Blackcroft, Latheron

[camsmith]

I have a reference to Blackcroft in Latheron. I have googled mapped it and I can see there is some type of building there. I presume it is a cottage of some sort. Is anyone able to provide any further information, ie age of building and what exactly it is.

Many thanks

[sjr014]

Im sure there is a house there now called blackcroft think it was for sale a while back? Maybe the land it is on was originally a croft?

[cuthill]

I knew the couple who sold it last year and she looked up the history of the house and got it back to just before 1900.It is a 2 story house.

[gh1936]

Do you have a map reference for Blackcroft?

[camsmith]

Thanks for your help. All i have is a reference to my ancester Donald Munro of Blackcroft , Latheron. He owned Latheron Estate around 1847. His son had built Latheron House as far as i know and was wondering if the main house for the estate prior to this was a house called Blackcroft ?

[gh1936]

I have a James Bruce who died in 1899 and was said to have been at Blackcroft. I only have the 1861 census entry at present whick does not give his address but the next and previous entries are Knockinnon. Of course he may have moves after that time.

[horsegirl]

Hi

Black croft is just on the wick side of Latheronwheel. Right next to the A9 road. Been done up recently. Its a lovely wee hoose. Not sure who is in it at the moment but my family had rented it for a time before it was sold. If you still getting nowhere i could ask my nana. she might be able to give you some info as she lives up there.

[gh1936]

Thank you very much Horsegirl. There are four houses there on the old map and the same on Google Earth. If you have Google Earth the co-ordinates are
58 17, 10"N 3 21'W and you could say which one you know as Blackcroft.

[Andrew Bruce]

My family had a connection to Blackcroft that went back to about 1855.

James, Robert, Mary and Jane Bruce were all brothers and sisters born between about 1795 and 1823 in Braehungie about 3 miles up the A9 from Latheron.

Initially the family moved to Niend farm next to Latheron church. By 1850 there were 4 Bruce families in 4 houses at Niend. My GG-Grandfather Alexander Bruce (brother to James, Robert, Mary and Jane) took over one of the houses for his growing family in 1850 and James, Robert, Mary and Jane moved a mile up the road to Blackcroft.

It sounds like it was quite a hard life. James accidentally shot his hand off while trying to shoot sparrows one day. James had been employed at the time as a farm servant to Rev Hugh McCalman, Latheron. One of their younger brothers, Walter Bruce, fell to his death aged just 13, over the cliffs at Forse whilst collecting gull eggs. His mother Janet Gunn found the mangled body and was inconsolable. Walter was her youngest son.

My GG-Grandfathers wife Betty Budge died at Niend in 1855 aged just 29 and with 3 small children under 5.

My G-Grandfather John Bruce was just a baby at the time. He went to his uncles and aunts at Blackcroft and spent much of his youth growing up there. He left in 1872 to join the Gordon Highlanders.

I understand that Mary Bruce was the last of the Bruce’s at Blackcroft. She died in 1907.

As to the history of Blackcroft I can only speculate. The Bruce family was related to the Sinclair’s and Sutherlands of Forse. This was a strong connection that went back several generations.

I understand that both Niend and Blackcroft were built as substantial 2 story buildings in the mid 1700s by the Sutherlands of Forse. 2 daughters of the laird of Forse moved into Niend about 1740. I understand that both Niend and Blackcroft were built about the same time, by the same people and the same design. Latheron church was built a little later in 1756, also by the Sutherlands of Forse. The connection between Niend, Blackcroft, Forse House and the church lies between the Sutherland and Bruce families. All the properties were constructed about the same time, in considerably better quality and expense than standard buildings in the area at the time.

I doubt if the building that stands now at Blackcroft is exactly the same one as was built back in 1740, although the stone and design could well be. Niend was rebuilt in 1850 as a copy of the original. Forse House and the church are still there after all. I would like a good look at the roof and internal structure to gat an idea of how it has evolved. I know the house quite well and have a number of pictures. I could send you some.

Hope this helps, sorry if it is a bit light on the facts and a bit heavy on the speculation. My documents only relate to Niend and a date of 1740. It is only family history and the look of the two properties that connect them prior to 1850.

[Freia]

Thank you very much Horsegirl. There are four houses there on the old map and the same on Google Earth. If you have Google Earth the co-ordinates are
58 17, 10"N 3 21'W and you could say which one you know as Blackcroft.

Hi, I am the current tenant occupier of Blackcroft. If you go on Google Earth and key in the postcode KW5 6DL, the little cross will zoom directly into this property.

I believe the property was originally an inn about 250 years ago although I can't remember the source of my info. The house was rebuilt in exactly the same spot some years ago with an extension added onto the back which now contains the kitchen and the upstairs back bedroom and a conservatory added to the front. It was recently repainted by the landlord and looks great.

Hope this is of some help. Any info you can share would be appreciated as I'm really interested in the history of this house. We have lot of photos of the property as it is now if you are interested.

[Freia]

I would like a good look at the roof and internal structure to gat an idea of how it has evolved. I know the house quite well and have a number of pictures.

Are you speaking about Blackcroft where I currently live?

[Andrew Bruce]

Frieda,

Yes this is the very same Blackcroft that my father showed me many years ago as where his Grandfather, John Bruce (1855-1914) grew up with his uncles and aunts after his mother died when he was a child. He also spent some time at Roadend, (sometimes called Newlands of Niend) and at Niend.

I was in the area last year with my own children to show them where their roots were. I thought the place looked very different to how I remembered it. The owners of Niend were very kind in showing me around. I did knock on the door at Blackcroft but no one was in at the time.

Although it is called a croft it clearly was not of a croft design and my family from 1850 - 1910 were not crofters. They were drapers, grocers, dressmakers, blacksmiths and investors. They had extended family throughout the world and had share options in a number of property ventures in Florida.

It is interesting you say it might have been an inn since another branch of the Bruce family owned and ran the Bruce hotel a few miles up the road. Their relatives, the Bruce’s of Munsary were famous for whisky distilling in the hills and selling it in Latheron. If you find a bottle, do let me know.

I am a civil engineer by trade and have some experience of rebuilding old castles and historic houses so I have a natural curiosity over old buildings, especially those with a family connection.

The original date of 250 years old is bang on the date that I have. This ties in with Forse House, the church and my other family property at Niend. As you will see from so many of the local old, stone, buildings in Latheron, they are built from Caithness slab and are prone to the walls shifting position over time, creating structural cracks and proving uneconomic to stabilise. The obvious solution has always been to pull them down and rebuild on the original foundations using the same stone.

As a bit of advice, if you go collecting gull eggs from the cliffs, wear a parachute and if you go shooting sparrows, keep your hand away from the end the bullets come out.

Andrew Bruce