One of the earliest records shows that in 1707 the tenants of the 3 merk land of Balnabodach were: Alexander Stewart, the tailor, with a ½ merk land; James Stewart with a ½ merk land; Alexander Stewart, his brother, with a 8s 4d land; and William Stewart with a 40d land. So there would have been at least three farmhouses, possibly a fourth, plus associated outbuildings.
In 1725 Neil Culbert had a heritable bond for Balnabodach against 1,800 merks (i.e. a wadsett as security against the loan). The original loan was made by Neil's father, Alexander Culbert, or Cuthbert, as in 1735 Duncan Culbert obtained a precept of Clare Constat on the bond which had been granted to Alexander Culbert, his grandfather. The bond was redeemed after 1754, so the other families living in Balnabodach during this period would have been the sub-tenants of the Culbert family.
Neil Culbert probably was born around 1660 but the Blair Atholl OPRs do not go back that far. His marriage to Grissel (Grace) Robertson probably took place around 1690 and their son Duncan was born soon afterwards. Neil Culbert was living at Balnabodach in 1722 when his son John was baptised, but the child must have died in infancy as another son with the same name was baptised two years later. Neil Culbert died around 1735, being about 75 years old, as Duncan inherited his grandfather's heritable bond at that time.
Duncan Culbert married Jannet Stewart, but she died in March 1719 according to her Testament Dative, recorded by the Dunkeld Commissariot. This document does not mention any children, with Neill Stewart in Drumnakeilie and John Stewart in Mains of Rinrory, being described as conjunct executors dative, and nearest of kin. Presumably these were her brothers, who inherited her half-share of assets that she held in common with her husband Duncan Cuthbert, the other half-share remaining with him. The Testament lists the livestock, farming implements and household furnishings for what, probably, was a typical farm at that time.
Imprimis (Firstly), there is given up, belonging in common to the said defunct and her said husband (at) the time foresaid of her decease,
three pieces of horses worth one hundred merks, thereof the defunct's part is fifty merks.
(Item): five cows, great and small, estimated to one hundred merks, thereof the defunct's part is fifty merks.
Item: sixteen ewes and lambs at eight-year olds, estimated in all to eighty merks, thereof the defunct's part is forty merks.
Item: the sowing of four bolls and a half of corn and bere (barley), estimated to the third part (i.e. producing three times what was sown),
in all thirteen bolls and a half at five pounds per boll. In all sixty seven pounds, thereof the defunct's part is thirty-four pounds.
Item: the plough, plough graith, harrows, barrows with the insight plenishing, consisting of the pots, pans, chests, stools, beds, blankets,
plaids and whole other outsight and insight plenishing all estimated to forty pounds, thereof the defunct's part is twenty pounds.
Balnabodach was tenanted by 3 or 4 farmers right up until 1901, although one farmer worked as a mason, while another farmer was the local cooper. By 1901 only one tenant farmer remained: Robert Dow and his family.
The first thing that is striking about the homestead is the lack of a track leading directly south to the current B 8109. Maps from the 1940s show that a cart track came up from the dairy beside the Strathtummel Inn, heading towards Tomintianda before making a sharp turn through Balintuim, and then directly eastwards to Balnabodach, which would have been a reasonable incline for a horse-drawn cart. Prior to that, the route at the Balintuim section may have been just the open meadow rather than a proper track. At that time the main track was the one heading north towards Struan, Invervack and Blair Atholl which were important points along the road from Perth to Inverness.
The current Balnabodach consists of two occupied houses and a number of out-houses, as well as a complex of ruins to the south, on the other side of a small stream. By comparing the two maps above, one can see that this lower complex fell into disuse between 1860 and 1915.
Dwellings were generally built with an east-west orientation so that the walls absorbed energy from the sun, keeping the house warm. The three or four houses of the 1707 tenants would have been cruck-framed structures standing on stone footings. When the houses were improved, so that the roof was supported by sturdy walls rather than a cruck-frame, it is assumed that they were rebuilt on basically the same site as the original. The following map shows the probable sites of the houses, at least one of which was 'semi-detached'.
It is most fortunate that a painting of house 1 exists to show what it was like in 1907. The back of the painting was inscribed by the painter "Balnabodach farm - Strathtummel, Perthshire, with Mr James Wood's complements, January 1907". The painting appears to have been a commission, carried out by James Murray Macdonald, an Edinburgh painter, but the circumstances are unknown.
The census return for 1901 shows that there was only one family living at Balnabodach, that of Robert Dow who was the tenant farmer. His wife, Margaret McDonald, died in 1904 so the woman in the painting might be Jessie McPherson their daughter.
The Dow (or Calmanach) family in Balnabodach can be traced back four generations to Thomas Calmanach, the Kirk Elder, who was born in Tomintianda, just the other side of Balintuim. He married Elspeth Calmanach in 1730 and the couple were farming at Balnabodach by 1742. His eldest son Donald Calmanach married Grissel Stewart in 1765. The minutes of the Blair Atholl Session for 13th September 1772 records that:
Grissel Stewart, spouse to Donald Calmanach in Balnabodach, appeared accusing John Stewart snr., her neighbour in said town, a married man, in
attempting to ravish her, viz. that upon the 24th August last, as she was coming home under silence of night through the wood of Bohally, lonely
(alone), he, the said John Stewart took hold of her, threw her down upon the ground in order to force her, had she not been rescued by John Car,
tailor in Grennich who passing heard the noise and struggle they had, she crying aloud for assistance. He cried out who was there? Upon that he
desisted and she was let go. The said John Stewart appeared and acknowledged himself guilty in all her accusations and his attempts, alleging
that he was the worse of liquor. The Session, taking the matter into their consideration, fined him a crown to the poor (fund) and to appear before
the Congregation at their first meeting at Struan.
In the painting, laundry is drying on a washing line to the left and what appear to be two beehives can be seen in the foreground. To the left, one can see the Balnabodach burn which re-appears behind the 5-bar gate. Opposite the farmhouse is an outhouse in two sections, from the appearance of the roof. There is no evidence of a chimney, and a glimpse of another shorter structure (with a roof?) below it. The view is taken from the track leading to the lower complex.
The external appearance of the farmhouse is little altered since 1907, except the addition of a small shed to the east gable.
The exact same view as the painting is no longer possible as bushes crowd the burnside to the left of the bridge, with a large tree on the right handside of the bridge. The small enclosure or kailyard behind the house still can be made out, despite the tall grass, but the little outhouse beside it has gone.
The long outhouse shown to the left in the painting has virtually gone. All that remains are the massive blocks at the southern end. Some of the stone has been used to build a little section of front wall. The latter purpose of this recess is unclear and there is no indication that it was ever re-roofed.
Originally, the long outhouse formed one side of a walled enclosure between the outhouse and the Balnabodach burn. The 1840-1880 map shows that it was in cultivation but by 1888-1915 it probably was just a drying green, as shown in the painting. It may also have been planted out with soft fruit as it has currant bushes growing there now.
There is a suggestion that a building ran diagonally across this area, and the rocks jutting out, just below the long outhouse may have been part of it. The wall in the centre seems to have been built after the outhouse as the stonework starts at that point. The rest of the wall surrounding the washing green curves round towards the burn, with a gate at the lowest point. Some very old trees are incorporated into the wall and it would appear that the wall was built between them originally.
Both maps show the presence of a limekiln between the washing green enclosure and houses 2,3. This area is now a very large grassy hummock so it is difficult to pin-point any structure. There certainly isn't any visible evidence of a stone bowl, but it may have been filled in. Although many farmsteads did have limekilns from the early 1750s onwards, they normally were not located in the centre of farm buildings as lime-making was a dirty and unpleasant occupation. Perhaps the map surveyors saw the ruined bowl of a corn-drying klln and assumed that it was a limekiln. The tenant farmers were growing corn (oats) and bere (barley), so the seed would need drying before it could be milled, but a corn-drying kiln is not shown on the early maps. Such a kiln would have been housed in a barn, so the presence or absence of a stone footing for such a barn should resolve the issue.
After the Enumerator for 1841 had collected the census return for house 1, where John Dow and his wife Jannet Stewart were living, the next closest houses were directly to the south of the kiln area. The building has an east-west orientation, as expected for a house, and the current house seems to have been built upon the original footprint, but has been extended to the west with a modern glazed sunroom. The length of the building points to it having been two semi-detached houses.
The two doorways are original, as are the windows at either end, but the lintels of the large windows in the centre show that this was a more recent development, carried out when the two houses were converted into a single dwelling. The 1841 census return shows that Robert Stewart and his family were living on one side, with widow Dow and her grown-up children on the other side.
Robert Stewart was the son of Neil Stewart and Janet Stewart in Crossmount, Fortingall parish. He married Christian Dow in Balnabodach on 10th February 1822, Blair Atholl OPR. She was the daughter of Robert Dow and Janet Stewart in Balnabodach, born 11th January 1798, died 20th May 1891. So Christian Dow was the sister of Robert Dow in house 1. Robert Stewart died 4th January 1874, aged 74 years and his death certificate was witnessed by Robert Stewart, his son in (Loin) Conlach of Glengirnaig. The 1841 the census records that Robert Stewart was a dyke builder, but by 1851 he was also farming 4 acres, which was barely enough to support a family. Presumably he was doing both in 1861 as John McQueen from the Isle of Skye was staying as a lodger and the census records him as a dyke labourer. By 1871 Robert Stewart had become the inn-keeper on the Tummel Inn and was living just opposite at Balnald of Strathtummel.
Widow Dow was Ann McEwan from Lick on the other side of Loch Tummel in Dull parish. She married Alexander Calmanach (or Dow) in Balnabodach, 23rd November 1792. Ann McEwan had died by 1851 and her eldest children, John and Jean, took over the lease of 18 acres while their brother Thomas was involved with making and selling illicit whisky. The ballad of 'The Battle of Corriemuckloch' relates to the exploits of Thomas Dow.
The long building to the east of houses 2 and 3 is now being used as an outhouse, but a very small building directly behind it, shown on early maps, has long since disappeared.
The existing building may have replaced an earlier cruck-frame building of a similar size. The doorway at the south end has a stone lintel but the other three are all made of timber. The stonework at the south end has lime mortar, or may have been pointed with mortar, whereas the north end is constructed of semi-dressed stone. A row of rough stones have been placed along the lintel of the stable (or byre), making it higher than before, and giving the 'flat' roof a gentle slope to assist the run-off of rainwater. The back wall extends beyond the stable (or byre) but is in a state of collapse and its height has been reduced, to slope the roof. Although the building is now being used as an outhouse, it originally had a different purpose,
The building has a north - south orientation and at the southern end of the building there are adjacent doors in the east and west walls. This is typical of a winnowing barn where the two doors could be opened for the prevailing wind to blow through, and separate the light chaff from the heavier grain seeds when being tossed up into the air.
The Balnabodach burn runs parallel to the winnowing barn and a muddy track crosses it, leading up to a group of buildings on the east side.
The largest building is the remains of two semi-detached houses (E and F). The 1840 Ordnance Survey map shows that all of the buildings were being used, but this part of Balnabodach was the first to be abandoned. The 1841 census return shows that the inhabitants were the families of Alexander Ferguson and Robert Douglas.
Alexander Ferguson was a cooper by trade. He was the son of Duncan Fergusson, the schoolmaster at Auchghoul, and Charlotte Stewart from Orchil in Moulin parish. He married Margaret McMillan, 21st March 1809 in Dull parish. By 1851 he was a 65 year old widower and was farming 2 acres in addition to his work as a cooper. His daughter Charlotte acted as housekeeper, but obviously was hoping to find a husband as she claimed to be only 4 years older in 1861 than she had been in 1851. Alexander Ferguson died at Donavuilt, 20th October 1868.
Robert Douglas was the son of John Douglas and Isabel Stewart who married in 1764. John Douglas was a farm labourer, and the baptismal entries for his children in the Blair Atholl OPR shows that he moved from farm to farm (Nethertown of Borenich, Balnald of Borenich, Croftcarnach) - obviously a poor man, yet within three generation his descendants were millionaires!
At some time after 1790 John Douglas and his family moved to Balnabodach, where his daughter Helen married John Douglas from Woodhead of Findo Gask in 1824. John Douglas and his wife died by 1841, leaving their unmarried son Robert to look after his remaining sisters: Grace and Isobel. Although the 1841 census lists Robert Douglas as a farmer, the 1851 census states that he was a master shoemaker, employing one man - his nephew, John Douglas. By that time Robert Douglas and his sister Isabella had moved from Balnabodach to Balgarvie Road, New Scone, just a few doors away from Robert's sister Helen.
So, it would appear that both Alexander Fergusson and Robert Douglas were part-time farmers, part-time cottars, at Balnabodach.
The site of the lower complex slopes gently downhill from the north and, in a number of places, the bedrock is exposed. Although this part of Balnabodach was the first to be abandoned, the ruins do not indicate that buildings were of any great age. Most of the ruins have walls which are at least 3 foot high and some are nearer 10 foot in height. Thus the ruins are more substantial than the stone footing expected for cruck-framed buildings. There is no evidence to show that crucks were built into the side-walls and being about 3 foot wide, the walls would have been strong enough to support a truss roof. In some places the binding material used to hold the un-dressed stones together has nearly the same consistency as a poor lime mortar. Most likely the roofs were thatched as there is no evidence that slates were used. Likewise there is no evidence for the presence of a 'hanging lum' or a proper chimney built into the gable wall.
Once over the ford, the cart track runs between to dry-stone dykes. The upper one is a retaining wall while the lower one, which is in poor condition, is part of a semi-open meadow (A) adjacent to the burn.
The semi-open meadow joins a long, walled enclosure (B) which has its entrance beside building 'C' at the top end. Although early maps show the enclosure as being fairly rectangular with a straight northern wall ending about halfway down building 'C', there appear to have been subsequent alterations. The northern wall now has a large curve starting about two-thirds along its length, so that the wall joins building 'C' at its northern corner. It can only be assumed that this alteration was deliberate as, on the cart track side of the wall there appears to be a 'sump'.
As the cart track from the west reaches the curve in the wall it becomes fairly level, but to the right of the cart track the ground drops away to a depth of about 2 foot, between the cart track and the northern wall. A stone retaining wall has been built to stablise the cart track and extends along the side of the depression, around the back and joins the northern wall. The depression is wet, but there does not appear to be a natural spring coming out of the ground. The purpose of this 'sump' is open to conjecture.
These two anomalies are opposite the houses 'E' and 'F' and one possibility is that liquid waste from the houses went into the 'sump', so as to keep the water in the Balnabodach burn fit to drink. Likewise the curved part of the wall may have allowed the top corner of the walled enclosure to be used as a 'midden' for solid waste. Currently there is an accumulation of large rocks on this area, which may have been field clearance at a later date.
Building 'C' probably was a byre, rather than a house. The entrance appears to be on the enclosure side and not on the west side where it would have been beside the cart track going through the settlement. In addition, being orientated north-south, the entrance is directly in the line of the pervailing wind. Originally, the stone dyke on the northern side of the enclosure may have been straight, as is the case for the wall on the southern side. However, as previolusly mentioned, there is now a large curve in the wall close to the entrance of building 'C', and an accumulation of large rocks. This may be field clearance, as it does not appear to be the result of building 'C' collapsing. There is no evidence of slate having been used as a roofing material here, nor elsewhere on the site.
Building 'D', on the left of the lower complex entrance is continuous with buildings E and F and, being so small, may have been a peat shed or the shelter for a cart. The back of the building is dug into the slope of the meadow behind and the walls are more substantial than stone footings. There are a number of large boulders inside the structure which seem to have been dumped during field clearance. This may have taken place during the Second World War when farms were encouraged to plough the meadows, creating fields for increased food production.
Next to the outhouse is the largest building on the site, being about 90 foot in length. A large stone gable, halfway along, divides the building into two semi-detached houses of roughly equal size. The cart track runs along the front of the building, and at this point it is actual bedrock. The houses are orientated east-west to take advantage of the warmth of the sun, with the two doorways on the south side.
The second semi-detached house (F) seems to have two entrances from the cart track. This would be unusual, so perhaps the doorway close to the top gable end led into a store. It is difficult to tell as the area is very overgrown and and internal partitions may have been made of wood, long since rotted away.
The ground behind the top gable end of house 'F' seems to be a raised platform resulting from a combination of exposed bedrock and large stones, some tumbled from the collapsed gable. However, the raised platform appears to continue along the front of building 'G' as well as building 'I', so that area 'H' forms a lower level courtyard, enclosed on three sides. This raised platform may have been intended to make it easier to load carts.
There is a small wall between house 'F' and building 'G', closing off the west side of the courtyard (H).
Building 'G' forms the north side of the courtyard (H) and may have been a small house. It was not unusual for most farmsteads to have a small house where a hired domesic servant or farmer labourer could stay. Evidence suggests that servants were hired for a period of 6 months, at a time, before moving on. Sometimes all of the female domestic servants shared the same house and even the same bed.
The courtyard may have been next to the workshops of Alexander Fergusson, the cooper, and Robert Douglas the master shoemaker. A cooper would have made or repaired a variety of wooden containers: barrels for storing salted meat; small casks for whisky; buckets (cogs) for water or milking and churns for making butter.
Although all of the O.S. maps show a single long building at the eastern side of the complex, this is an error. There are, in fact, two buildings with a gap between them, suggesting that they may have been two workshops, 'I' and 'J'.
The gable ends and walls of building 'I' are fairly intact and give the impresssion that it may have had a cruck frame to support the roof. The doorway is about midway on the west side of the building, while the east side of the building is built into the sloping meadow behind. There does not seem to be any footings for an internal division.
There is a large gap between buildings 'I' and 'J' which is open on the west side, but walled at the east side. The wall may have been built to keep animals from straying into courtyard area, or it may have been the back of an open shed. As the early maps show the gap and adjacent two buildings as a single entity, the gap area may have had a thatched roof. There is a large quantity of rock dumped, or fallen into the gap, sealing it off from the meadow behind.
Buildings 'J' is of a similar construction to building 'I' and may have been constructed at roughly the same time. The only difference appears to be that it had two doors on the west side, one of which was blocked up at a later date.
Other ruins of note
Two unusual ruins were found on the hillside above Balnabodach which, at first glance, appeared to be part of a dwelling and a collapsed wall.
The first structure appeared to be the remains of a gable wall and entrance to a dwelling, dug into the slope of the hillside. The age of the structure was difficult to determine as, although it was constructed of unmortared rough stones, it was not as broken down as other known ruins in the area, such as Balintochich. There were also two oddities about the structure. Firstly, if it had been a dwelling, there was no trace of the eastern end of the building, not even a pile of fallen stones. Considering the good condition of the walls at the western end, this was an oddity. Had it been an open barn? Also there was evidence of concrete in the structure, which would date it much later
Later, the purpose of the structures was explained by Mr W. Scott, who had farmed in the area.
"Your photographs are of an old rifle range. There are two 'lies' to the west of this site, like small ramps, for the soldiers to lie on,
probably 200 and 300 yards away, but they are now out of sight with grass and weeds.
The people who held up the targets stood behind the wall. On the other side
of the wall there was a bank of earth and also a sheet of steel, all pitted with the bullets. When I bought the land in about 1954, the sheet of
steel had been removed and used as part of a bridge over the burn at Balnabodach house. I expect that it is still there.
The ridge of stones was used to stop the bullets which missed the targets. I expect there would have been a bank of earth here also, on the front of
it, but it probably would have dried out in the summer and got blown away.
When I was at school in the summer of 1939, the Scottish Horse were galloping around Strathtummel, and they would have been the last to use it. It
was probably them who put the concrete on the wall. Later, when I was in the Home Guard we practised on a similar one at Stewartston Farm, just north
of Blair Atholl".
The sheet of steel referred to, appears to be the one still across the Balnabodach burn with a couple of visible bullet marks.
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