A possible time line re : Inverewe compiled by Dorothy Smith, volunteer at Gairloch Museum

1574 Kernsary and Tournaig in the possession of the Mackenzies of Kintail.

1672 the lands of Inverewe, Kernsary and Tournaig transferred to Alexander Mackenzie of Coul.

1677 (maybe), Alexander wadsetted (mortgaged or pledged) the lands of Inverewe which included Kernsary and Londhu to the Reverend Kenneth Mackenzie who came from Bute.

1678 Kenneth dies.

1685 John Mackenzie was born, the third son of Alexander the 7^th laird of Gairloch. The Mackenzies of Inverewe were decended from John and he either purchased the lands of Lochend (date unknown) or was a tacksman of Lochend because Lochend belonged to the Coul Mackenzies, John’s son, Alexander, was born at Lochend and was the second owner (date unknown). Fits the third ‘which Mackenzie?’.

1693 Sir Alexander Mackenzie of Coul transferred the lands of Inverewe (or Kenneth has left them) to Roderick Mackenzie a former Gairloch minister. (Roderick was married to a daughter of Mackenzie of Letterewe).

1730-1740 Strondubh house built (a house in the Lochend vicinity). An inn or a farmhouse or a dwelling house? Was Lochend built before this?

1746 or thereabouts Rory Macgregor and his father, James, came to the Gairloch area. Rory marries a McKenzie (Margaret) widow with 3 (military) sons some time after this date.

1747-1755 Roy’s Military Survey – map of Inverewe area shows a collection of buildings called Lochend just further on than the church (at Londhu).

1750 James imprisoned in Edinburgh. How did this happen?

1781 Mary Macgregor born in Inverewe.

1781–1803 or thereabouts Roderick might have been living in Inverewe (House?) The old Inverewe house, Lochend, (but Lochend was also a place) built where the walled garden of Inverewe is today has not been dated.

1782 a Murdo Macrae was taxed for ‘only eight windows’ under the Window Tax Scheme which came into force in Scotland after 1748 and a house had to have at least seven windows or a rent of at least £5 to be taxed. Was this Lochend or Strondubh? It had to be a sizeable house.

1783 or thereabouts ‘For reasons, which I need not enter into here, the Lochend family with all their subordinates, were turned out of Inverewe by the Laird of Coul, about the year 1783, to make room for a colony of Crofter families from Kintail. – This was not accomplished without much trouble, the Military having at last to be employed, before the object which the Laird of Coul had in view was accomplished. – The Kintail Men brought a large Stock of Cattle, Horses & Goats with them, but they never throve & at the end of a very few years, having failed to pay rent, - they had to be evicted, - & sad to say they left much poorer than when they came, & with a very reduced Stock.’ (from Osgood Mackenzie’s notebooks). Who was this Lochend family and were they living in Lochend or on the Inverewe Estate?

1786 William born in Gairloch so where might that have been as Lochend seems to have been cleared?

1798 another Roderick Mackenzie held the lands of Kernsary and Inverewe.

1825 Kernsary was sold back to the Seaforths but went into the management of trustees before being sold again in 1844 https://www.ssns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/05_Bangor-Jones_NWRoss_pp_79-117.pdf

1838 Murdoch Macgregor evicted (heir and representative of Roderick Macgregor, tenant of the house of Inverewe). Sir George Stewart Mackenzie of Coul was the proprietor. Conflicting evidence – ‘Murdo MacGregor Heir and representative of Roderick MacGregor residing in Strath of Gairloch now deceased’ and the tenants of the farm and lands of Pluckhart, Tournag and Inverewe …. ‘ and the said Murdoch MacGregor as Heir and representative foresaid of the said deceased Roderick MacGregor his father Tenant of the house of Inverewe’ and Inverewe is mentioned on more occasions. But there are no MacGregors on the Gairloch Rental Records for Strath. And because Inverewe etc. was not Gairloch Mackenzie land there are no local records. So were the MacGregors back after the first clearance? Or did this refer to the earlier eviction?

1841 census William at 55 years old was in North Galson with his wife and daughter Helen, aged one year.

1863 Lady Mary Mackenzie bought the Inverewe lands from Sir William Mackenzie of Coul for her son, Osgood. Inverewe was tenanted by a non-resident sheep-farmer who lived at Moy on the east.

Points to note:

· The accuracy of the account in Mary’s letter? (It seems that most websites show James as Rob Roy’s eldest son – I have only found one which gave dates for Coll which showed he was older)

· The confusion of the names – Lochend/Inverewe – and whether these were places or houses

· Did Margaret Mackenzie and her husband live in the original Lochend house because of his relationship with the Mackenzies – if so why was Roderick allowed to live there when they married?

· No date for this house

· No knowledge of which Mackenzie family Margaret’s husband belonged to

· Who were the Lochend family who were evicted in 1873?

· The two evictions – somewhere there must be some more details

· The ‘original’ MacGregors in the area were found in Kinlochewe – it would be interesting to know the relationships but that’s impossible