Come on mystery solvers

**fingalmacool** · 11-May-10, 15:26

Two pictures I forgot i had in my loft, they are local pictures of Dunnet Church, well i think its Dunnet church it could be Canisbay Church, and a picture of Dunnet Head. As far as i can ascertain his name was H,Brotchie and he was a traveling man, the paintings were done around the late thirties, one is marked 1937. Apparently he used to visit my wife's Granny at Geise and he would do odd jobs and she would feed him etc, then one day he appeared and said he wouldn't be coming back to the county and gave her these two pictures as thanks for her kindness etc. So if anyone has any more info on this character that would be good, if not feel free to speculate

**ducati** · 11-May-10, 15:48

I'm afraid I have no idea about Mr Brochie. But they really are rather good.

Try talking to the mannie at Lyth Arts centre, he is very helpful and may like to do some research.

**Scunner** · 11-May-10, 17:12

I remember a Mr Brotchie, living at the burnside at Dunnet. A small house behind the church and northern sands hotel

**wifie** · 11-May-10, 17:25

There are Brotchie children in this school photograph.

http://www.caithness.org/schooldays/dunnet/index.htm

**Skifter** · 11-May-10, 17:41

It certainly looks like Dunnet Church to me the other one I would say was Dwarwick Head rather than Dunnet Head. Brotchie wass a name that was quite common in Dunnet parish in the 19th century.

**poppett** · 11-May-10, 17:54

Mid 1960`s there was a David Brotchie in Thurso High School. Extremely tall for his age. He was taller than some of the teachers. Think his father was with the Post Office and they moved away.

**Scunner** · 11-May-10, 18:01

Harry Brotchie, stayed in Dunnet in the first half of the 20 century.

**fingalmacool** · 11-May-10, 18:19

This is getting more interesting by the minute, I suppose back in that day there might not have been too many idol chit chats and if someone came to do a job, they agreed a payment and that was that.She might not have had a clue where he was from,and if he traveled from Dunnet he was a to her a traveler???
I know that stories get a bit vague over the years, so it seems a bit odd that after he gave her the pictures he never came back, so more info please if there is any

**AngeElla** · 10-Oct-13, 01:57

Hi Fingalmacool,

Harry Brotchie was my great uncle!! I just visited Dunnet for the first time at the beginning of September of this year (a few weeks ago!) from Canada. From what I understand he worked on a ship, and may have held a high position, as one day he brought home a monkey, and back in those days, only ship members who had a high rank were allowed to bring things back, or so I have heard.

Has anyone else heard of Harry and his monkey?

Also, I am wondering, do you still have those two paintings?

**AngeElla** · 10-Oct-13, 02:01

That is definitely Dunnet church in the background. And the house on the left was caled the "Brotchie steading". I found an interesting article on it on Wikipedia. It no longer stands today, but I think part of the stone foundationg is still there.

Here is a link to the site where I obtained the following information: http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/...ological-site/

"Brotchie’s steading, is a ruined croft house just to the West of Dunnet Church. It originally became the focus of archaeological interest because structural members (cruck blades) in one of the rooms were known to have been formed from a pair of whale mandibles, probably from a fin or blue whale. These are presently housed in the Dunnet Bay Visitor Centre.

An excavation by Headland Archaeology was undertaken to examine the role of whale bones as a construction material in Caithness croft houses but it quickly became apparent that the 19th/20th century croft house sits on a much older and extensive archaeological site.
Brotchie's steading facing NE showing the depth of stratigraphy

Trial trenching has shown that the bank upon which Brotchie’s steading sits is largely man-made and part of an extensive settlement mound that possibly includes a ruined broch. The earliest deposits excavated were from an occupation surface and material from this provided a date in the range 390-170BC. At the North end of the site a thick layer of stone rubble associated with a clay and stone-lined pit and two red deer antler picks was identified. Radiocarbon dating showed these to be from the 1st-3rd centuries AD. The overlying strata supported by a sequence of radiocarbon dates and datable finds indicate that the site was also a focus of human activity in the 5th, 13th and 15th centuries AD up until the early 20th century. While the full extent of the site is currently unknown the knoll upon which Dunnet Church now sits would appear to form a part of a major archaeological site that has seen almost continuous, or at least regular, occupation for over two millennia."

**Scunner** · 10-Oct-13, 08:51

Just for interest Harry Brotchie had a pet monkey - I remember my cousin taking me to see it. Quite something to see.

I think that is Brotchiez house with the thatch.

**fingalmacool** · 10-Oct-13, 18:24

Yip still got them, they are on the stair wall, not really in keeping with the decor but still loved, they have been in my wife's family since probably the late 30s. just as a matter of interest they are painted on canvas with oil paint, which couldn't have been cheap in those days