No 110. PEAT REEK.

No 110. PEAT REEK..

Cutting peats was not one of our tasks at Whitehall, though our father many a time got a cart load of peats from one or other of his old friends in Rousam Head, usually getting in return a cart-load of straw. It must have brought back memories to him of his early days in the Bu of Rousam, 1893 to 1913.
Peats went on the sitting room fire on special occasions, or more often on the dining room fire where our Granny held sway, it being her “State Room”. An occasional blow down of the chimney in a storm emphasised the peat reek aroma, once smelt, never forgotten. Our main fire fodder was coal from Davie Chalmers in the Village where coal was easily available. From Whitehall to Rousam Head was about six miles and in the days of horses a long way to go. There were no other peat grounds on Stronsay.

We went to Rousam with our father on occasion and every house there was peat fuelled. The crofters on Rousam were on the doorstep of the peat moss, indeed they were part of it living on the edge of the Hill ground. Good black peats they were too. The peat reek permeated all their houses, even their Sunday best. The fire never went out, a big damp boorag being laid on the fire at night and next morning just needing a wee blow with the hand bellows to spring to life. There are tales of fires that lasted 100 years without ever being cold.
William Tait’s Diaries for 1897 when he was working at the Bu’ of Rousam gave a good insight at how much time was expended on peat cutting. On June 16th 1897 the Bowmen were at the Hill cutting peats. These were the farm workers having a day to themselves to cut their own peats. With a long six day working week on the farm and no work done on Sundays the men would have needed time off to cut their own. Getting a peat bank to cut in their own time was part of their meagre wages, and set down as such.

June 18th and 19th that year was again cutting peats, which would have been for the farm house of the Bu’. Peat cutting usually came in the brief period between sowing the neeps and them being ready for singling. There may have been other days at the Hill but if so then not entered in the Diary of 1897.
Peat cutting was all hands to the Hill for the whole day. Everyone available would go, women as well, and it could be quite entertaining even if it was hard work. It was very labour intensive.
Evenings might have been useful but after a long day at work on the farm there would be little enough time left to go to the Hill, though the Island evenings were long. No doubt it must have been done. And the crofters were right there.

My own personal experience of peat cutting was years later at Greenland Mains where we cut peats on the farm peat bank on the Greenland Moss. Poor peats they were, “funcless” was the Caithness word, full of old birch wood and a sulphurous smell when burnt, with much red ash to clean out of the fire. We later cut a bank on Burifa Hill on Dunnet Head, hard black peat like coal, a treasure.


Peat cutting itself was first cut or clean the drain from last year’s working from the previous year to let any water away. Then turr (turf) the breadth to be cut with the flaughter spade, the heathery or grassy turfs being thrown and regularly spaced out flat on the lowside of the bank previously cut. These would in time grow together and leave the surface as before, though at a lower level. Then according to which kind of peats one was cutting, take the appropriate tool. At Greenland Moss where we cut peats after coming to Caithness we used the spade peat, simple enough and leaving a flat peat which was then spread out flat on either side of the peat bank to do an initial drying. According to weather, which could be good or bad, the peats were turned after a few days to dry the other side. They were then stacked in small four peat cones for a further final dry. There were various tools used, tusker peats, sheil peats and the spade peat. The spade peat on Greenland Moss was flat and the peat of a consistancy that did not stand too much handling.

On June 28th 1897 there were 4 carts from the Bu’ at the hill for peats. Again on July 5th 4 carts at the hill for peats. George Logie, one of the Bowmen, had 7 loads which would have been for himself. Every day bar Sundays from Aug 2nd to 13th they were at the hill for peats, August 13th being the last entry for peat carting to the farm. Between these dates there were some entries for peats, either cutting or carting. There were occasional later entries during the autumn for carting peats to others, probably their own banks.



Not all the peats were taken home, there were entries in the Spring some years of going to the hill for peats. Not unknown, these peats would have been stacked in the hill to over winter, a waterproof build. With the approach of harvest peats not yet carted would have had to be quickly stacked at the peat banks to over winter.
So it went on, carting peats for other people every now and then throughout the year. Thomas Miller, a Bowman for our grandfather at the Bu’, was feed (hired) for 12 months at £7.5/- for six months, and he had to cut his peats for himself!!