Forfarshire landowners and their estates, 1660-1690

McFaulds, John (1980) Forfarshire landowners and their estates, 1660-1690. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

A study of landed change in Forfarshire after 1660 indicates that although economic disruption caused by the wars of the Covenant and the subsequent Cromwellian occupation was not as serious as in other parts of Lowland Scotland, dislocation nevertheless had been sufficient to promote a desire for a speedy return to the economic as well as the political and religious status quo. This having been achieved in the immediate post-Restoration period efforts were thereafter directed towards improvement in estate management and increased agricultural production through the introduction of new techniques. Certain properties, such as those of the Earls of Panmure, which had made considerable progress before 1660, served as an example of what could be achieved and continued their development unabated thereafter. On the other hand the majority of estates, like those of the Guthrie and Airlie families, had to undergo major changes to save them from bankruptcy before attaining efficient performance. Physical development, however, was less remarkable than the radical change in agricultural thinking which occurred most noticeably among the superiors of estates. One major reason for this change appears to have been the granting of a greater measure of authority to the sons of superiors on their return from military service. Another indication that the attitude and role of the estate owner was changing is manifest in their appointment of dependable and committed factors. Such agents were crucial in landed development, and were as much a part of estate progress as their superiors, acting as a bridge between their masters and the tenants who worked the land. Factorial attitudes and practices were critical if property was to be profitable, their relationships decisive in the maintenance or promotion of efficiency. The factors were responsible for the day to day management of the estate and the implementation of the superior's instructions. Evidence shows that those directives were implemented according to the factor's predilections and modified to suit the environment of which he had charge. This was especially true where a factor grew in authority according to his personality, status, success and length of service. Factors on occasion also put measures into effect independently, only asking the superior for his approval of their actions after the event. In this respect many factors could be an important influence on proprietors and at times in their own right a significant determinant of landed evolution. The dynamics of that evolution in the Forfarshire landed economy are now here more evident than in the sasines registered at Dundee and Edinburgh. The surge of activity which characterised early registrations v/as not maintained throughout the post-Restoration period, but the sasines had more than numerical significance. Their study points to alterations in the social and economic structure of landed society more fundamental than the practical improvements which v/ere simultaneously taking place. For example, although the aristocracy retained their significance as the major landholders in Forfarshire between 1660 and 1690, the gentry became the most potent force in landed society. In addition, towards the Revolution tenants were rising in importance. They were the largest group in landed society with the least tenurial basis although they were not downtrodden. Their rights progressed throughout the period by compromise and conciliation.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Supervisor's Name: Whyte, Dr. I.D. and Cowan, Dr. I.B.
• Date of Award: 1980
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1980-84599
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 17 Sep 2024 10:54
• Last Modified: 17 Sep 2024 10:54
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.84599
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/84599