Culture

Crafts

Basket weaving

Carving

Furniture

Jewellery

Ropemaking

Silverwear

Spinning

Thatching

Weaving

"Every man is Jack-of-all-trades ... the want of regular tradesmen and mechanics is but little felt" - F.M. Eden, State of the Poor 1797, Vol. 1

Jack-of-all-trades!
'A Jack-of-all-trades and master of none'? Not so in the Highlands and Islands! Old croft houses are evidence of that. Storms might rage but scarce a slate gets blown off. Inside many can still be seen the original wood panelling. Running water and electricty had been installed by the latter part of the 20th century. Painted and decorated inside and out, the houses sit trim and neatly on the croft. Yet most of the work would have been done by the crofters themselves rather than skilled specialists.

Necessity - mother of invention!
Another old saying - 'Necessity is the mother of invention' - underlies the crofter's ability to turn a ready hand to any task that needs to be done and to do it well. There are few, if any, tradesmen in remote areas to turn to in time of need. If a job has to be done, then the crofter has to do it no matter whether it be joinery, plumbing, electrical fitting or painting. And what is true of the men is equally true of the women.

Traditional home crafts
Pottery for use as crockery was crafted by the women. Where brushwood was plentiful, basket weaving was common. Cooking and dairying utensils were adapted to local needs and the availability of materials. Spinning, dyeing, weaving and knitting were cottage industries which usually involved both men and women.

The special skills
A few trades did require the specialist. One such was the blacksmith, in much demand because of his special skills with iron. In the warlike Middle Ages, he made chain-mail shirts and weapons. By the 18th century, work at the smiddy had diversified into the shoeing of horses, the making of metal tools and other implements for use in the farming and fishing industries.

Other craftsmen emerged such as weavers, shoemakers, tailors, coopers, boat builders, saddlers and wheelwrights. Many crafted wooden furniture for tacksmen (estate managers) in the great furniture styles (Queen Anne, Georgian, Regency). The wandering craftsmen (ceardean) created their own intricate silver patterns in the brooches and other trinkets they made. The skilled thatcher was needed too if a house was to be well-roofed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

If a book listed in the bibliography below is available from the Highland Libraries it will be indicated by a book icon -

Lynch, Michael
Scotland

Devine, T. M.
The Scottish Nation

Grant, I. F.
Highland Folk Ways

Whyte, I. D.
Scotland Before the Industrial Revolution

The New Penguin History of Scotland

Ferguson, William
Scotland

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