Shetland crofters evicted for sheep farms; security provided...

Original Track ID

SA1982.170.A

Original Tape ID

SA1982.170

Summary

Shetland crofters evicted for sheep farms; security provided by the Crofting Act.

There was little employment in Shetland before 1914 except crofting and sheep farming. Most of the young men went to the Merchant Navy. Around 1880 a lot of the crofters were turned out and the crofts amalgamated into big sheep farms owned by people on the mainland. About fifty families were put out without warning and with nowhere to go. The laird who did this was a man from the south. The landlords could get more rent from the sheep farms than they could from the crofters, and they always took over the best places.

The Crofting Act of 1866 [sic - actually 1886] gave crofters security of tenure, and fair rents were fixed for them. Talk of crofting and sheep farms at Sullom. Sullom used to be more populous, and people would try to get more than one croft because one wasn't enough to make a living.

Recording Location

Item Location

Language

Scots

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good