![]() Figure 1: Aerial view of the chambered cairn and township remains at West Mulchaich. The sites at Mulchaich comprise two townships: a lower one at West Mulchaich ( MHG54319) (Figure 1) and an upper one at East Mulchaich ( MHG9062 Figure 2) 400m to the northeast which had been spared from ploughing in the 1950s and was later scheduled by Historic Scotland (SM3146). Distilling, however, did not altogether cease in Ferintosh but continued certainly into the 1820s. The Old Statistical Account of 1791–92 for the Parish of Urquhart noted that while ‘the houses in Ferintosh are extremely numerous’ the ‘buildings erected for the purpose of distilling (are) now lying unoccupied’. The government withdrew the privilege through the Distillery Act of 1784 which took effect two years later although Forbes was amply compensated (Mowat 2003, 58–59). The growth of production in the second half of the 18 th century and the vast profits made attracted a good deal of discontent. The privilege was enjoyed by the Forbes family without interruption on payment of 400 merks annually (about £22) rising to £73 by AD 1781, and the whisky was renowned for its quality and price. In the 18 th century, distilling of whisky for home consumption was carried out in the Highlands though there were few if any legal 18 th century distilleries other than those in Ferintosh. ![]() ![]() In the Act of Parliament, Ferintosh was described as “an ancient brewery of whisky”. In the early 19 th century Mulchaich comprised two farms known as Upper and Lower Mulchaich.ĭuncan Forbes of Culloden acquired the lands of Ferintosh and in 1690 the Scottish Parliament made a special grant to him of the privilege of distilling whisky on his estate largely free of duty as compensation for the laying waste of his estates by the Jacobites (Mowat 2003). The Roy military map drawn around AD 1750 depicts a number of settlements in Ferintosh: one of them was probably Mulchaich but it is not named. The lands of Mulchaich lay within the property which became known as Ferintosh (‘land of the thane/toiseach’) and an outlying portion of the shire of Nairn (Watson 1904, 114). Oral tradition has it that at least one was involved in the production of Ferintosh whisky in the 18 th century. The sites are remarkable survivals in a landscape which has seen intensive agriculture. Links to other research frameworks and committeesĪ project of measured survey and recording of two archaeological sites at Mulchaich Farm ( MHG54319) on the Black Isle was carried out by the North of Scotland Archaeological Society (NOSAS) in 2009 (Marshall 2011a).Scotland’s Archaeological Periods and Ages (ScAPA).Clyde Valley Archaeological Research Framework (CVARF).Perth and Kinross Archaeological Research Framework (PKARF).Scotland’s Islands Research Framework for Archaeology (SIRFA).South East Scotland Archaeological Research Framework.Highland Archaeological Research Framework (HighARF).Regional Archaeological Research Framework for Argyll (RARFA).Boyne to Brodgar: Making Monuments, Creating Communities.Scottish Network for Nineteenth-Century European Cultures.Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site: The Antonine Wall.
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