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Placename Kilmuir Parish |
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Description In 1855 Capt. William Fraser bought the 46,142 acre Kilmuir Estate from Lord MacDonald. (See Bhaltos) Capt. Fraser moved from Nairn to take up residence in the Uig Lodge. The Congested Districts Board set up in 1897 by a Unionist Government bought the Estate of Kilmuir in 1904. By 1930 the acerage under tillage had risen from 2,450 to 3,325 and the acerage occupied by crofters from 24,332 to 44,600. Ten large sheep farms were disbanded, 85 new crofts created and 268 existing holdings enlarged. Thatched houses had fallen from 336 to 137 while modern houses (stone built) with slated roofs had increased from 20 to 304. Today the area is owned by SOAFD (Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department). They own seven crofting estates on Skye covering a total area of 59,833ha. The number of crofts on these estates are 630. In February 1990 the Scottish Office issued a consultation paper on possible disposal of these estates with community ownership being suggested. In Staffin, as in other areas, public meetings were held by the Crofters Union, which had been set up in 1986 with Dr Jim Hunter as its first Director. The Union strongly pushed for crofters to take this opportunity to control their own land but the proposal was strongly rejected. Led by Donald Cameron from Tote a strong message was sent back to Edinburgh and to the Crofters Union that the people of Kilmuir were not wishing to administer their own estate and that they were happy with the status quo. The Crofters Union, who had taken the opportunity the previous week, to publicise their proposals in the West Highland Free Press were left with no alternative but to accept the wishes of the people. Since that day the membership of the Union in the area has remained low and crofters were extremely upset that their Union should attempt to lead on such a major issue without consulting the people they were supposed to represent. The reason for the crofters to turn down this opportunity was the fear of not being able to cover the cost of administrating the estate. There were no obvious money making projects which could be promoted, no assurance that the Scottish Office would give mineral and fishing rights and low crofts rents from which there would be little opportunity to make a surplus. In December 1991 Lord Strathclyde wrote to Charles Kennedy MP explaining that the Government had decided not to proceed with the sale or disposal of their estates. |
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