Auchlyne
Encyclopedia
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in Stirling
Stirling (council area)
Stirling is one of the 32 unitary local government council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about 87,000 . It was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Stirling district of the former Central local government region, and it covers most of the former...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is located approximately five miles west of Killin
Killin
Killin is a village situated at the western head of Loch Tay in Stirling , Scotland....
on Loch Tay
Loch Tay
Loch Tay is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the district of Perthshire.It is a long narrow loch of around 14 miles long, and typically around 1 to 1½ miles wide, following the line of the valley from the south west to north east...
, off the main A85 road
A85 road
The A85 is a major road in Scotland. It runs east from Oban along the south bank of Loch Etive, through Lochawe and Tyndrum, Crianlarich, Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Crieff before passing through Perth, where it crosses the River Tay via Perth Bridge. Its name between the latter two locations is...
that runs from Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
to Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
.
It consists of 3 houses, a large mansion house (complete with adjoining servants quarters, walled garden and kennels) and a farm, and has 10 permanent residents.
There is also an Auchlyne in Guyana. It is unknown if there is any direct link. It is likely that Auchlyne, Guyana was named by a Scot, since Auchlyne is a typical Gaelic-derived name. There is also an Auchlyne Estate, which is governed by The Scottish Congregational Church.
Toponomy
The name "Auchlyne" comes from the GaelicGoidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
Achadh Loinne. Achadh means "field", whereas Loinne may mean "stack-yard" (in Perthshire Gaelic) or "in good condition / appearance". Historically, the name may have been "Achline" or "Auchlin".
Location
Auchlyne is located on the North side of Glen Dochart where the flat river plain gives way to the BreadalbaneBreadalbane, Scotland
Breadalbane —from Scottish Gaelic Bràghad Albainn, "the upper part of Alba"—is a region of the southern/central Scottish Highlands in Atholl. The Breadalbane hydro-electric power scheme lies within the region.Clan Campbell has a Breadalbane branch...
Hills. It is bracketed by the West Auchlyne Burn to the west and the East Auchlyne Burn to the east. Auchlyne is in Breadalbane, from the Gaelic Bràid Albainn or Bràghad Albainn, meaning "the upper part of Alba or Scotland".
Nearby settlements are Auchessan (Achadh an Easan, possibly "the field with the little waterfall"), Ardchyle (Ard Choille, meaning "high wood"), 1867 Map, Liangarstan, Ledcharrie (image, with Innishewan in the distance), Croftchoes, Suie (meaning "seat"), Luib (meaning "bend"; the River Dochart does make an S-bend below Luib), Bovain (Both Mheadhain, meaning "the middle hut", lying as it does near halfway between Auchlyne and Killin
Killin
Killin is a village situated at the western head of Loch Tay in Stirling , Scotland....
. From the 14th century, Bovain was the seat of the Chief of the Clan MacNab
Clan MacNab
Clan Macnab is a Highland Scottish clan.-History:Clan Macnab is often said to have been a branch of the Clan Macdonald. However a bond of manrent exists to say that the Clan Macnab was an ally of the Clan Mackinnon and the Clan Gregor...
) and Leskine. A right of way leads from Ledcharrie over the hill to Balquhidder
Balquhidder
Balquhidder is a small village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the Braes of Balquhidder, at the head of Loch Voil. Balquhidder Glen is also popular for fishing, nature watching and walking...
, seat of the Clan MacLaren
Clan MacLaren
Clan MacLaren is a Highland Scottish clan.-History:-Origins:The origins of the clan are uncertain, but by tradition the MacLarens are descended from Loarn mac Eirc of Dál Riata, who landed in & settled Argyll in 503 A.D. The clan name is supposedly derived from Lorn ; these variations are all...
and home to Rob Roy MacGregor. At the foot of Ben More, near Auchessan is a cottage which supposedly belonged to Rob Roy MacGregor.
The two burns that enclose Auchlyne are part of the Killin section of the Breadalbane Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, which takes almost the entire runoff from the East and West Auchlyne burn catchment areas and transports it to Loch Lyon, two glens to the North of Glen Dochart, through a system of submerged pipes and tunnels through the hillside. A road was created from Auchlyne to allow access to the many small dams that feed the system, and also to enabled heavier machinery to gain access to the South end of the tunnel that carries the water through the mountain to Glen Lochy. This scheme was completed in 1961. The Hydroboard were granted permission to create the road by the owners of the estate, in return for free use of the road by the estate.
History
The mansion house, built by the Third Earl of BreadalbaneJohn Campbell, 3rd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland
John Campbell, 3rd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland KB , styled Lord Glenorchy from 1716 until 1752, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat and politician.-Background and education:...
, from whom it could be rented, dates from 1760. In the fields below Auchlyne Farm are the ruins of a chapel, which is also marked as a burial ground on Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps. There is also a burial ground site on a mound below Suie. There are numerous disused and ruined croft buildings in the hills and moors around Auchlyne.
Of the three houses in Auchlyne, one, the Old Keepers cottage, has been extensively extended and remodelled since its current owner, the owner of Auchlyne Estate, moved in over 30 years ago. The Old Keepers cottage can be seen in its original guise in one of the St Andrews University Archive pictures. The remaining two houses are modern bungalows, one of which is home to current keeper.
The estate caught the eye of John Davy, brother of and assistant to Sir Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet FRS MRIA was a British chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine...
, the renowned physicist. The National Archives retain a letter from John Davy in 1824 in which he expressed his interest in the estate.
Papers in the National Archives suggest that Auchlyne was one of over thirty properties either owned or leased by the Grenville family, Dukes of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
, who evidently commissioned a household inventory and valuation in 1847, which is retained by the National Archives of Scotland
National Archives of Scotland
Based in Edinburgh, the National Archives of Scotland are the national archives of Scotland. The NAS claims to have one of the most varied collection of archives in Europe...
. There is also reference to Auchlyne in an item in a catalogue of 1848, which details the receipt by the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos, under the title "Marquis of Chandos
Duke of Chandos
The title Baron Chandos has been created twice in the Peerage of England. It was first created in 1337 when Roger de Chandos was summoned to parliament. It became extinct on his death....
", of a powder-flask and shot-belt from some "obliged friends" in August 1837, no doubt after a days grouse shooting on or after the Glorious Twelfth
Glorious Twelfth
The Glorious Twelfth is usually used to refer to 12 August, the start of the shooting season for Red Grouse and to a lesser extent the Ptarmigan in the United Kingdom. This is one of the busiest days in the shooting season, with large amounts of game being shot...
. These dates suggest that the 1847 inventory and valuation was in preparation for the 1848 sale. The sale was necessary due to the combined extravagances and follies of the first and second Dukes.
Auchlyne House was rented in 1858 by "The Black Prince", as the Perthshire locals called Maharajah Duleep Singh
Duleep Singh
This article is about Maharaja Dalip Singh. For other uses, see Dalip SinghMaharaja Dalip Singh, GCSI , commonly called Duleep Singh and later in life nicknamed the Black Prince of Perthshire, was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire...
, the first Indian prince to visit Scotland. His father was Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
, the legendary Lion of the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, who ruled the Sikh kingdom in India. He took Auchlyne from Lord Breadalbane when his lease of Castle Menzies
Castle Menzies
Castle Menzies in Scotland is the ancestral seat of the Clan Menzies. It is located a little to the west of the small village of Weem, near Aberfeldy in the Highlands of Perthshire, and was formerly known as Weem Castle.-History:...
expired, but in 1860 moved to England.
The mansion house on the Breadalbane Estate was rented by Mr John M. Crabbie, of Crabbie's Green Ginger fame, in 1888. It was rented later, in 1893, by John Crabbie's son, a Captain Crabbe. The discrepancy in the surnames arose because Captain Crabbe had to change his name after being blackballed from the New Club in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
because his family were in trade. The Crabbe family bought the property and have lived there since.
Breadalbane, the region in which Auchlyne is located, was home to the Campbells of Breadalbane.
Auchlyne and Suie Estates
Auchlyne and Suie Estates run to just over 18,000 acres (73 km²), 10,611 acres (43 km²) and 7500 acres (30 km²) respectively) and stretch from Killin to Auchessan on the north side of Glen Dochart (Auchlyne Estate), and from Liangarstan to Ben MoreBen More (Crianlarich)
Ben More is a mountain in the southern Highlands of Scotland, near Crianlarich. It is the highest of the so-called Crianlarich Hills to the south-east of the village, and there is no higher land in the British Isles south of Ben More...
on the south side (Suie Estate). It operates both agricultural and sporting operations. On the farming side, there are Blackface and Cheviot
Cheviot sheep
The Cheviot is a breed of white faced sheep which gets its name from a range of hills in north Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. It is still common in this area of the United Kingdom, but also in north west Scotland, Wales and the south west of England as well as more rarely in Australia,...
flocks, as well as a herd of pedigree Highland cattle
Highland cattle
Highland cattle or kyloe are a Scottish breed of beef cattle with long horns and long wavy coats which are coloured black, brindled, red, yellow or dun....
, the Benmore Fold, based at Innishewan Farm. On the sporting side, the estate offers Red Deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
stalking
Game stalker
Defined narrowly, a game stalker is a hunter who for sport, approaches close to its timid quarry before making a kill. The practice is commonly associated with the moors of Scotland where the principal quarry is red deer. However, the skill is found worldwide and is of extremely long standing...
, trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
and salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and walked-up Red Grouse
Red grouse
The Red Grouse is a medium sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the Willow Grouse but is sometimes considered to be a separate species Lagopus scoticus...
shooting. The remains of the driven grouse butts can still be seen on Auchlyne.
The family still lives in the mansion house at Auchlyne and runs the estate to this day.