Small landholdings: landownership and registration - report

6. Appendices

6.1 CASE STUDY SUMMARIES

PRE-1914 CASE STUDIES

6.1.1. Kinninghall, Roxburghshire

National Records of Scotland, AF83/885-891. Material is available from October 1912 to August 1962, with the majority of material from the 1920s. The scheme consisted of nine units.

The first evidence for this scheme appears in 17 October 1912 meaning it is a pre-war scheme, not conceived for the settlement of ex-servicemen and under less political pressure than post-1918 schemes. Cavers estate was amenable in principle to the scheme at first but there were then many delays, mainly from the BoAS side around facilities (water supplies; fencing; roads) and buildings. The scheme consisted of a plan for nine holdings of between 8 and 50 acres each; a total of 341 acres (204 arable and 137 pasture) with an annual rent of £459. As this scheme was processed via an unopposed compulsory order, it came before the SLC for approval (granted).^[10]

This scheme is exceptionally well documented as it has all of the individual maps with the holdings highlighted, plus the 'minute of agreement' between the Board and each of the tenants outlining the obligations of the tenant including entry, rent, and other responsibilities.

The compensation awarded to the existing farm tenant (a Mr Davidson), was £535. Compensation to the landowner was £5,250, calculated in three parts: (1) Buildings (£2,950); (2) Loss in letting value (£1,453); and (3) Loss of selling value (£847).^[11]

The rest of the archival record is very detailed in relation to this scheme, taken up with sporadic negotiations and complaints. These include assignation of the small landholdings to heirs, who retained responsibility for the payment of BoAS loans, repair costs to facilities and further applicants for the small landholdings. There is a short correspondence from 1962 where the Department for Agriculture for Scotland makes it clear that it, and its predecessor, the BoAS, were never the proprietors of the small landholdings.^[12]

6.1.2. Crossbankhead, Dumfriesshire

National Records of Scotland, AF83/869-872. Material is available from September 1912 to July 1927. This was a very small scheme of just one unit.

The sitting tenant was George Bell and the initial landowner was William Carlyle, a merchant. The case opened with a letter to Carlyle from the BoAS in September 1912 enquiring about the conditions under which the farms of Gilmartin and Crossbankhead 'are at present held'. The BoAS was required by statute to identify likely places for schemes as well as receive requests from potential small landholders; this is an example of the former process.^[13] There was a single SLH applicant at this stage, Mrs Helen Stothart; the proposed holding was 30 acres.^[14]

The sitting tenant, Mr Bell, was vehemently opposed to the creation of a SLH on his farm.^[15] Despite this, the BoAS went to the SLC to have the new 'fair' rent fixed for the SLH, although this had by then been reduced to 8 acres of arable land at 15 shillings per acre, i.e. £6.^[16] A certified final order from the SLC is included, dated 8 February 1915. The landlord was to be paid 25 years purchase of the difference between the old and new fair rent (5 shillings per acre).^[17] On 4 June 1915, there is a record of the Scottish Secretary of State's approval for the scheme and consequent expenditure of £90 and on 11 June 1915, a record of the SLH having entered the holding.^[18]

The rest of the archive consists of material relating to a new SLH entering the holding, an ex-serviceman, Mr Davidson. Mrs Stothart had relinquished her tenancy in May 1925. The landowner, Carlyle, then had to register Mr Davidson as the new SLH with the SLC. The process was completed in July 1927, when the record ends.^[19]

6.1.3. Bennicarrigan, Arran

National Records of Scotland, AF83.881-1265. Material is available from October 1912 to December 1938. The scheme was suggested in 1912 and abandoned around 1919, then resurrected in 1928 and finalised by 1929. The scheme consisted of four new units and five enlargements of existing holdings. The landowner was the Trustees of the late Duke of Hamilton, headed by the Marquis of Graham, later the 6th Duke of Montrose.

The scheme was initiated by the BoAS based on applications from potential SLHs on Arran and the initial response from the estate was amenable. Negotiations developed well until 1914 and then got stuck on the issue of setting new fair rents.^[20] On 23 December 1915, the BoAS decided to abandon negotiations due to 'the heavy cost of this scheme as foreshadowed by the claims made by the Landlord and outgoing tenants'.^[21] In contrast, the landowner's agent claimed that the scheme was 'dropped owing to the war.'^[22]

In September 1928, the scheme was revived, principally due to the sitting tenant of Bennicarrigan having died and the landowner being prepared to negotiate. There were 27 applicants for the 4 new SLHs and 5 enlargements, 4 of whom were listed as ex-servicemen.^[23] Compensation to the landowner was negotiated without the requirement for an arbiter and agreed at £1,075. The scheme was approved by certified order of the SLC in August 1929.^[24]

There is just one more record relating to this scheme, from December 1938. A complaint that one of the SLHs was neglecting their unit, followed by a letter from the BoAS to that SLH reminding them of their responsibilities.

6.1.4. Shedog, Kilmory, Arran

National Records of Scotland, AF83.940-945. Material is available from December 1913 to January 1923. The landowner was the Trustees of the late Duke of Hamilton, headed by the Marquis of Graham (as with Bennicarrigan), and there was a sitting tenant called Mr William Brown.

Interestingly, the offer to the BoAS for land to set up SLHs came initially from Mr Brown, the tenant, supported by the landowner. The scheme consisted of six new SLHs.

The farm consisted of 272 acres of mixed land at an annual rent of £350. The estimated compensation to the tenant was stated as £650. The total grant from the BoAS for fencing, water, roads etc to the 6 applicants is listed as £1,154.^[25] Negotiations were fairly smooth but delayed due to WWI. They continued after 1918, with the landowner happy to see the new fair rents fixed at the SLC, though delays occurred due to high costs of buildings, drainage and other facilities proposed. This was eventually settled and approved at £11,120, despite the UK Treasury noting its 'disappointment' at this relatively high cost.^[26] Of this, £500 was awarded to the landowner as compensation and £70 to the sitting tenant, Mr Brown. This figure equates to a cost to the BoAS of £1,853 per holding.

POST-1918 CASE STUDIES

6.1.5. Grassmillees, Ayrshire

National Records of Scotland, AF83.1174-1179. Material is available from March 1920 to May 1922. The landowner is the Trustees of Sir Claud Alexander of Ballochmyle and the sitting tenants were Mr John Brown and Mr Paton.

This scheme was initiated by the BoAS, and both the landowner and sitting tenant agreed in principle. The scheme covered 187 acres, split into 15 SLHs. Some of these were small and earmarked for market gardening, while others were larger and suggested for dairy, pigs and poultry. An interesting aspect of this scheme was the claim made by the landowner for £500 to compensate him for the extra time and resource it would take to manage the scheme i.e. managing 15 SLHs instead of 1 tenant.^[27]

Overall, the scheme cost £13,010, £2,200 of which was compensation for the landowner, £2,200 compensation to the sitting tenant and the rest consisting of loans to the new SLHs for buildings and equipment.^[28]

Although expensive, at just over two years this was one of the speediest schemes to be set up, being driven forward by significant political pressures, the benefits brought by the 1919 Act, and the greater budget the BoAS was granted under the 1919 Act.

6.1.6 Springbank, Arran

National Records of Scotland, AF83.1189-1192. Material is available from December 1920 to 1930. The landowner is the Trustees of the late Duke of Hamilton, led by the Marquis of Graham; there is no sitting tenant as the land was vacant in 1920, and the building were 'ruinous.' The scheme consisted of 2 new SLHs on 77 acres.

The scheme was initiated by the BoAS and supported by the landowner, who received no compensation as the land was vacant and they raised no objection to the scheme. However, costs for buildings and a new water supply were high. The total cost of the scheme was £2,370, with £2,000 of that required for the buildings alone (houses and outbuildings).^[29]

While a delay was caused by the UK Treasury questioning what it regarded as high costs for building materials, this was settled by the BoAS and the final certified order issued in 1922.^[30]

Two SLHs were selected, both ex-servicemen, Mr Stewart and Mr Sillars. There are problems with Sillars, as the landowner objected to him and refused to register him as a SLH, so the BoAS did so without the landowner's concurrence in 1925. Sillars quickly fell into arrears of rent, and the final archival material for the scheme notes the landowner's attempt to reclaim these, but notes that he was not removed from the SLH (which would have been legally possible after 1931).^[31]

6.1.7. Drimaghinier, Arran

National Records of Scotland, AF83.1476. Material is available from February 1927 to March 1938. The landowner is the Trustees of the late Duke of Hamilton, led by the Marquis of Graham. There is a sitting tenant, Mr George Bannatyne, who is already a Statutory Small Tenant and married ex-serviceman. This case study is an example of where an existing tenant underwent conversion to the status of SLH. In this case the landowner initiated discussions with the BoAS having already agreed in principle with the tenant to make the conversion.

The tenant paid £12 in rent per year; a new fair rent was fixed at £10 10 shillings. The holding consisted of nine acres and as all parties were in agreement, the final certified order quickly came through on 9 April 1928.^[32]

Once Bannatyne had been registered as a SLH, he requested a loan of £53 from the BoAS for fencing materials.^[33] In May 1928, a new SLH, Mr James McMillian, requested that the BoAS register him as the new SLH, taking over from Bannatyne, who had run away with the fencing materials. There is a good deal of archival material on this episode, with statements from local police constables etc, but it was resolved and McMillan became the new SLH.

The rest of the record notes McMillan renounced his tenancy in May 1938. The BoAS received 16 'suitable' applications for the holding, and the records note that being an ex-serviceman no longer put an applicant in a favourable position.^[34]

National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh
Allotments and Small Holdings files, Agriculture & Fisheries files 66
Board of Agriculture for Scotland Miscellaneous Files, AF43
Crofting Files, AF67
Estate Management Files, AF83
Lord Advocates' Papers, AD59
Scottish Office Correspondence, HH28
Scottish Landowners' Federation Papers, GD325

Registers of Scotland, Edinburgh
Land Register of Scotland
General Register of Sasines

The National Archives, London
Cabinet Committees, General Series, CAB27
Cabinet Memoranda, CAB24
Cabinet Minutes, CAB23

Public Reports
Board of Agriculture for Scotland Annual Reports, extant from 1913; later Department of Agriculture for Scotland Annual Reports, extant from 1934.
Scottish Land Court Annual Reports, extant from 1913
Forestry Commission Annual Reports
Agricultural Census and Agricultural Surveys

Parliamentary Papers
1916, XII: Report of the Departmental Committee on Land Settlement for Soldiers and Sailors;
1922, IX: Second Interim Report of the Committee on National Expenditure;
1928, XI: Report of the Committee on Land Settlement in Scotland;
1944-5, V: Land Settlement in Scotland: Report by the Scottish Land Settlement Committee.

Hansard, Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons.

Private Archives (personal and landed estate)
Papers of the Dukes of Montrose and Marquis of Graham, National Records of Scotland, GD1.
Papers of the Marquises of Bute, Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute, NRAS631.

E. A. Cameron, Land for the People? The British Government and the Scottish Highlands, c. 1880-c. 1925 (East Linton, 1996).

E. A. Cameron, 'An 'Agrarian Star Chamber': the Scottish Land Court to 1955,' in No Ordinary Court: 100 years of the Scottish Land Court (Edinburgh, 2012).

B. Chambers, 'For want of land: a study of land settlement in the Outer Hebrides, Skye and Raasay between the two world wars,' PhD thesis (University of Aberdeen, 2013).

J. Hunter, The Making of the Crofting Community (Edinburgh, 1976).

L. Leneman, Fit for Heroes? Land settlement in Scotland after World War One (Aberdeen, 1989).

J. Scott, The Law of Smallholdings (Edinburgh, 1938).

6.4 PROJECT TEAM'S DETAILS

6.4.1. Project Lead: Dr Annie Tindley, senior lecturer in modern British History, Newcastle University.

Dr Tindley was the project lead and was responsible for the authorship and delivery of the final report, research summary and oral presentation. She is an experienced project manager and researcher, specifically on historical land issues and their contemporary translations. She has researched and published extensively on nineteenth and twentieth century landownership and land reform.

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/hca/staff/profile/annietindley.html#background

6.4.2. Postgraduate Research Assistant: Mr Micky Gibbard, PhD candidate, University of Dundee.

Mr Gibbard was the research assistant on the project and undertook most of the archival work, including photographing and summarising the main collections and case studies. He is due to complete his PhD in October 2018. It examines the history of planned rural settlements in Scotland, c. 1700-1890 and was undertaken in partnership with Argyll Estates, Inveraray.

6.4.3 Legal consultant: Mr Malcolm Combe, University of Aberdeen.

Mr Combe was the legal consultant on this project. Mr Combe is a leading expert on land and tenancy law and regulation in Scotland and is thoroughly familiar with the policy and legal context of small landholdings in Scotland from 1911 into the present day. Mr Combe spent four days on this project, providing evidence reviews and context/legal explanation on issues relating to the history and records of the small landholdings scheme.

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/law/people/profiles/m.m.combe