Sketquoy used to be the most outlying farm on the north side of Wasbister. Years ago it incorporated the old farms of Stennisgorn and Grudwick. Pronounced sket-wi, or more formally sket-kwai, it appears in a Brough charter of 1608 as Skataquoy, and in another 17th century charter as Skitquoy – but on the Ordnance Survey map of today it is spelt Skatequoy.
The Bothy at Sketquoy, another photograph by Tommy Gibson
James Craigie was tenant in 1737 and Hugh Gibson in 1799. The latter was married to Janet Inkster and between 1794 and 1812 they had seven children. The second oldest of these was Hugh, born in 1795. He was 30 years old when he married Janet Craigie, daughter of Hugh and Janet Craigie of Skaill, Westside, who was born on May 1st 1797 at Saviskaill. The wedding was at nearby Cogar in 1825, and they had seven children between 1826 and 1843. Hugh farmed the 30-odd acres for many years, but eventually he died in 1861 at the age of 66, and his wife Janet died in 1863, also at the age of 66.
Sketquoy, with the farm buildings of Saviskaill in the foreground
A view of Sketquoy, with the remains of Stennisgorn to the right
In 1863 son John was tenant of Sketquoy, paying £26 rent. In 1872 he paid £30, and the size of the farm was then 46.4 acres. John was born on January 21st 1839 and was 28 years old when he married 19-year-old Margaret Louttit, the daughter of William Louttit and Christina Cormack of Faraclett. Between 1869 and 1884 they had eight children. In 1888 the rent was £24, having been fixed by the Crofters Commission. John gave up Sketquoy and took on Hurtiso and the Mill of Sourin, and they later moved again, to Faraclett.
Above left: Sketquoy in winter – a snow-capped Fitty Hill on Westray across the firth. To the right is a view from the cliffs behind Sketquoy – from Sacquoy Head to the Lobust, with Costa Head on Mainland and the Brough of Birsay in the distance.
In 1889 Sketquoy was occupied by Hugh Sinclair. 75 acres of pasture land at the Brings had been added and the rent at this time was £30. Hugh was the son of James Sinclair and Maidie Hourston of Newhouse. Born on March 1st 1821, he married Isabella Gibson of Langskaill in 1844. The couple, pictured to the right, lived at Stennisgorn, and between 1846 and 1862 they had ten children. When the Gibsons moved out and the farms were amalgamated, Hugh took over the tenancy of Sketquoy. Isabella died in 1903, at the age of 76, and Hugh died in 1909, aged 88.
Hugh and Isabella’s son Robert, born in January 1864, took over the running of the farm at Sketquoy. He married Margaret Flaws, daughter of David Flaws and Margaret Louttit of Hammerfield, and she was born in 1872. They had four children; Robert, born in 1891; George, in 1893; Annabella, in 1906; and Hugh, who was born in 1903.
Robert Sinclair [born 1891], Sketquoy, nearing the top of the Leean with his horse and cart, c.1930
The coastal features of Scara Ber, the Quern of Grithin, Fess Ber and Helliasour
Grithin is the name of a boulder-strewn bay at the angle of the coast between the cliffs on the north-west of Saviskaill Head, Rousay, and those behind the old houses of Skatequoy, Stennisgorn and Grudwick.
Grudwick was recorded in the 1503 Rental, consisting of a 1d. land. Its name and situation was long forgotten, but from its relative placing in the Rental it must have been near Grithin, and had its name from the bay or ‘wick’ of which the upper end is now Grithin. The Old Norse word grjót-vik means ‘stony-wick’, which refers to the boulders on the beach at Grithin.
At this inlet there is a very steep beach, composed of huge boulders rounded by the action of the pounding waves. Another feature in the dramatic rock formation here is ‘15 Man Cave’ where, in 1825, that number of Rousay men hid from a Press Gang for two weeks.
Huge waves batter Fess Ber and Helliasour at Saviskaill Head – close to ’15 Man Cave’
Grithin, or Quoygruithen, was the name of a house that stood nearby dating back to about the year 1500. Hugh Craigie is on record as its tenant in 1739.
Another Hugh Craigie lived at Lerquoy, Wasbister, and in 1808 he married Sicilia Gibson of Langskaill. They had five children; Mary was born on January 6th 1810; twins William and Barbara were born at Grithin on April 27th 1811; Hugh was also born at Grithin, on May 1st 1813, and Isabel was born on April 20th 1815 at Hillhouse above Claybank.
In the Rousay Birth Register of 1817 the house Greethen is mentioned, and in later years, although with alternative spellings, the same house is recorded; in 1819 and 1822, Grithen; and in 1829, Gruthen.
John Inkster married Betty Marwick of Force, the old name for the Wasbister farm of Furse, on February 4th 1814 and between 1815 and 1842 they had ten children. The first of these, Janet, was born on September 3rd 1815 at Force. The next three children were born at Grithin; Jean, on June 21st 1817, John, on August 8th 1819, and Ann, on July 16th 1822. Then another Ann was born on February 6th 1825 at Tou. David was born on May 20th 1827 at Quoygray. The other four children were born back at Grithin; Bella, on August 8th 1829, James, on December 25th 1831, Robina, on November 7th 1834, and finally Mary, who was born on July 16th 1842.
The Bay of Grithin, with a view of Westray across the firth
Grim tales are told of some dark times in Wasbister’s past. This one concerns a shipwreck at the Bay of Grithin many years ago. A man from Westray, who had taken some cattle to the market in Kirkwall, was sailing back home feeling well pleased with the prices he had got for his beasts when a storm arose. It is not known whether the boat was lost and he managed to scramble ashore to die shortly afterwards, or whether he was drowned and was later washed ashore. Near the Bay of Grithin are two stones, which are said to mark the head and foot of the Westray man’s grave. At the nearby house of Grithin there lived a man who never had two pennies to rub together. It is said he was never short of money after the unfortunate Westray man came ashore, almost on to his doorstep.
As no evidence of Grithin, Stennisgorn or Grudwick remains I have attached some photos of the Bay of Grithin, and its surrounding coastal features.
The Burn of Quoys, which flows all the way down to the Loch of Wasbister
Quoys was a farm in Wasbister, the buildings of which now stand as ruins on the west bank of the Burn of Quoys and situated between the lands of Quoyostray and Cogar.
In 1841, the land was farmed by 35-year-old William Gibson and he was paying £10 a year rent. He lived there with his wife Janet Craigie, daughter of Hugh and Isabel Craigie of Brough, Westside, who was born on July 20th 1808. Living under the same roof was Ellen Craigie, a servant, and 13-year-old Hugh Marwick who was an agricultural labourer. Lerquoy was added in 1847, as was Deithe in 1849 [or Quoydeithe as it was known in those days, and sited some 250 yards east of the smiddy above Quoyostray], and at that time William paid £15 14s. 7d. rent.
In 1851, William and Janet had three servants; John Clouston, a 19-year-old, working on the farm; 22-year-old Jane Craigie, who worked in the house; and 13-year-old Betsy Clouston, a cowherd.
Another tenant at this time was widowed farmer William Marwick, who lived there with his 20-year-old son David, a shoemaker.
Quoys, the Wester loch, Saviskaill Head, and Westray across the firth
By 1861, the previously mentioned Hugh Marwick was joint tenant of Quoys with William Gibson. At this time he was a 33-year-old fisherman. On December 1st 1858, he married Mary Inkster, the daughter of James Inkster and Janet Craigie of Innister, born on December 5th 1834. While living at Quoys they had four children between 1859 and 1866.
They then moved to Whitemeadows, a small croft high up on the west side of Kierfea Hill, and between June 1869 and October 1880, Mary gave birth to another six children there. James Mowat was born on June 3rd 1869, William on July 10th 1871, Thomas on June 23rd 1873, John on November 26th 1875, Alexander on December 10th 1878 and Magnus, who was born on October 14th 1880.
Both Hugh and his wife Mary died in 1882, within a month of each other. He was aged 54 and she was 46. Seven of the ten children were younger than 18 when they were orphaned. The following is the inscription on their gravestone in the Wester kirkyard:-
Erected by their family in loving memory of Hugh Marwick, who died 22nd March 1882, aged 53 years, and Mary Inkster his wife, who died 17th April 1882, aged 46 years. “Weep not for us our children dear: because we died and left you here: Our heavenly Father thought it best: to call us home and give us rest.”
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Quoys in the foreground, the Wester schoolhouse to the left, Cogar and Ivybank in the centre, Nedyar and Langskaill to the right.
In 1871 James Kirkness and his wife Margaret Inkster lived at Quoys. He was the son of James Kirkness and Grace Craigie of Quoyostray and later Grain, and he was born on March 28th 1843. In 1864 he married Margaret, daughter of James Inkster and his third wife Elizabeth Mowat, and she was born on November 17th 1844. They had four children; Janet, James, William, and David, born between 1865 and 1878.
In 1873, William Gibson, who still owned the 58.8 acres of land at Quoys, paid an annual rent of £20.
The 1891 census of Rousay was carried out on April 5th, and at this time head of the household at Quoys was 23-year-old John Gibson, son of Alexander Gibson and Margaret Learmonth of Vacquoy. It was Alexander who designed and built the Wasbister school, which opened in 1881. He passed away in 1887, and it was then his wife, son john and three of his five daughters moved to Quoys.
Quoys, with Furse above left, and Sketquoy on the highest ground
The next occupants of Quoys were the Marwick family. David Marwick, son of Robert Marwick and Bell Mainland, his wife Ann Leonard, daughter of George Leonard and Margaret Clouston, and their seven children moved there from Essaquoy, Sourin. Robert was the oldest, born in February 1877; George was born in January 1880; Bella in January 1882; Mary Ann in September 1886; David Baike, was born in November 1890; William Leslie, in May 1895; and John Houston, who was born in April 1897.
Robert Marwick, born in 1877, married Jessie Dearness and had five children; David, Jessie Ann, Christina, Annie, and Ruby. His brother George was unmarried, and the youngest brother, John, was killed in action during WWI. Private 138391 John Houston Marwick served with the 58th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), and fell on September 18th 1918 during the Battle of Épehy, fought between the British Fourth Army and enemy outpost positions in front of the Hindenburg Line, Germany’s last line of defence on the Western Front during World War I. John Houston Marwick is commemorated on Panel 10, Vis-en-Artois Memorial, between the communes of Vis-en-Artois and Haucourt in the département of Pas-de-Calais, France.
The three Marwick brothers mentioned above: Robert [left], George, and John [right]
Cogar, in the above photo, is the central modern building with its associated older outhouses, and is surrounded by the old Wasbister school to its left, the farm buildings of Quoys below, and Ivybank to the right.
In an Early Rental printed in 1503 Cogar was known as Calgir. It was occupied in 1733 by William Craigie, in 1740 by Gilbert Craigie, and 1799 by George Marwick.
William Inkster was born in 1799. In 1827 he married Rebekah Marwick of Negar, near Falquoy, and they had two children, William and Margaret. In 1851 they lived at Cogar, 19-year-old William helping his father on the farm and 17-year-old Margaret helping her mother in the home. By this time they had another son, 11-year-old John, who attended classes at the nearby school.
In 1861 there were three families living under different roofs at Cogar. Firstly there was the afore-mentioned son William Inkster, now a 29-year-old, farming the 19 acres, his wife Mary Gibson and one-year-old son William, and Isabella Kirkness, a 15-year-old domestic servant. Between 1860-1879 Mary was to produce ten children, three of them dying in infancy.
William is pictured with his daughter Mary Ann, who was born at Cogar in 1876
An inscription on a tombstone in the Wester kirkyard records the passing of the three young members of the Inkster family. It reads as follows:-
Erected in loving memory of John Inkster, Cogar, born 11th May 1863, died 20th September 1864. Robert G. Inkster born 3rd April 1869, died 6th September 1878. Alexander M. Inkster born 8th October 1873, died 5th August 1878, beloved children of William and Mary Inkster. “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
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Old map section showing the location of Cogar
William Inkster, now a 61-year-old retired farmer, still lived at Cogar with his wife Rebekah. The third family was headed by William Craigie, a 40-year-old general merchant. He married William and Rebekah’s 20-year-old daughter Margaret in 1853, and between 1854 and 1875 they were to have seven children. William Craigie was a fisherman, working for the Hudson Bay Company in his younger days, and with his savings he set up a shop a Cogar.
Mary Inkster, wife of William Inkster, mentioned below.
In 1873 the extent of the land at Cogar was 43.9 acres, for which farmer William Inkster paid an annual rent of £16. When the census of 1891 was carried out he and his wife Mary were still living at Cogar, as was their son David, now a 29-year-old fisherman, with his wife Isabella Sinclair and children Annabella, William and Lydia. Oldest son William, now 31 years of age, had married Jean Learmonth of Innister, and they had three daughters, Lilla, Annie and Ruby. He married a second time, to Sarah Folsetter of Dale, Evie. William, who was Fire Master in Aberdeen, was known as ‘Fiery Bill.’
A number of years ago Robert C. Marwick heard a news item on the radio to the effect that the government was scrapping the requirement for people who brewed ale at home to have a licence to do so. It was stated that in the previous 12 months only 495 licences had been issued in Scotland, 492 of them in Orkney. He did not know whether this surprising statistic indicated that Orcadians had a greater fondness for home brewed ale than people elsewhere, but he did not know a single Rousay person, let alone 492 in Orkney as a whole, who would have let the need for a licence stand between him and the brewing of a kirn of ale.
Quite a lot of brewing went on in Rousay when he was a boy, and he once heard a Wester worthy remarking after a drink of ale, ‘Man, that stuff’s both meat and drink.’ His mother brewed once a year, in time for the peat cutting. It must have been thirsty work for several dozen bottles, carefully packed in a bushel measure, were taken to the hill on peat-cutting day. Bobby of Cogar was said to brew a very potent ale. It was claimed to give those who drank it what in modern jargon is called a ‘high,’ but they invariably discovered later that Bobby’s brew also produced a ‘low’ in the form of its highly unpleasant purgative effects!
Maggie and Hugh Craigie – a photo taken in the late 1800s. Maggie was born and raised at Upper Cogar. She married Hugh Craigie of Turbitail, and they later settled at Deithe where this photo was taken.
[Photo courtesy of the Craigie family]
Upper Cogar was where 40-year-old farmer William Inkster and his family lived in 1841. In 1827 William married Rebecca Marwick, daughter of William and Elizabeth Marwick of ‘Heatherhall, Wasbyster,’ and later at nearby Negar, and she was born in 1797. They had four children; John, born on October 26th 1828, William on August 14th 1831, Margaret on June 5th 1833, and another John on September 11th 1840.
The youngest John married Janet Craigie, daughter of Alexander Craigie and Ann Murray of Falquoy, who was born on October 7th 1838. They had one child, a daughter Margaret, born on January 26th 1866. She later married Hugh Craigie of Turbitail, and was known by one and all as ‘Maggie o’ Deithe,’ having moved to the croft of that name further up the hill.
Hugh and Maggie’s first child, Maggie Jessie, was born at Upper Cogar in 1889
John’s second marriage was to Betsy Marwick, the widow of John Marwick of Essaquoy. When the census of 1881 was carried out they were living at Upper Cogar. John was a 40-year-old fisherman, Betsy was 35 years of age, and by that time they had three children; Elizabeth, born in 1873, John, born in 1875, and James, who was born in 1877.
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‘Fiery Bill’ Inkster, with daughter Lilla and her husband George Sinclair. On the right are George’s parents, Robert and Maggie Sinclair. Sketquoy.
Taken at Cogar on July 21st 1931, the photo above shows, from left to right: ‘Fiery Bill’ Inkster, Cogar; Annie Craigie, Ivybank; Maggie Craigie, Deithe; Margaret & Robert Sinclair, Sketquoy; Hugh Sinclair, Bellona; Mary Ann Inkster, Cogar. In front: Sarah Sinclair, Bellona; woman & two children unknown.
Black & white photos, unless otherwise stated, are courtesy of the Tommy Gibson Collection
Not the original, but this two-storeyed farmhouse was re-built at Feolquoy in 1879
The earliest mention of Feolquoy is in an old account book of David Traill dated 1581, when the occupants were Thomas, Magnus and James Low. Henry Craigie lived there in 1740 when it was spelled Philquoy, followed by John Marwick, and in 1793 William Wishart was resident, according to the old parish records.
In 1841 it was home to 60-year-old farmer George Marwick and his family, and he paid rent in kind. In 1843 George paid £3 13s 4d, together with a half share of the farm of Neager as well as Feolquoy. In 1844 George was classed as a ‘life-renter’ and he paid £418s 4d with Seaterquoy and Loweshouse added. According to Hugh Marwick in his book Place Names of Rousay both the latter properties were so named probably from a family of that name, Lowes being on record as living in Wester in the 17th century.
George’s parents were Hugh and Margaret Marwick and he was born in 1782. He married 34-year-old Marian Hourston of Sound, Egilsay, in 1813 and they had three children; Katherine, born on April 5th 1814; Hugh, born on January 13th 1816; and Margaret, born in 1818, but she died in 1831.
Katherine Marwick married David Gibson of Skatequoy and between 1838 and 1853 they raised a family of six children at Feolquoy. Hugh was a fisherman, as was his brother-in-law David. He married Margaret Craigie of Hullion in 1847 and had a son, Robert, born in 1848. Hugh died the following year on January 9th, aged 33 years.
In the 1851 census Feolquoy is spelt Fialtquoy. Farmer George and his son-in-law were working on the land and Marian and daughter Katherine worked in the home, surrounded by five youngsters. Marian was 77 years of age when she died on December 15th 1856 and husband George was the same age when he died on February 1st 1859.
The inscription on George’s gravestone states that he was an heir to the estates of Saviskaill. Records show that there were Marwicks in Saviskaill in the 1700s.
Feolquoy in the centre of this picture, with Turbitail above, and Castlehill and Whitemeadows higher up the hill to the rigfht.
Feolquoy’s 53 acres were in the hands of the Craigies by 1861. Alexander Craigie was the son of Drummond Craigie and Barbara Murray of Whome, on the Westside. He was born at Kettlewhoam on April 25th 1808 and married Ann Murray of Tofts in Quandale, whose parents were Magnus Murray and Janet Robertson.
Alexander and Ann had seven children between 1837 and 1856, the first four being born at Whome and the others at Loweshouse. Mary was born on July 17th 1837. She married Paterson Craigie of Claybank and later Viera Lodge in 1858; Janet was born on October 7th 1838 and she married John Inkster of Upper Cogar; John, who was born on April 27th 1842, was a tailor but was paralysed in the legs; Margaret, born on January 21st 1847, is thought to have died young; James was born on July 11th 1850, and he married Janet Sinclair of Stennisgorn; Alexander Gibson, born February 12th 1853, married Jane Elizabeth Gillespie at Thurso; and Magnus, who was born on April 24th 1856, married Ellen Cooper at Holm in 1879.
In 1873 Alexander Craigie was paying an annual rent of £30 for the 69.3 acres he was farming at Feolquoy. In 1875, with the cots of Cairn, Lingro, Ploverhall, Shalter, and the Garret added, and the grazing north of Erne Tuick, Alexander paid £70 rent, and in 1879, with Claybank added, the rent was £86.
There are various spelling of Feolquoy over the years – the Ordnance Survey in the late 1800s choosing that of Failtquoy.
By 1891 Alexander was 82 years old and had retired. His son James had taken over as head of the household, living there with his wife Janet Sinclair. They were married on April 15th 1870, and between 1872 and 1891 they had seven children; Annabella was born on June 7th 1872 at Feolquoy (she was to marry James Clouston of Tou, and have two children, James and Clara); John, born on March 30th 1875 at the Old School in Wester (he married Ann Russell of Brendale in 1902, and they had eight children, including Johnny, Cissie, Alice and Sally. John farmed the Glebe before moving to Furse); Jessie Alexina, born on April 25th 1879 at the Old School (she married John Craigie of Cruar. She was aged 101 years of age when she died); Clara, born on August 30th 1881 at the Old School (she married Hugh Pearson of Kirkgate and went to live in Canada); James, born on April 13th 1884 at the Old School (he married Maggie Ann Lyon of Ervadale and had three children, James, George and Sinclair); Sarah, born on April 30th 1886 (she married William Costie, a postman in Kirkwall, in 1914. They ran the tennis courts and billiards room in Main Street for many years); and finally Alice, who was born on December 10th 1891 at Feolquoy (she married Hugh Mainland of Weyland, later Hurtiso, in 1912. They had seven children).
The Craigie family of Feolquoy in the early 1900s: James and Janet with their sons and daughters
Alexina and Clara Craigie
Four of the eight children born to John and Anne Craigie: Johnny, Cissie, Alice, and Sally.
Maggie Ann Lyon, wife of James Craigie of Feolquoy, and mother of Jim, George & Sinclair
[All black and white pictures courtesy of Tommy Gibson]
Picton was the name of a dwelling on the hill above Feolquoy in Wasbister.
Picton was was occupied briefly in the mid-1800’s by James Gibson. He was the son of Hugh Gibson and Janet Inkster of Skatequoy and he was born on February 16th 1803. His wife Mary earned a living as a dressmaker, and the annual rent they had to pay was one shilling.
Another tenant at Picton in 1861 was 55-year-old Betsy Craigie, who was a stocking knitter, previously living at Loweshouse. The census of 1871 tells us Betsy had moved down to Maybank, near the schoolhouse, and she was the Wasbister letter carrier, affectionately known as ‘Post Betty’.
Lingro was the name of an old house, later incorporated with the farm of Feolquoy in Wasbister. Early occupants were George and Alex Costay between 1801 and 1810, and William Harcus in 1817. William Craigie and his wife Janet Marwick lived at Lingro too, their only child, a daughter christened Janet Marwick, was born there on March 24th 1819.
In 1841 it was where farmer George Inkster lived with his family, paying £1 rent. George was the son of Thomas Inkster and Christy Marwick of Deithe and he was born in 1781. In 1814 at Cogar he married Jean Marwick, the daughter of John and Jean Marwick and they had six children; Hugh, born on January 6th 1815; Mary on March 18th 1816; Margaret on August 4th 1818; George on July 7th 1820; Janet on May 10th 1823; and John, who was born on February 11th 1827. Jean died at Lingro in 1857 aged 70, and George also died there, in 1867 at the age of 86.
The census of 1871 tells us that Lingro was occupied by stonemason and farmer Magnus Alexander, and he was paying £4 rent. He was the son of James Alexander and Barbara Marwick of Breckan, and he was born on May 9th 1819 at the old house of Cutclaws on the Westside. [His younger brother William was lost over the cliffs there.] In 1844 he married 26-year-old Margaret Inkster, daughter of the above mentioned George Inkster and Jean Marwick, who was then living at Deithe, and they had six children; Mary, born in 1845; David in 1847; Jane in 1849; James in 1854; Margaret in 1857; and Hannah, who was born in 1860.
By 1881 Magnus Alexander and his family had moved to nearby Cairn and 28-year-old Alexander Gibson Craigie and his family lived at Lingro. He was the son of Alexander Craigie and Ann Murray who lived nearby at Feolquoy. In 1879 he married Jane Elizabeth Gillespie, and between 1880 and 1897 they had seven daughters; Daisy, Annabella, Edith Mary, Beatrice Laing, Emily Seatter, Ivy Cooper, and Hilda Keith Spark.
The photo above shows what is left of what is known as the ‘Knowe of Lingro’, an Orkney-Cromarty stalled cairn, lying on the hillside in a sloping field.
It was visited by renowned archaeologist Vere Gordon Childe in 1941 and later in 1963 by A S Henshall. [Audrey Henshall studied chambered cairns and their contents throughout her professional life with the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.] These are her findings regarding the Knowe o’ Lingro:-
The turf-covered mound is rectangular in plan with rounded corners, measuring 70 ft E-W and 40 ft N-S, and about 5 ft high. It has a well-defined edge, but this is greater in extent than the construction it covers, for what appears to be a short length of the wall facing of the cairn is exposed 5 ft within the edge on the S side.
The top of the mound has been removed and a number of upright slabs are just exposed in the centre. These slabs are aligned at right angles to the main axis and are evidently the divisional slabs of a stalled chamber. Five stones can be seen on the N side of the chamber and three on the S side. The paved stones are set 3 ft apart and the compartments seem to be about 5 ft long. A short length of the N wall-face of the chamber can be seen in the centre of the N side. Neither end of the chamber is exposed and it is presumably considerably longer than the 22 ft indicated at present.
Ploverhall, or Pliverha’, was an old croft in Wasbister, surrounded by the lands of Giddystall, the Garret, Feolquoy, and Cairn. John Kirkness is on record as living there between 1819 and 1823, and at the time of the 1841 census James Lennard was the occupant.
The interior of Ploverhall today
In 1851, 31-year-old fisherman and agricultural labourer Robert Inkster and his family lived here. Robert was the son of Hugh Inkster and Isabel Craigie of Tou. He was born on August 18th 1818, and he had five brothers and six sisters. In 1849 he married 25-year-old Janet Inkster, daughter of George Inkster and Jean Marwick of Deithe, and they had five children; John, Robert, David, Mary Jane, and Ann, who were born between 1850 and 1860.
In 1873, the extent of the land at Pliverha’ covered 7.2 acres, for which Robert was charged an annual rent of 15 shillings.
Come the census of 1901, Ploverhall was home to a new family. Forty-four-year-old ploughman Magnus Craigie, his wife and children had moved up the hill from Claybank. Magnus was the son of Alexander Craigie of Whoam, later Falquoy, and Ann Murray, Tofts, Quandal, and he was born on April 24th 1856. In 1879 he married Ellen Cooper of Holm and between 1880 and 1898 they raised a family of thirteen children – five boys and eight girls.
Magnus Craigie and his wife Ellen Cooper, with their youngest daughter Helen Mary, who was born in August 1898
[The above photo is from the Tommy Gibson Collection]
The Garret was a cottage between those of Ploverhall and Shalter in Wasbister. In 1841 it was occupied by Isabella Inkster, and between 1864 and 1870 John Mowat, originally paying ten shillings rent, but later rising to £1. In 1871, 44-year-old widowed stocking-knitter Margaret Mowat lived there. The extent of the land at the Garret was 5.9 acres, for which Margaret continued to pay an annual rent of £1.
Margaret was the daughter of Hugh Marwick of Furse and Katherine Craigie of Claybank, and she was born on December 23rd 1826. She married John Mowat of Garret and they had a son, John, and a daughter, Mary.
Margaret died at Garret in 1920 at the age of 94, and her unmarried daughter Mary died there in 1937, the house remaining empty ever since.
The following is the inscription on Margaret’s tombstone in the Wasbister kirkyard:-
In loving memory of our dear mother Margaret Mowat who died at Garret 5th May 1920 aged 94 years. “Peaceful be thy rest dear mother: ’Tis sweet to breathe thy name: In life we loved you very dear: In death we do the same.”
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The Garret, in silhouette against a sparkling Rousay sky
Cairn was the name of a small croft high on the hillside above Wasbister and was situated between those of Ploverhall and Shalter. Between 1841 and 1844 George Marwick paid a rent of sixpence – and between 1845 and 1864 its occupant was John Inkster, initially paying five shillings, but later rising to double that.
In 1871 Cairn was occupied by 38-year-old fisherman James Inkster and his wife Ann. The extent of the land covered 9.5 acres, for which James paid an annual rent of £1.
In 1888 Magnus Alexander lived at Cairn as a sub-tenant of Feolquoy. Sub-tenants were declared not to be crofters, so his rent stayed at £2.10.0.
