Murdoch Grant
Encyclopedia
Murdoch Grant was an English
itinerant peddler
and murder victim of which the unusual circumstance regarding the capture of the murderer resulted from a local tailor who claimed to have witnessed the events in a dream.
During the spring of 1830, Grant visited the village of Assynt
in the Scottish Highlands
of Sutherland
shire to attend a wedding March 19. However, after disappearing between Drumbeg
and Nedd
on March 11, his body was discovered four weeks later by a farm servant passing by the Loch-for-na-eigin, a remote mountain lake located almost a mile from Drumbeg. After dragging his body ashore, the servant observed the peddler's pockets had been emptied and turned inside out (Grant was known to be carrying a considerable amount of money) and his backpack
missing as well as marks on his face showing signs of foul play.
However, local authorities were unable to solve the crime and Grant's murder remained unsolved for some time. However, after the local postmaster casually mentioned to sheriff
Lumsden about changing a £
10 note with a suspicious looking man shortly after Grant's disappearance, sheriff Lumsden questioned schoolteacher Hugh Macleod. After Macleod denied the postmaster's claim, the sheriff arrested Macleod and ordered a search of his house.
None of the peddler's belongings were found however and, shortly before the sheriff was to release Macleod, a tailor named Kenneth Fraser came forward claiming he had experienced a dream in which he saw a vision of Macleod's cottage and in which he heard a voice speaking in Gaelic which told him "The merchant's pack is lying in a cairn of stones, in a hole near their house."
Leading authorities to Macleod's home, several articles belonging to Grant were found under a pile of stones. While there was some doubt to the tailor's story, the discovery of a pair of stockings later found in Macleod's possession later provided enough evidence to bring Macleod before a Court of Justice. Tried before Lord Moncreiff of the circuit court
in Inverness
on September 27, Fraser testified against Macleod, who was found guilty of his murder for which he later confessed before his execution.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
itinerant peddler
Peddler
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a canvasser, cheapjack, monger, or solicitor , is a travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages; they might also be called tinkers or gypsies...
and murder victim of which the unusual circumstance regarding the capture of the murderer resulted from a local tailor who claimed to have witnessed the events in a dream.
During the spring of 1830, Grant visited the village of Assynt
Assynt
Assynt is a civil parish in west Sutherland, Highland, Scotland – north of Ullapool.It is famous for its landscape and its remarkable mountains...
in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
of Sutherland
Sutherland
Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'IcAoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...
shire to attend a wedding March 19. However, after disappearing between Drumbeg
Drumbeg, Sutherland
Drumbeg is a remote crofting village on the north west coast of Scotland in Assynt, Sutherland, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland....
and Nedd
Nedd
Nedd is a small village, which lies on the western head of Loch Nedd in Lairg, western Sutherland, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.The village of Drumbeg lies less than 1 mile north west along the B869 road....
on March 11, his body was discovered four weeks later by a farm servant passing by the Loch-for-na-eigin, a remote mountain lake located almost a mile from Drumbeg. After dragging his body ashore, the servant observed the peddler's pockets had been emptied and turned inside out (Grant was known to be carrying a considerable amount of money) and his backpack
Backpack
A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions...
missing as well as marks on his face showing signs of foul play.
However, local authorities were unable to solve the crime and Grant's murder remained unsolved for some time. However, after the local postmaster casually mentioned to sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Lumsden about changing a £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
10 note with a suspicious looking man shortly after Grant's disappearance, sheriff Lumsden questioned schoolteacher Hugh Macleod. After Macleod denied the postmaster's claim, the sheriff arrested Macleod and ordered a search of his house.
None of the peddler's belongings were found however and, shortly before the sheriff was to release Macleod, a tailor named Kenneth Fraser came forward claiming he had experienced a dream in which he saw a vision of Macleod's cottage and in which he heard a voice speaking in Gaelic which told him "The merchant's pack is lying in a cairn of stones, in a hole near their house."
Leading authorities to Macleod's home, several articles belonging to Grant were found under a pile of stones. While there was some doubt to the tailor's story, the discovery of a pair of stockings later found in Macleod's possession later provided enough evidence to bring Macleod before a Court of Justice. Tried before Lord Moncreiff of the circuit court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
in Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
on September 27, Fraser testified against Macleod, who was found guilty of his murder for which he later confessed before his execution.
Further reading
- Robertson, James. Scottish Ghost Stories. London: Little, Brown and Company, 1996. ISBN 0-7515-1393-8