Wasbister – Rousay Remembered

Views & Faces

Max Fletcher — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 14:30:37 +0000

Two old photos featuring Langskaill and its land – the smoking lums of the long house, and herding sheep on foot and horseback. Above left is ‘Fiery Bill’ Inkster of Cogar. Born in 1860, he was the first of ten children born to William Inkster of Cogar and Mary Gibson of Langskaill. He was married twice, firstly to Jean Learmonth of Innister and latterly to…

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Vanished Houses

Max Fletcher — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 12:42:56 +0000

Details of some of the ‘vanished’ houses and sites in Wasbister. Bakicrass was the name of an ancient house in Wasbister. William Craigie and his wife Isabel Gibson lived there and James, their only child was born there on June 4th 1802. Barebraes was a small croft in Wasbister on the hillside above Cogar. Bleaching Knowe: On the southern shore of Wasbister Loch…

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Vacquoy

Max Fletcher — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 10:23:24 +0000

The earliest mention of Vacquoy was from a rental document when it was occupied by Rowland Couper between 1734 and 1737. Moving on to the first official census the house was occupied in 1841 by 30-year-old John Gibson, his wife Barbara Craigie, and children Cecilia (8), Alexander (5) and Mary (1). John was the second son of David Gibson and his second wife Isabel Mainland of Langskaill.

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Upper Grain

Max Fletcher — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 09:31:23 +0000

Upper Grain, or the Breck o’ Grain, was also known as The Slap. In 1851 it was occupied by Isabella Inkster, widow of John Leonard of Grain, and by that time she was in her 74th year. She earned what money she could by knitting stockings, but she finally passed away in 1865 at the age of 89. Living at the Breck o’ Grain in 1871 was Isabella Craigie, for which she paid…

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Greysteen

Max Fletcher — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 16:30:18 +0000

Greysteen was the site of two houses south-west of Deithe, close to the Quandale dyke in Wasbister. John Yorston and his wife Margaret Harrold lived in the original building in the 1730’s. It was spelled Graceton in the Birth Register when their first child William was christened on December 18th 1734. At this time Wasbister was spelt Weybyster, and it was here their second son was christened…

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Lower Blackhammer

Max Fletcher — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 15:16:46 +0000

This is Lower Blackhammer, also called the Manse, on the hill overlooking Wasbister. In 1851 it was occupied by the Louttit family, 72-year-old stonemason Alexander, his wife 55-year-old Janet Craigie, and two of their six children – 28-year-old son Edward, and 15-year-old daughter Betsy, both of whom were employed as agricultural labourers. Edward Louttit was later expelled from Rousay by the…

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Grain

Max Fletcher — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 13:37:36 +0000

Grain was a small croft on the roadside just beyond the entrance to Wasbister from Quandale. John Leonard lived there in the late 1700’s, and in 1802 he married Isabella Inkster, daughter of William Inkster and Mary Bichan. They had four children; John, born in 1802, Mary, in 1810, James, in 1812, and George, in 1816. In 1841 son James was head of the household at Grain.

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Kirkgate & Helliatrow

Max Fletcher — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 12:57:12 +0000

Kirkgate is a croft below Blackhammer and east of Deithe in Wasbister, named, no doubt, from its proximity to the old road to the church at Skaill on the Westside and that of Corse kirk, which stood adjacent to where the kirkyard is beside the Loch of Wasbister. John Leonard, son of John Leonard and Nelly Gibson, was born on January 12th 1831 at Kirkgate. Their second son, Peter…

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Tou

Max Fletcher — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 10:48:18 +0000

Tou was a farm in Wasbister, known at Tow in charters dated 1567, 1624, and 1640, close to Hammerfield and Breckan. Early tenants included Hugh, Thomas, and William Craigie in 1736, Thomas Brand in 1740, and William Wishart in 1798. In the early 1800s, Tou was occupied by Hugh Inkster and his family. In 1801, he married 20-year-old Isabel Craigie, Corse, and they raised a family of 12…

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Hammerfield

Max Fletcher — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 08:27:45 +0000

Hammerfield was the name of a farm on the face of the hill above Wasbister, built in 1789. The earliest recorded tenant was John Flaws, who married Isabel Alexander on November 15th 1799. They had two sons; James, christened on August 17th 1800, and William, who was christened on March 21st 1802. In 1841 Hammerfield was occupied by farmer James Flaws and his family. He married Isabel Gibson…

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