7277: Cottars take possession of Keose Glebe, 1893

A Peasants’ Revolt

LEWIS COTTARS TAKING POSSESSION OF THE LAND, Seizing the Minister’s Glebe

The glebe at Keose…..has been taken possession of by the Crossbost and Luerbost cottars, who threatened the Rev. Donald MacCallum last year that unless he put into practice the gospel he preached by restoring his own church lands before he counselled others to do so, they would seize his glebe. The cottars have now, it seems, put their threat into execution, having marched to Keose, where they measured off new holdings, and took steps for making a permanent settlement on the glebe, which is large and most suitable for crofters allotments. Mr. MacCallum has a brother on the Deer Forest Commission. The arrival of Mr. MacCallum in Stornoway later in the week only served to confirm this statement. Mr. MacCallum stated that the church lands of Keose were in possession of the crofters and cottars, who had put their cattle onto the glebe and kept them there. The raiders came from a distance, and drove their stock all the way from Raernish and Crossbost, full seven miles from the cottars dwellings. Mr. MacCallum’s visit to Stornoway was to consult Lady Matheson’s chamberlin about the action of cottars. Mr. MacCallum has applied to the authorities in Stornoway for police protection from the raiders, but the authorities have declined to send a special force of police to protect the glebe from the raiders, on the plea that Mr. MacCallum’s legal mode of procedure was to sue for interdict against the cottars. This Mr. MacCallum did not feel inclined to do.

Extract from the Scottish Highlander, 20 April 1893

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Aerial view of Keose Glebe

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