Glendrian

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Brief History

Glendrian is a former crofting township that occupies the eastern half of the land within the circle of hills formed by the main ring dykes of the Ardnamurchan Caldera - the hollow that was created after the volcano erupted 60 million years ago. The name Glendrian or Glendryen derives from the Gaelic 'Gleann Droigheann' meaning ‘blackthorn glen’. The first written reference to it was in 1619, to a tenant called Allester McEan Voir VcEan, and although the last occupant left Glendrian in the 1940s, the settlement still incorporates information for the earlier expansion and contraction of the population who lived here.

Once a thriving community, the ruins of nearly twenty buildings remain, consisting of dwellings, byres, shielings and other associated buildings, along with kale yards and animal enclosures. The buildings are varied in date and style, and the settlement made different use of older buildings to meet their needs as times changed.

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Mapmaker: Bruce, Alexander.Title: A Plan of Loch Sunart, 1733.

Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Glendrian, former crofting township.

© Ardnamurchan History and Heritage Association

Glendrian thumbnail

3D model of a house in Glendrian.

© Archaeology Scotland

3D model of ruins in Glendrian.

© Archaeology Scotland

Glendrian, former crofting township.

© Ardnamurchan History and Heritage Association

Glendrian, former crofting township.

© Archaeology Scotland

Ruined house, probably part of the former township of Glendrian.

© MEM Donaldson Collection, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, High Life Highland

Photograph by MEM Donaldson, first half of the 20th century.

Glendrian, former crofting township.

© Archaeology Scotland

Mapmaker: Bruce, Alexander.Title: A Plan of Loch Sunart, 1733.

Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Glendrian, former crofting township.

© Ardnamurchan History and Heritage Association

Glendrian thumbnail

3D model of a house in Glendrian.

© Archaeology Scotland

3D model of ruins in Glendrian.

© Archaeology Scotland

Glendrian, former crofting township.

© Ardnamurchan History and Heritage Association

Glendrian, former crofting township.

© Archaeology Scotland

Ruined house, probably part of the former township of Glendrian.

© MEM Donaldson Collection, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, High Life Highland

Photograph by MEM Donaldson, first half of the 20th century.

Glendrian, former crofting township.

© Archaeology Scotland

Dig into layers of history

Eviction and Emigration

Change of land organisation

Glendrian did not suffer from mass evictions, but its population gradually decreased. There was also a shift in its land organisation over the years, from communal arable land surrounded by common grazing areas, to individual small areas of arable land and a right to graze a fixed number of cattle and sheep on the common grazings.

Crofting Township

The 1872 OS map shows that the open fields in Glendrian have been divided into rectangular areas, suggesting that the settlement has become a crofting township by this time.

Explore how Glendrian has changed through time.

21st Century

Click the characters to read their stories

The mixed farming with arable crops and animals slowly became more orientated towards sheep farming, and today Glendrian is a peaceful spot with sheep grazing around the ruins of the old buildings. The memory of arable farming is still present with the rig and furrow patterns visible on the land all around the settlement; some of these were ploughed by horses years ago.

Crofting and Fishing

Early 1940s

The two families living in Glendrian moved away.

Farming was a way of life here, but over the years there were huge changes in the types of farming and the ways the buildings around here were used. The lack of road connection makes things even more difficult, and the population slowly but surely shrank over the years. By the late 1930s there were only two families living in Glendrian, and in the 1940s the village was deserted when the last occupant left to stay with her nephew in Achnaha. As the number of households declined, the uninhabited buildings were made use of by the remaining occupants. They blocked windows and hearths to make byres and stores, and used stone to form animal enclosures. One house was even used as a garage. The last two houses used as dwellings were made much grander and more comfortable with drainage, mortared and rendered walls. One of them had a second storey added too.

Eviction and Emigration

19th century

Every population census since 1841 shows a continuous decline in population.

1841

Population peaked with 10 households and 49 people.

There used to be many more people living here and we worked the land together. Now we have our own plot of land to work, like in the new crofting townships nearby. It feels very different around here now.

Time of the Clans

1737

ʻGlendrienʼ had 6 families and a population of 29.

1734

Tenants were summoned through debt to the Duke of Argyll.

1619

ʻGlendreaneʼ Maclain tenant, Allester McEan Voir VcEan, was involved in besieging Mingary Castle.

In 1619 the ‘Glendreane’ tenant, Allester McEan Voir VcEan - one of the MacIains - was involved in a clan dispute against Donald Campbell of Barbreck, during which Mingary Castle was besieged!

There were six families living in Glendrian in 1737, a total population of 29 comprising six men, eight women and fifteen children. Our land covers 2,220 acres, which is a lot compared to other settlements around here. Tenants are permitted to graze up to 48 cows, 16 horses and 48 sheep.

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