Schooling in Lochs 1797-1881

As a result of a recent enquiry I thought I’d have a look at educational provision in the Parish of Lochs, Lewis. The first reference is to be found in The Statistical Account of Scotland where we learn from the Rev Mr Alexander  Simson that a Parochial Schoolhouse had been built during the previous year and a ‘Society’ (presumably SSPCK) schoolhouse constructed some two years prior to that. Two spinning schools (the majority of spinning in the islands at the time was performed using the distaff and spindle rather than with a spinning wheel) were operating, paid for jointly by the wife of the proprietor, Colonel Francis Humberston Mackenzie of Seaforth,  and the SSPCK. This, in sum, was the situation of schooling in Lochs in 1797.

The Rev Robert Finlayson composed his entry for Lochs in The New Statistical Account of Scotland in 1833 and the book itself was published in 1845, As an aside we may note that, according to Finlayson, no Parish Register had been kept for Lochs before his arrival in 1831 and in this regard his parish was suffering from a similar lack of records as the neighbouring Parish of Harris. There were four schools provided by the Gaelic School Society but no parish school as there was no accommodation until the recent erection of a schoolhouse. I wonder what had become of the Parochial Schoolhouse that Simson had mentioned?

By the time of the eventual publication in 1845 many changes had occurred since Finlayson penned his account but we can get a snapshot of educational provision from the census taken in 1841.

The 1841 Census records five Schoolmasters in Lochs:

Peter MacEwen, 35, Lemreway

Donald MacFarlane, 40, Laxay

Malcolm MacCritchie, 35, North Shawbost

Allan Ross, 35, Keose

John Shaw, 50, Borroston(?)

The sole Gaelic Teacher was:

John MacLean,  25, Keose, b. Ross & Cromarty

An eventful decade later, one in which the Clearances, the Disruption and the ongoing Famines were perhaps the most significant of several factors, sees a different set of six Schoolmasters:

William Denon, 50, Keose, b. Cromarty

William MacKay, 28, Balallan, b. Durness, Sutherland

We may also note the presence of an unemployed schoolmaster;

Donald MacKey, 28, Loval, b. Durness, Sutherland

Donald was one of seven members of the MacKay household at Loval Cottage, headed by his widowed 64 year-old mother, and he was quite possibly the (twin?) brother of William MacKay in Balallan.

The  Gaelic (School) Teachers were:

 John MacLean, 43, Laxay, b. Ross & Cormarty

Norman MacLennan, 51, Leurbost, b. Uig, Ross-shire

Murdo MacDonald, 48, North Shawbost, b. Uig, Ross-shire

Malcolm Morrison, 36, Calbost, b. Uig, Ross-shire

The presence of four teachers in different locations certainly appears to match with the provision of education by the Gaelic School society mentioned 18 years earlier but the presence of North Shawbost in the census for Lochs is confusing me as I thought it lay in the Parish of Barvas?

There is no sign of much changing by 1861 when the only two schoolmasters are Angus Murray, 60, Schoolhouse, b. Dornoch, Sutherlandshire and locally-born John Smith, 28 and three teachers are to be seen:

Kenneth MacKenzie, 40, Gaelic Teacher, Day School, b. Lochbroom

Malcolm Morrison, 48, Gaelic Teacher, Day School, b. Uig, Ross-shire

Angus Morrison, 18, Teacher, Day School, b. Uig, Ross-shire (Son of Malcolm)

Similarly, in  1871:

Alexander Crawford, 33, Keose, b. Stralachlan, Argyllshire

Donald MacIver, 19, Laxay, b. Lochs

Alexander MacIver (no further details)

John MacLeod, 50, Marvig, b. Harris

Malcolm Morrison, 56, Laxay, b. Uig, Ross-shire

Alexander Morrison, 22, Laxay, b. Uig, Ross-shire (Son of Malcolm, above)

Donald Smith, 18, Lemreway, b. Lochs

There is also Roderick MacLeod, 28, Cromore, b. Lochs who may have been the Gaelic School’s teacher at this time whilst two families of fishermen were apparently the sole occupants of a pair of school houses.

The 1872 Education (Scotland)Act  introduced compulsory English education, outlawing Gaelic from the school grounds with a rigour that surpassed the vigour of previous centuries with which the banning of the wearing of Highland dress and the carrying of arms had been accomplished.

Thus by 1881 schooling in Lochs had expanded but only one Gaelic School appears to have survived:

J C Clarke, Leurbost, b. Kilmuir

Alexander Crawford, 43, b. Stralachlan, Argyllshire

John Cumming, 36, Ranish, b. Knockando, Elgin

Roderick MacKenzie, Marvig, b. Lochs

Murdo MacLeod, 37, Kershader, b. Lochs

Alexander Morison, 28, Cromore, b. Lochs

We must also note the presence of two Sewing Mistresses:

Anne MacLeod, 46, Kershader, b. Lochs (Sister of Murdo, above)

Chirsty  Morison, 19, Cromore, b. Lochs (Sister of Alexander Morison, above)

In addition we have another ten Teachers, Assistant Teachers & Pupil Teachers recorded:

Duncan Fraser, 21, Crossbost, b. Daviot, Inverness-shire

Donald MacLeod, 16, Laxay, b. Lochs

Murdo Martin, 19, Arivruaich, b. Uig, Ross-shire

Kenneth MacKenzie, 26, Gravir, b. Gravir

Donald MacKenzie, 19, Grimshader, b. Lochs

Donald MacKinnon, 25, Balallan, b. Lochs

John MacLeod, 60, Cromore, b. Harris (Gaelic  School)

Murdo MacLeod, 37, Kershader, b. Lochs

Alexander Morrison, 28, Cromore, b. Lochs

Alex Ross, 54, Balallan, b. Perth, Blair

In summary, from the scant evidence that such records as these provide, it appears that the people of Lochs managed against all adversity to maintain Gaelic education for their children right up until the implementation of the 1872 Act. This is testament to the thirst for knowledge and respect for education that both of the Ministers who wrote for the Statistical Accounts had taken the time to remark upon in their respective reports and yet another rebuttal of the prevailing establishment view of the Gael...

I shall return to look at provision post the 1883 Napier Report in a later piece, but meanwhile an excellent article on the history of education in Lewis, and specifically in the neighbouring Parish of Uig, may be found here: http://www.ceuig.com/history/church-and-school/early-schools

References:

Statistical Account Pages -

http://stat-acc-scot.edina.ac.uk/link/1791-99/Ross%20and%20Cromarty/Lochs/19/277/

http://stat-acc-scot.edina.ac.uk/link/1834-45/Ross%20and%20Cromarty/Lochs/14/168/