Boreraig
Boreraig
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 A ruined croft at Boreraig |
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 Boreraig
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| Boreraig shown within the Isle of Skye | |
| OS grid reference | NG6116 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ISLE OF SKYE |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Boreraig (Scottish Gaelic: Boraraig) is a deserted township in Strath Swordale (Srath Shuardail) on the north shore of Loch Eishort (Loch Eiseort) in the parish of Strath, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Boreraig, lying in a green and fertile glen, sheltered and south-facing, is a fine example of a traditional, pre-crofting baile or township. It was forcibly cleared by the agents of Lord MacDonald to make way for sheep in 1853.
Many of the inhabitants, mainly crofters, emigrated after they were evicted. The Scottish census reveals that, by 1851, in the parish of Strath, Shire of Inverness, approximately one hundred and twenty men, women and children lived in Boreraig's 22 households. Not every adult's occupation was recorded, but where the census taker kept a record, he described most individuals as crofters, agricultural labourers, or farm servants. Among them he also recorded a few weavers, a fisherman, and a house carpenter.
Croft tenancy records dating back to 1823, now held by the Clan Donald Centre at the Armadale Museum of the Isles in Sleat on the Isle of Skye, indicate that the twenty two households were spread across ten landholdings, each of 6 acres (24,000 m2). Many of the inhabitants were related. Anglicised death records indicate a good number of the inhabitants had maternal or paternal forebears born with the surname MacInnes.
The Boreraig evictions coincided with the high water mark of the Highland and Island Emigration Scheme(HIES). During the few years it operated, the scheme resettled some 5000 highlanders and islanders in Australia. By 1853 the HIES had accepted at least 8 of Boreraig's 22 households, or just under half the occupants of the cleared village, for sponsored resettlement.
In 1852 families from three Boreraig households sailed on the Araminta, the Allison, and the Ontario. Late in the same year, five more Boreraig households set out to emigrate with the HIES. The berths allocated to them were on HMS Hercules. Fever broke out on board. Passengers were dying before the ship reached Ireland.
If other Boreraig families had been accepted for HIES resettlement, they decided not to take up the HIES option.
Clan Donald records indicate approximately seven of the household listed as 1852 Boreraig tenants (whether solely or jointly) eventually ended up as tenants of crofts in other villages. Scottish General Registry Office records confirm this. In oral traditions, stories abound of dreadful hardship endured by Boreraig families who remained in Skye. Though some found another croft to go to, not all of them found house where they could live while they tilled the land to feed their family. They sheltered wherever they could.
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Wikipedia