Collieston Themes (farming)

Collieston is the only village in the farming parish of Slains. Traditionally there was very little interaction between the fisherfolk and their farming neighbours. To a lesser extent this still remains the case at the start of the 21st Century.

Kirkton Farm

Kirkton Farm and Farm Buildings in 1964. Built of stone, with a slate roof, the farmhouse comprises the following accommodation: - Two sitting rooms, a kitchen, scullery and milk room, four bedrooms, two boxrooms and a bathroom.

Situated a short distance away are the farm buildings comprising a covered cattle court, two cow byres, two barns, a root house, food store and loft, two deep litter chicken houses and an old bothy, now used for general storage purposes.

To the right of Kirkton Farm, Slains Parish Church is clearly visible as is the Glebe, the L-shaped building in the foreground.

A red granite stachle stane

Stachle Stanes were used as the bases to support the wooden frames that haystacks were built on roughly half a metre off the ground. Typically 6 or 8 stones would have been set up in circles up to some 6 metres in diameter. The purpose in building hay stacks this height above the ground was to help speed up the drying process. The mushroom like top section of the stachle stane formed a lip that prevented rats from getting into and spoiling the hay. This particular stachle stane was once used at the Collieston Church Glebe.

A horse and cart on the farm of Smiddyhill in Slains Parish near Collieston

The cart is fitted with a wooden frame, possibly to help contain a load of hay.

Draught horses on the farm of Smiddyhill in Slains Parish near Collieston

The horses are unharnessed, behind them is one of the Smiddyhill farm buildings – downstairs is the chaumer or bothy where the umarried fee’d farm servants would have lived. Above is the hay loft door that would have been accessed by ladder and provided storage for hay or bags of grain.

To the left of the horses, a young man is standing holding a baby – given that few farm servants could afford to marry until they were much older, this is likely to be the farmer’s son and a member of the Esson family.

Sheep shearing at Smiddyhill farm in Slains near Collieston

Three men are shearing using hand shears. The men are working in the shearing and dipping area of the farm.

Wool has always been an important part of Aberdeenshire’s rural economy. For well over 100 years sheep have been reared in Slains both for their wool and for succulent lamb meat.

Originally the wool would have been sold to the numerous mills in Aberdeen. These included the famous Grandholm Mill that was the original manufacturer of the famous Crombie cloth that once clothed senior operatives of the USSR’s KGB.

Haymaking on Smiddyhill Farm in Slains near Collieston

Three haymakers pose for the camera.

Two men are standing in front of the cart ready to fork up hay to a man standing on top of hay that has already been loaded on to the cart.

Stooks of grain (most probably oats or barley) are visible in the background, indicating that the hay being forked onto the cart may already have been threshed and in which case may be straw not hay – hay being fodder for the winter and cut from grass fields, whilst straw provided winter bedding for cattle and was the stalks left over after the oats or barley had been threshed.

Aerial View

A general view of Slains Estate in 1964 when it was sold by Sir Ian Walker-Okeover to Sir Richard Sutton Settled Estates. The Estate has a 5-mile frontage to the East Coast of Scotland, immediately north of Newburgh and bounded by the River Ythan Estuary on its southwest side.

Comprising Forty-seven Mixed Farms ranging from 934 Acres to 5 Acres, the Estate also boasts Moorlands, Lochs and Foreshore totalling 1,865 Acres, 6 Cottages and the Sporting Rights over the whole Estate.

Many of the properties in Collieston, clearly visible in the foreground above the coastline, are privately owned but are required to pay Feu Duties to the Estate in respect of small pieces of land sold in past years. Some of the properties are still owned by the Estate and rents, in respect of tenancies, are required to be paid to the Estate.

Slains Estate is put up for sale

In 1964 Slains Estate was offered for sale by auction.

This bill of sale provides a detailed account of all the farms and small holdings that made up the estate at the time.

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Aerial View

Milton of Colliestom Farm

The Fyvie Family, who farmed at Milton of Collieston Farm, circa 1910. As the name suggests, there was a mill on the farm, in addition to a substantial number of horses.

The family, here represented by at least three generations, all of whom are very smartly attired, would have had several employees (fee’d farm servants) working for them both in the farmhouse and on the farm itself.

To the rear of the family, horses are pulling a plough, with a watchful eye being kept on them by the horseman.

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Slains Estate Bill of Sale

Bill of Sale of Slains Estate in 1964. Slains Estate, for sale by auction at The Station Hotel, Aberdeen on Thursday 16th July, 1964 at 3 p.m. by direction of Sir Ian Walker-Okeover, Bt., covered approximately 7,574 acres and consisted of forty-seven beef, sheep and arable farms, ranging from 934 acres to 5 acres, and five cottages.

Included in the sale were the Sands of Forvie and Foreshore, Lochlundie Moss, Sand Loch, Cotehill Loch, Meikle Loch and Little Loch.

In addition to providing photographs of a general view of the Estate along with several of the farms and lochs, the Bill of Sale document gave detailed information about each Holding, of which there were fifty-eight in total.