Category: Wasbister

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’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.

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).

[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.

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.

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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.

[The above photo is from the Tommy Gibson Collection]

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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.

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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.

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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

Old map section showing the Garret’s location

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.

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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.

The ruins of Shalter, a small croft high up on the hillside in Wasbister, bordering on the lands of Cairn and The Garret.

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George Craigie and wife Mary Ann Craigie, daughter of James Craigie and Bella Marwick, lived there in the early 1800’s. They had a son John, who was born in 1833. In 1858 he married 23-year-old Betsy Louttit, daughter of Alexander Louttit and Janet Craigie of Lower Blackhammer. They had two sons, John, born on March 4th 1859,  and William on November 23rd 1869.

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In 1878, young John married 20-year-old Betsy Leonard, daughter of George Leonard and Margaret Clouston of Treblo in Sourin. George was brought up at Grain and later lived at nearby Stourameadow. Having been evicted from there when Quandale was cleared in the mid 1800s he went to live at Treblo.

Between 1879 and 1900 John and Betsy had ten children. The youngest, Margaret, was born at Treblo; Betsy and William were born at Westness; Mary, Isabella, John, and Emily were born at Shalter; and George, Hugh, and Annie were all born at Treblo. Their father John was the miller at the Sourin Mill for many years. In the early 1930’s he ran the Queen’s Hotel in Kirkwall with Isabella and Annie.

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A later occupant of Shalter was Magnus Craigie. He was born on August 4th 1881, the third eldest of thirteen children born to Magnus Craigie and Ellen Cooper of Fealquoy and later Pliverha’. He was unmarried and lived at Shalter, and shared his father’s love of music, Magnus the elder being a renowned fiddler. Magnus junior was fond of dancing and attended dances even in his later years. He was an accomplished dancer, though his usual footwear consisted of a pair of hefty hobnail boots. Mansie confided in a friend of waking one morning after a dance at which, he admitted, he’d had a wee drop too much to drink. He was unable to recall any of the previous evening’s events, and making use of the royal ‘we’, which he frequently adopted, he added, “but when we woke up and saw we still had wir boots on, we kent we’d had a good night!”

Mansie o’ Shalter in his WW1 army uniform

[Picture from the Tommy Gibson collection]

The spelling of many of the old crofts and houses on Rousay vary over the years – Everibust and Geddystall being no exception…..Everybust, Overbister, Everibist, Everybist – Geedista, Giddystaw, Geddystall. The map section above shows the location of the two houses, high on the hill above Wasbister.

Everibust was a small hill-croft situated far up the hillside above Wasbister, between Upper Kirkgate [Helliatrow] and Geddystall. Its first recorded tenant was John Linkletter in 1739, and later his son, also named John was head of the household in 1758. In 1851 seventy-year-old agricultural labourer John Craigie was the tenant, having moved from Geddystall, and he paid 5s. rent. He lived there with his wife Betsy Gorie, daughter of David Gorie and Mary Foulis of Kirkwall. Between 1823 and 1834 they had five children, Mary Foulis, Bethinia, Elizabeth, Margaret, and David Gorie.

John died in the 1850’s, and three of the children died within three years of each other. Elizabeth died at Everibust in 1865 at the age of 37; Margaret died at Scockness in 1866 when she was 35 years old; and David Gorie was 33 years old when he died at Sound, Egilsay in 1867.

In 1871 widow Betsy Craigie was in her 80th year, and in the census of that year she was described as a stocking knitter. Her unmarried daughter Mary, who earned a living as an agricultural labourer, still lived with her mother at Everibust. The extent of the land there covered 10 acres, for which John Craigie of Geddystall paid the rent – while Mary Craigie paid an annual rent of 10 shillings to occupy the house.

In the early 1900s, Everibust was occupied by crofter fisherman Alexander Gibson Craigie and his wife Jane. He was the son of Alexander Craigie, originally of Whoam, later Falquoy, and Ann Murray of Tofts, Quandale. Born at Loweshouse in February 1853 Alexander married Jane Elizabeth Gillespie at Thurso in 1879. They had seven children, the first six of which were born at Lingro; Daisy, born in June 1880, but died at an early age; Annabella was born in May 1882; Edith Mary, in April 1885; Beatrice Laing in May 1887; Emily Seatter was born in February 1891; and Ivy Cooper, who was born there in March 1892. Having moved up the hill to Everibust, Alexander and Jane’s seventh child was born there in January 1897, and christened Hilda Keith Spark.

Cubbidy, variously spelled as Cupidee, Coubeday and Cubadale, was a small croft high up on the hillside above Blackhammer in Wasbister.

Between 1841 and 1843 James Alexander and his family lived there, the annual rent at that time being 5 shillings.  In 1851 his widow Barbara farmed the two acres, and her 25-year-old daughter Betsy earned a living as a dressmaker. Barbara, the daughter of Magnus Marwick and Christy Craigie, married James Alexander of Breckan in 1810 and they lived at Cutclaws near Scabra Head.

They had eight children; Janet was born on October 11th 1811; Margaret, on May 2nd 1813; twins Mary and James, who were born on February 24th 1815; Magnus, born on May 9th 1819; David, on July 14th 1821; Betsy, born on May 1st 1824; and William, who was born on April 22nd 1827, but was later ‘lost over the cliffs.’ Daughter Betsy married Hugh Mowat, but by 1871 she was a widow, still living at Cupidee, but now with her children James, 8, and Mary, 7, both scholars. Her mother Barbara died there in 1872 at the age of 90. In 1873 the extent of the land covered 10.5 acres, for which Betsy paid an annual rent of £1.

Claybank was the name of a house built on the west bank the burn of Vacquoy in Wasbister. The original building was built in 1633 and the first recorded tenant was James Brand in 1733, followed by Gilbert Brand in 1739.

The ruin of Claybank, just up the burn from Vacquoy

In 1841 it was occupied by 50-year-old farmer James Craigie and his family. James was the son of William Craigie and Christian Harrold of Commode, or Cot Mowat, near Avalshay. He married Betty Marwick and they lived at Milnhouse, Sourin. They had seven children; Margaret, born on November 1st 1815 at  Milnhouse, John and William, born in 1817 and 1820 at Geordroine, Sourin, James, born in 1822 at Quoyferras, Hugh and Mary, born in 1825 and 1828 at Guidal, and Paterson, born on January 19th 1832 at Claybank.

James then married Jean Craigie, and they had two children, Robert and David, born at Claybank in 1835 and 1839.

In 1861 James was farming 19 acres of land at Claybank with the assistance of his unmarried 37-year-old son James who worked as a ploughman.

Also living at Claybank was his youngest son Paterson, who at that time was a 29-year-old blacksmith. In 1858 he married Mary Craigie, the daughter of Alexander Craigie and Ann Murray, who was born on July 16th 1837 when they were living at Whoam. They had four children; James, born on February 12th 1860 but died in infancy, James Paterson, born on February 16th 1862, Robert, born on March 26th 1866, and Ann Elizabeth, born on January 5th 1879.

James Craigie died at Claybank in 1864 at the age of 75. His son James took over the 40-acre farm having married Isabella Kirkness in 1868. She was the daughter of James Kirkness and Grace Craigie of Quoyostray, who was born in 1846. They had four children; Isabella, Mary, James, and John, born between 1869 and 1876. In 1873 the extent of Claybank had increased to 56.2 acres, for which James paid an annual rent of £19, but it was about this time that the family moved to Brough at Frotoft.

Paterson Craigie was living at Claybank in 1881. He was the Wester blacksmith, and his wife Mary was busy looking after young Ann Elizabeth.

It was at this time Mary’s younger brother Magnus and his family moved to Claybank. Magnus married Ellen Cooper at Holm in 1879. She was the daughter of David Cooper and Douglas Craigie,  who was born on February 7th 1859 in Egilsay. When the census was carried out in 1881, they had two children, one-year-old Alexander and Maggie Ann, who was then just nine months old. Between August of that year and 1898 they had a further eleven children, four boys and seven daughters. Mansie Craigie was employed as a farm servant, but in his spare time he enjoyed his music – he was a renowned fiddler.