Product Code Database
Patrick Sellar (1780–1851) was a Scottish lawyer, factor and sheep farmer. He had a prominent and controversial role in the Highland clearances as factor on the Sutherland Estate, a particularly large landholding in the Scottish Highlands.
He was employed as factor by the Sutherland Estate in 1811, in a joint (but subordinate) position with William Young. The estate had started some clearances, integral to their programme of agricultural improvements. Whilst clearances in 1812 went reasonably smoothly, in 1813 Sellar failed to negotiate successfully with angry resistance in the Strath of Kildonan. A state of confrontation existed for more than six weeks and concessions ultimately had to be made by the estate to defuse the situation. In 1814, Sellar had the job of clearing some of the residents of Strathnaver. His actions here gave rise to a number of charges brought by the sheriff-substitute Robert McKid, who was an enemy of Sellar. The most serious of these was culpable homicide. Sellar was acquitted at his trial in April 1816, but has remained as the focus for much of the anger and indignation arising from the clearances. Sellar and Young were replaced by a new factor later in 1817, and the Sutherland estate continued with even larger clearances, particularly in 1818-1820.
Sellar remained on the Sutherland estate as a tenant sheep farmer, becoming successful and well-respected by others in the sheep and wool sector. In 1838 Sellar bought a sheep farm at Morvern in Argyll, thereby becoming a landowner.
Sellar was keen to express his opinions on the management of the Highlands, writing highly emphatic letters on the subject. He never deviated from his view that the Highland clearances were the correct course of action. As a lawyer he had had a very confrontational manner, clearly enjoying dispute and, by his own admission, being too willing to break someone in the courts. His precise view of the law is, in the eyes of some historians, his most believable defence against the charges on which he was tried: that he would always follow the process of law precisely.
Patrick Sellar also studied law at Edinburgh. He then trained in his father's law practice, engaged in work for landowners who were improving and rearranging their farmlands, putting in drainage and building new farm buildings, especially on the cereal farms. Here Sellar saw in operation the theories he had learnt at Edinburgh University. The ideas of Adam Smith and Dugald Stewart were becoming dominant when the younger Sellar was a student. Given this educational environment, Sellar came to think of himself as a man of science and a product of the Scottish Enlightenment.
His father's business provided some degree of training for the factors on the Seafield estate, a major client of Thomas's law firm. Among these trainees were Cosmo Falconer and Robert Mackid, both of whom Patrick encountered when he moved to Sutherland.
Patrick Sellar was clearly influenced by the upwardly mobile story of his family; his grandfather had been a cottar in the hills of Banff but was cleared by an improving landlord. Patrick interpreted this as a moral tale (which he was known to share with others): the shock of eviction setting his family on the path of self-improvement.
Although, on a clear day, the hills of Sutherland are visible from the coast of Moray, Young and Sellar had never been there before. They were surprised to see the antiquated, unimproved farming techniques which contrasted with the modernised farms in their home county. They soon made contact with the Staffords. To prove the seriousness of their interest in Sutherland, Young and Sellar took a lease (in Sellar's name) for Culmaily, a farm in the Southeast of the estate. They agreed to pay above the rent that was usual in the area the rent for Culmaily was 25% higher than for the adjacent farmscausing concern among the neighbouring tenants. They then set about using this property as a model for modern agricultural improvement. An up-to-date drainage scheme was installed, though some marshy areas were used to grow flax (which had not previously been grown in Sutherland). A lint mill was erected to process the flax, as was a new house and other agricultural buildings. The drainage resulted in greatly increased crops of potatoes, oats and wheat. The reorganisation of the farm involved the eviction of 213 people out of a total of 253 who had previously lived and worked there. Young and Sellar expected them to be employed in industries being set up elsewhere on the estate. Whilst applying their energies to demonstrating their methods, the pair offered much free advice on improvement to Lady Stafford, which she was keen to hear. This happened at a key moment for the estate, which had recently started on a large programme of improvement.
Whilst Lady Stafford was a child, her guardians had made some modest progress at improving the rental income by modernisation. Some tenants were cleared in 1772 and some of the tacksmen were removed at about that time. The establishment of fishing villages and the introduction of sheep, though considered, were not done due to a lack of the necessary capital to invest in these changes. This shortage of money continued in the early years of the Staffords' marriage, however, in 1799 some clearances were carried out, together with rent increases. Then, in 1803, her husband inherited the huge fortune of the Duke of Bridgewater. This made Lord Stafford arguably the richest man in Britain and he was happy to channel a large part of that wealth into his estates in Sutherland, one of the poorest parts of the country.
Despite the conventions of the day, much of the Sutherland estate's decision-making was delegated to Lady Stafford by her husband. She was impatient for progress. Most of the leases on the estate did not expire until 1807, but planning got underway immediately. The plans centred around establishing large sheep farms in the interior, eliminating the tacksman class, and establishing alternative occupations for the displaced tenants, housing them in crofts on the coast. These included fishing, for which harbours and villages had to be built, new coal workings at Brora and associated saltern. The estate went through a sequence of factors: David Campbell was hired in 1802, but Lady Stafford was critical of his lack of progress. He left in 1807. The replacement was Cosmo Falconer. After Young and Sellar's arrival in 1809 and their frequent advice to Lady Stafford, Falconer's position was being steadily undermined. Eventually, in August 1810 he tendered his resignation, with effect from Whitsun 1811.
Further clearances were scheduled in Strathnaver taking effect at Whitsun 1814. These were complicated by Sellar having successfully bid, in December 1813, for the lease of one of the new sheep farms on land that it was now his responsibility, as factor, to clear. In later years, Sellar claimed that he had bid for this lease on the spur of the moment. In his role as factor, he was legally precise in issuing the required notices of eviction to those being resettled, doing this in January 1814 in conjunction with rent collections. In March, Sellar's shepherds started to burn the heather on the hillsides that would soon make up his sheep farm. This was a standard management technique to promote new grass growth to feed sheep. It caused consternation among the outgoing tenants, as it deprived their cattle of food, so putting them in poor condition for their imminent sale. A further problem was that Young was slow in organising the setting out of the new coastal lots, and in March and April, those under notice of eviction had no details on where they were to go: each needed time to build a house. At Young's request, Sellar made concessions to some tenants, allowing them to stay in their properties a little longer, but this just created confusion among those evicted. The delay was a problem for Sellar: his newly purchased flock of sheep was temporarily housed at his farm at Culmaily, but were short of food due to the level of overstocking and started to die.
Some tenants moved in advance of the date in their eviction notice; others stayed until the eviction parties arrived. As was normal practice, the roof timbers of cleared houses were destroyed to prevent re-occupation after the eviction party had left. On 13 June 1814, this was done by burning at Badinloskin, the house occupied by William Chisholm. Accounts vary, but it is possible that his elderly and bedridden mother-in-law was still in the house when it was set on fire. In James Hunter's understanding of events, Sellar ordered her to be immediately carried out as soon as he realised what was happening. The old lady died six days later. (2026). 9781780272689, Birlinn Limited. ISBN 9781780272689 Eric Richards suggests that the old woman was carried to an outbuilding before the house was destroyed.
The winter of 1816/17 was severely affected by famine (as was much of Western Europe). As factor, Sellar was responsible for buying relief supplies for the tenantry. Rent collections fell as the famine struck. Sellar's plans for purchase of supplies were regarded as over-generous by the estate, so there was great hardship in many parts of Sutherland. Sellar started advocating emigration of the impoverished population and eventually Loch started to adopt the same thinking. It could be considered paradoxical that Sellar was working hard to provide famine relief to the tenants of the interior regions who he believed should be removed to provide a more economically rational method of management of the estate. The famine relief was provided as a loan to tenants, and Loch became depressed that it was unlikely that this would ever be paid off.
Sellar died in Elgin in 1851 and is buried in Elgin Cathedral.
His grandson was the humorist Walter Carruthers Sellar who wrote the book 1066 and All That.
|
|
