The Shore Cottages No 1

Experience something of the life of 19th-century fisherfolk

The cottages are reached by a narrow rope bridge. The front door opens onto the beach and No 1 retains the original tiny dimensions and layout of a 19th-century home.

Here you can experience something of the existence of a 19th-century fisherman (albeit a warmer one with all the benefits of modern life). Today’s line-fishermen are not the only ones who will understand the attraction of this peaceful cove with its magnificent coastline of craggy cliffs and isolated seastacks studded with ancient towers, in this sea-held region of vast skies.

It is a perfect place to reflect on the heroes and villains of Scotland’s history, and the stoicism and stamina of the ordinary folk whose lives carried on around them.

The other three tiny cottages in the terrace we have combined into a single, larger Landmark, No 2.  See all our Landmarks at The Shore Cottages

Yet the story of The Shore, and of Berriedale’s sister settlement of Badbea two miles to the south, goes back further, to the late 18th century when both were settled as part of the process of economic reorganisation across the Highlands known as The Clearances.

The Clearances were the forcible removal of crofters from the uplands by improving landlords to make way for sheep and better agricultural practice on their land. They remain a deeply emotive subject, debated by those who emphasise the brutality and bleakness of life for the evicted crofters and those who stress rather the improving and even benevolent motives of the landlords. The Berriedale straths (or inland valleys) were cleared of crofters in the 1790s by Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, who introduced Cheviot sheep in their stead. Sir John had bought the Langwell Estate in 1788 and was a significant figure of his day: improving agriculturalist, road builder, town planner, politician and founder of the (Old) Statistical Account of Scotland. When crofters were displaced from their smallholdings many found a new livelihood on the coast in the herring fishery, which was booming during the Napoleonic Wars.

Sir John settled his Langwell crofters at nearby Badbea (deserted by 1911) and on The Shore at Berriedale where William Daniell captured a picturesque scene in 1819 of fishing boats pulled up on the shingle, nets spread to dry and herring lassies up to their elbows in troughs gutting the fish before they were ‘kitted’ in barrels (packed in salt).

Daniell did not include the site of The Shore Cottages in his picture and it seems most likely that they were built c1840. Sir John Sinclair sold the Langwell Estate in 1811 to an Edinburgh lawyer, James Horne, who leased the fishing at Berriedale to Aberdeen brokers. Berriedale was already renowned as much for its salmon as its herring, the salmon being netted at the mouth of the river as they returned from the sea to their spawning grounds in rivers inland. Horne’s nephew Donald inherited the Langwell Estate in 1831 and by 1840 salmon fishing had been given precedence on The Shore. Larger herring stations were by then well established at Helmsdale, Dunbeath and Wick. Donald Horne decided instead to focus on the higher value salmon and built the cottages and (probably) the icehouse and storeroom/bothy. The annual salmon season ran for a couple of months only, the fish being despatched to lucrative markets in the big cities, packed in ice harvested from winter lochs and stored in the icehouse.

The cottages are first mentioned in the estate records in 1846 and the 1841 census records four households on The Shore, supporting a construction date of around 1840. These would have been model cottages compared to the traditional turf-roofed byre dwellings of Caithness, necessary to attract and keep reliable fishermen for the short salmon season.

In 1856 the 5th Duke of Portland, of Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire, bought the Langwell Estate. During our own restoration, we discovered that under the 6th Duke in 1884 (we know the date from a scribbled record left by joiner Marcus Ganson on the reverse of some panelling) the cottages were given a comprehensive refurbishment. The floor levels and roofs were raised some 300-400mm, probably because of inundations from exceptionally high tides. The principal rooms were finished with matchboard panelling, no doubt from the newly opened sawmill on the estate, and were given suspended timber floors. Under one, we found a battered woman’s shoe, perhaps hidden to ward off evil spirits. No. 3 was extended to the rear at the same time, two sheds added as shared privies and a footbridge installed. No. 4 was similarly extended in the 1930s and given a lean-to at the end of the range, since lost but whose floor remains, beautifully made of pebbles from the beach aligned for drainage.

It was decided to keep No. 1 to its original floor plan to recreate as closely as possible the experience of living in one of these tiny cottages, and to combine the remaining three for a larger group of up to six people (the two can also combine).

The restoration was carried out by Stuart Leavy and Carl Dowding of Landmark’s direct labour team, who worked with numerous local subcontractors and consultants through the course of the project. Materials were brought to site using a specially constructed barge on a fixed cable across the river. A first phase of work was carried out in summer 2010 to re-roof the cottages and make them weathertight. The original lime mortar was carefully matched to repoint the walls and fill voids where the earth mortar used for their core had leeched away. Lichen was removed from the exterior using a high pressure hose and the traditional limewash finish reinstated.

With full funding in place work began in earnest in spring 2011. Surviving floors were lifted and most of the original flagstones found still in situ at the primary floor level. Enough were salvageable to use as the floor for No.1. Underfloor heating was installed throughout that uses mostly renewable energy harvested by Air Source Heat Pumps. Windows and doors were reproduced using the remains of the originals as references. Partitions were re-created on the line of original central subdivisions, once for sleeping areas, today for bathrooms.

The Shore has always been a marginal settlement, its eventual desertion reinforcing this essential character. Today this very isolation is part of its magic and all who stay here will help perpetuate its story and the wider history of Caithness.

Supporters of Shore Cottages

We are hugely grateful to those who supported the restoration of Shore Cottages, including:

Guardians:
Mr P Clayton, Ms V Dyer, Mr R Eaton, Mr Jo Elliot, Mr C Giles, Ms A Gloag OBE, Mr and Mrs F Ledden, Mr H Leishman, Mr J Miller, Mr A Salvesen, Mr B Sealey CBE, Ms S Whitley and Mr G Whyte

Patrons and other generous supporters:
Mr C Andrews, Mr G Archer, Mr G Ball, Mr F Dewberry, Mr J Fell, Mr B Foord, Mr D Haunton, Mr F Hitchman, Dr W Hopkins, Mr and Mrs R Isaac, Mr and Mrs S Jordan, Mrs C Lockyer, Mr D MacDonald, The Rt Hon the Lord Francis Phillimore, Mr J Ransom, Mr P Webber

Gifts in memory of:
Donald Mackay of Caithness, Mrs J Macqueen

Charitable Trusts and Statutory Grants:
Amber Trust, Viscountess Boyd Charitable Trust, Dalrymple Donaldson Fund, Dunard Fund, The Englefield Charitable Trust, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Stuart Heath Charitable Settlement, The John Liston Scottish Charitable Trust, The Monument Trust, Tam O'Shanter Trust, The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation, The Tulip Trust, UYEA Trust, Miss Hazel M Wood's Charitable Trust

We are also grateful to the generous supporters who have chosen to remain anonymous, and numerous other donors who supported the appeal.