough piles of stones are all that remain of the thatched-
roof black houses that once stood here. - Stepping back two centuries
into a tragic past. - The late 18th and early 19th century was the time
of the Clearances, when Highland landowners, hoping for improved
economic returns, removed their tenants and introduced commercial sheep
farming.
A visit to the village with Elliot Rudie and Rosemary Mackintosh
Strathnaver Museum Achanlochy Clearance Village. Many thousands of
crofters, whose families had lived on the land for generations, were
forcibly evicted, leaving empty glens and desolate villages.
"... journey with
us from the mystical past of prehistory to the emergence of the Clan
Mackay.."
The Museum of Mackay Country
The Museum is located in the former church of St Columba, built in 1700,
on a spectacular stretch of northern coastline at Clachan, Bettyhill. If
you are young or old, or somewhere in between, you can be sure of a
welcome from the friendly and enthusiastic staff. Come and explore our
traditional museum, join us for a workshop or event, search our archives
and collection for the stories and clues to our Highland past, and find a
few surprises along the way. The Museum Archives and Library provide an
excellent resource base for those interested in researching the
archaeology, history or genealogy of Strathnaver. The plans for our museum
refurbishment will create a new library area to enable easier access to
this information. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the
Museum if you require any assistance with research. Material for research
can also be viewed at the Museum by appointment.
