ORKNEY ‘The Home of Clouston’: PART 3 - FAMILY HERITAGE

The Orkney post quickly became even more of an epic than some of the others; so I decided to break it up into sections (for my own, and my readers’ convenience).  This is a whole chapter on ‘family heritage’ – I suspect that most people won’t need (or wish) to be acquainted with the past five or six generations of my family!

Over the course of my Orkney time I never ceased to be delighted with having the surname Clouston (it’s a really common name here, having originated in Orkney).  I never had to spell it - people just know… it was fabulous!  While I didn’t actually meet any Cloustons, I did meet a lot of people who knew one, and there were a lot of gravestones bearing the Clouston name!

On my very first day I became the ‘proud owner’ of the book ‘The family of Clouston’; which I felt compelled to buy as there were two copies, just sitting there on the shelf in the bookstore (I have read it, and it is HARD going!)

Locations: Orphir

Our family originated in Orphir, and resided in several locations around the West-Mainland.  There isn’t terribly much to see around there, although the agricultural land is quite picturesque (our family were famers in the region).  The graveyard next to the ruins of the old round kirk did contain several Clouston headstones (although I don’t know if any were my ancestors). Hidden underneath some shrubbery I did discover a stone bearing the name J. Storer Clouston – the author of the book ‘The family of Clouston’ (I’m not clear on whether he was actually buried there, or whether this was just a memorial stone).

Locations: Stromness

In Stromness I was able to locate several of the old family residences:

My great-great-great-grandfather, (William Clouston) was a shoemaker.  My aunt Janet directed me to the his old house - ‘Portsmouth Point’; which is now a rental holiday home (located at #82 Victoria St, next to Clouston’s pier).  My great-great grandfather (John) was born there.  As an ‘interesting factoid’: he is in some illustrious company: George MacKay Brown (author) and Sylvia Wishart (artist) were both born at Clouston’s pier (albeit, a few generations after my ancestors!)  I’d never heard of Sylvia Wishart previously, but there was a big exhibition of her works at the Stromness Pier Arts Centre, including a painting of Clouston's Pier.

George MacKay Brown wrote a short story about a girl named Ceila who had a stepfather who was a shoemaker (it was actually kind of awful – Ceila was an alcoholic who cultivated the affections of a number of men to feed her addiction).  This was filmed as a short film sometime in the 70's, and was shot around Stromness - possibly at Clouston's Close (although I can't be sure about that). No-one seems sure if it is possible to get a copy of the films (I did ask at the Kirkwall library archives).  After reading the story I got talking to the young librarian, and she told me she was previously engaged to a Clouston (from the J Storer Clouston line of descent)... I never actually met any Cloustons - but clearly they are around!

My great-great-grandmother (Mary Ann Porteous) was the daughter of one of the bakers.  The Porteous bakery (#30 Dundas St) was quite famous, and continued in operation for several generations.  Even after the bakery changed hands the new owners continued to make some of the Porteous recipes, and the ‘soda scones’ appear to have been quite famous.  The section of the main street leading up from Graham Place to the bakery is still known as Porteous Brae (‘brae’ meaning a hill).

I spoke to the woman at the Stromness museum, and she directed me to the site of the bakery (as distinct from the shopfront on Dundas St).  It was located up the close next to the bookshop on the corner of Graham Place - there were a few old stone walls which may have been the bakery?

I stayed at the Brown’s hostel in Stromness.  Sylvia Brown has been running the hostel for 33 years, and (quite literally) generations of our family have stayed with her – Alison (my aunt) was there way back in 1984, Janet (aforementioned aunt) and Joan (my grandma) stayed with her last year and now me!  (I don’t know where Mum, Dad, Ranald and Francesca stayed when they visited Orkney?) 

Sylvia remembers working at the bakery.  It had changed hands, and was no longer owned by the Porteous family, but they still used some of the Porteous special recipes (still makes her mouth water!) Sylvia says that the Porteous family were quite a prominent family in Stromness (and even more so due to some -marriage- links with the Bevans? who were another family of 'standing' in the community).

Locations: Dounby

Next, I visited Dounby: where my great-great grandfather (John) was the doctor in residence around 1880.  The family only lived there for around four years, before moving to the Scottish mainland, and then ultimately emigrating to New Zealand.  My great-grandfather (John Peter Porteous Clouston – also known as JPPC) was born in Dounby. 

I did a Google search for Dr John Clouston on the internet, and found a reference to his movements over the years:  Clouston, John, M.B., C.M., Waiuku. Dr. Clouston was born in Sheerness, Orkney Islands, Scotland, in 1854; was educated at Edinburgh University, and graduated in 1879 with honours. He practised in his native islands for four years, then in Fifeshire, Scotland, where he held several public appointments. In 1893 he came to New Zealand, and began his practice in Waiuku.  (Source: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc02Cycl-t1-body1-d3-d2-d10.html).   Interestingly, cousin Vaila tells me there is no such place as ‘Fifeshire’ – it is just referred to as ‘Fife’ (I suppose the former is an older version).

One of the great sources of family confusion has been the location of the house in which they lived.  On the 1881 Dounby census, the family is recorded as living at ‘Junction house’.  When my aunt and grandmother visited Orkney last year they were told that the ‘big white house’ was the previous doctor’s residence (and when I enquired, this was confirmed to be the case).  However, the big white house is called Dounby house, and isn’t located at the Junction on the road – so this didn’t seem to make much sense!

In Alison's letters (1984), she writes that Junction house was a shop (and in actual fact, part of the building was listed as a Grocer in the census of 1881): so I wondered if it was actually one of the other properties on the crossroads?

I went to the Kirkwall archives, and we tried to locate the property on one of the old town maps, but as nothing was labelled Junction house we couldn't be sure.    About a week later, I went into the family history centre in Kirkwall.  Chatting to the volunteer there it turned out that he knew EXACTLY which Junction house was: his friend now lives there… It is another building entirely, closer to the Junction in the road, next to the car park (previously the market square).  We are not sure how old the current building is – although it does appear in photographs from the early 20^th century – so it is not clear whether our family lived in this building, or whether there was a previous structure on this site (something for the next family member investigate?)

(You can view the ‘current day appearance’ on Google street view – but I couldn’t find a way to save this as an image onto my computer).

Meeting the relatives:

I went to 'Wurback' to meet Raema Porteous.  Raema's husband (Duncan Porteous) works in the oil industry, and spends time between Orkney and Azerbaijan (where the whole family lived for a while) - so I didn't meet Duncan (I believe the same was true when Janet and Joan visited).  Raema invited her mother-in-law (Margaret, who was married to Arthur Porteous, the son of Captain George Porteous).  So I also met Margaret and Sheina MacColl - Margaret's cousin-by-marriage (the relationships started to get confusing here!)  They were all really lovely and friendly - although not one of them was actually a blood-relative... having all married into the family! They didn't know much more about the family history than the information I already have (from Alison's research - via Janet). But regardless of that, it was nice to meet some real Orcadians (as I mentioned in my other post, it seems that everyone I meet here is English... having moved here for the quieter lifestyle).

The following day I went around to Margaret's house for lunch (it was actually her 78th birthday, so I felt especially priviledged).  Again, she was a wonderful hostess, and both she and Sheina are friendly, welcoming people.  Margaret took me to meet Leebie Robertson: Leebie is the granddaughter of James Duncan Porteous 'Poppa' - Mary Ann Porteous's older brother. Leebie is 95 years old - and doing fairly well, but a little bit deaf, and her recent-memory isn't so good. However, she does remember stories from way-back, including one involving a Clouston:

The pilot:

Leebie’s uncle, (Captain George Arthur Porteous) once visited Auckland, where their ship was boarded by a pilot, who, determining that George was an Orcadian asked 'Do the Porteous family still make soda scones?' George asked 'how do you know about soda scones?  (Leebie was confused about the specifics here-  she thought that the man was married to Mary Ann Porteous - but that doesn't fit with John being a doctor... but it was amazing that she still remembers this; and what a coincidence that the pilot had Orcadian links!)

(Aunt) Janet has since confirmed that, yes; the pilot that Leebie spoke of was indeed a relation: “Dad (David) used to tell us a story about the day he (the pilot) retired - Dad lived in Devonport then and the pub was on the water front where the Pilot used to drink so he and Grandad (JPPC) must have been near neighbours. Anyway, he organised to retire on a day when the tides were particularly high then took his last ship up the harbour at a full rate of knots causing a large wake to surge over the sea wall and swamp his friends in the pub.”

Dad (as in – my Dad, Peter) says that he doesn’t remember that story about the pilot. “I do remember Aunt Laura talking about him (the pilot) but the only story that I can recall was his tale of a colleague who, when asked why he hadn't been seen that day replied, "Hive bin hon the Heagle-Awk, hall day". (The Eagle-Hawk was an old hulk the harbour board used for storage.) Silly story but it sticks like glue.”

Previous research

Before heading to Orkney, my aunt Janet sent me a series of letters written by my aunt Alison – who had spent (3 months?) in Orkney in 1984.  I am full of admiration for the work she did, digging through the archives - the census records are ridiculous: upwards of 15 different households containing Cloustons in Orphir / Stromness around the times our ancestors were there - and all of them with the same names... they weren't very adventurous; sticking with the trusted William / John etc!!   Filtering through, and finding our line of descent would have taken some patience!

ORKNEY ‘The Home of Clouston’: PART 2 - ISLANDS

Rousay: The Egypt of the North

I took my rental car over to the island of Rousay for one night. 

Obstacle 1: the ferry is quite small, and cars have to be reversed on-board.  I am not ashamed (or maybe only a little) to admit that this scenario was beyond me – I asked one of the guys on the ferry to do it for me.

Rousay has apparently been nicknamed 'The Egypt of the North' due to its richness in archaeological sites: Mid Howe ‘The great ship of death’ (A chambered tomb dating back about 5000 years), an iron-age broch, Pict settlements, Viking (Norse) remains, and a smattering of more recent ruins.  It is also a relatively small island, with a single ‘ring road’ – so I was able to spend a ‘leisurely’ day driving around.  When I say ‘leisurely’… everyone says that Orkney is flat… but Rousay is not (my legs were really sore from hiking up and down the sides of the hills all day)!

Compared to the Mainland, there are far fewer visitors on Rousay.  So it was, that at the end of the day I was able to walk up to the ‘Knowe of Yarso’: a chambered tomb (smaller than Mid Howe) and have the site all to myself.  The location half-way up the hill had a fabulous view over the bay below.  From the inside, the historical significance was doubtless very impressive… but the thought of being locked inside a tomb (with a door that bolted on the outside) was not very pleasant… I didn’t linger!

For a relatively small island, I was very amused by the lack of any ‘central’ township… the ferry port, post office and shop (yes: one shop) were essentially spaced at equidistant points around the ring road.  Not the most efficient system for someone trying to run errands (though I don’t suppose people on the island do this in quite the same way we city folk do!)  I suppose it’s the result of small businesses being run out of people’s homes. 

I stayed the night in hostel-style accommodation at Trumland organic farm, sharing a room with two French girls who were WWOOFing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms).  The other room was being used by three Orkney builders who were renovating a house on nearby Egilsay (they would take the ferry across each morning to start work).  When I enquired why they didn’t stay on Egilsay they basically told me they would quit the job if forced to stay there!  (Apparently, the island population of 28 and no shops or eateries was a little too small – even for those accustomed to the relative quiet of Orkney).  It was really interesting to talk to these guys: I found that meeting Orcadians was really difficult: nearly everyone associated with the tourist industry seemed to be an import (a lot of Brits, who had tired of the bustle of UK mainland, and opted for a sea-change).

Hoy

The next day, I took my car over to the island of Hoy.  The Hoy hills are a distinctive sight from across the bay in Stromness, and Ward Hill is the highest point in Orkney.  So, Hoy is where you go if you want to do some good, healthy, uphill hiking (even if I did find some of that in Rousay!)

The first walk I did was a relatively easy, pleasant hike around to see the Old man of Hoy (a rock stack formation, which appears on all the postcards).  Here is how my diary records this experience:

Essential Scottish experiences: HAGGIS (tick), BAGPIPES (tick), WHISKY (tick), INDIAN FOOD (tick), RAIN, WIND, FOG (tick)… AND NOW: MIDGES (tick tick tick)…,

There was almost zero wind, which was novel for a short period, until I discovered that midges were the side-effect.  I wasn’t sure what a midge looked like until I went to Hoy.  After two days on the island I was covered in bites, and had got to the point that I wouldn’t get out the car in some places (I could see the clouds of the evil creatures, hovering – just waiting to get a piece of me). 

The main thing that I really wanted to do on Hoy was to climb Ward Hill.  Unfortunately, the top was covered in cloud most of the day.  After dithering for a while, I decided that it was sufficiently ‘clear’ (the clouds were rolling in and out), so I set out… There is no track up the hill, but the booklet I had purchased described a route that sounded fairly straightforward (walk along for a bit – cut across the moor – then start climbing until you can go no further: the top!)   I don’t know if another route would have been easier (the locals seemed to suggest that I should have started out from the other side of the hill) – what I did was tough: parts of it were near vertical, and the heather made finding my footing quite difficult (I’d place my foot and sink through the scrub to about mid-calf).  I was exhausted after just 20 minutes, and got into a rhythm of: walk 10 steps, stop, swear (i.e. *$#@ this is tough!!), then carry on!  As I climbed the clouds started to roll in.  I thought I was quite close to the summit when it became so dense that I couldn’t see more than 20 meters around me – and didn’t know which way was up anymore… I actually had to sit down and wait for 10 minutes before I was able to see sufficiently to carry on (at which point, I discovered that I was only 50 metres from the trig point!)  The view from the top would have fantastic on a clearer day, but as it was the clouds were moving sufficiently quickly so I got clear periods and could see down to the surrounding islands – well worth the tough climb (although I still didn’t enjoy the downwards leg). 

I felt I had to ‘share’ the experience of being on top of Orkney with someone… so my lucky parents got a 3am text message – (Sorry!)

Hoy also sits at the head of Scarpa Flow: the sheltered harbour formed within the Orkney islands.  It is described as one of the great natural harbours/anchorages of the world, with sufficient space to hold a number of navies. Viking ships anchored in Scapa Flow more than 1000 years ago, but it is best known as the site of the United Kingdom's chief naval base during World War I and World War II. The base was closed in 1956.  There is quite a good museum in the old Pump house (for refueling) – the images of war time Orkney were really striking: there was a very large number of people stationed there, with the associated services and facilities – it must have been a very different (busy) place at that time.

Hoy was also the site of my ELECTRONIC CRISIS!! - I arrived back on Mainland, and realized that my NZ-UK power adaptor must still be plugged into the wall at the Hoy hostel.   Sadly, I didn’t believe that I could function without (computer, phone, camera – everything seems to require electricity!)  This was the time to believe in the generosity of people and ask for a few favours… I was really lucky that one of the girls I’d met at the hostel was still there, and I was able to ring Faye (the warden), she gave the adaptor to Emily, who carried it across on the ferry back to Stromness – where I met her and was reunited J

ORKNEY ‘The Home of Clouston’: PART 1 - MAINLAND

I spent 2 ½ weeks in Orkney (Ummmm... way back in the middle of August!), and loved it: for similar – but different – reasons from Shetland.  I really do hope that I will return - ‘Hastie Back’ (come back quickly) as I was told.

Kirkwall

When I arrived in Kirkwall it felt like arriving in the big city (it has a population of 10,000 – but has more of a ‘city’ feel compared to Lerwick – pop 7,000).  It did score immediate points however, on the basis that the leisure centre runs Les Mills aerobics classes (I managed to squeeze in three Combat sessions over my time inime there!)

Arriving in a new place without a clear plan can be a good way to ensure I am open to all possibilities, but it is also a recipe for being overwhelmed by options (which is how I was feeling on day 1 in Orkney).  I hadn’t realised how many islands there are, or how many historic sites there are to visit.  I also established that the bus service is fairly limited (it doesn’t really service the tourist sites… and in fact, it doesn’t even service some of the towns very well).  I subsequently found that even hiring a car wasn’t straightforward (I wanted a car for one week, and spent a frustrating few hours trying to arrange one – in the end, of the four rental companies, only one had something available).

The centre of Kirkwall is quite attractive, with the impressive St Magnus Cathedral (built in the 12^th century by his nephew to honour Earl Magnus’s martyrdom), opposite are the ruins of the Earl’s palace and the Bishop’s palace – the former being the construction of the same mad Earl who built Scalloway castle in Shetland.

I did manage to meet another New Zealander on day one… on a tour of the cathedral (she was just visiting, but her daughter is currently living in Orkney).  It was quite funny to find the NZ connection so quickly – but I actually didn’t meet another Kiwi in the following 2 ½ weeks (although, based on visitor books in various places, it would appear that I ‘just’ kept missing them!)

On day 1 I managed to establish my favourite shop and coffee provider: Judith Glue (the shop sells a range of local gifts, crafts, and produce, and the café uses a lot of Orkney food products 

On day 2 … I got a haircut (I figured it needed it after roughly six months).  It was very nice to be pampered for an hour!

The hostel that I stayed at in Kirkwall (the Orcades) was previously a guest house, but when the owner decided that she needed to down-size, her son and daughter took over and converted it to a hostel.  It has been redecorated throughout, but still has more of a ‘modern guest house / hotel’ feel: it is all new and fresh, with ensuite bathrooms, and a TV and hairdryer in every room!!!  I had one night in a room on my own – it was fabulous to blob out in my own space – watching Grand Designs, followed by Twilight on TV (quality stuff!)

It was lucky that I had that nice hostel memory to cling to: the next night I headed down to St Margaret’s Hope (a really pretty little village, with a lovely harbour).  The hostel was run by the same people who ran the café next door and the shop next door to that; so I picked up my key from the shop (from that point on, I didn’t deal with any staff: it seems the hostel basically runs itself!  There was no-one else staying in the place that night, and the short hallway with all the doors open to empty rooms was vaguely eerie (I was glad I was in Orkney; in most other places in the world this would have felt unsafe… then again. In most other places in the world I guess they couldn’t leave things open in this way!)

St Margaret’s Hope is near to the Italian Chapel at Lamb Holm.  The chapel was built by Italian POWs in WWII – From the outside it doesn’t look much: a façade stuck on the end of a Nissen Hut (cylindrical corrugated iron prefab building), but the inside is fabulous: it has been very cleverly painted to look like the walls are made of bricks, with a beautiful altar scene made from concrete.

Stromness

Stromness is the other ‘major’ town on Orkney mainland (~ 2,000 people), it is smaller and prettier than Kirkwall, and appealed to me immediately.  The main street is narrow and paved, and is shared by pedestrians and cars; this makes driving slow going, (which wouldn’t be a problem except when you want to get off the street - it seems to keep going and going, without any space to turn around, or alternative roads to turn up… I thought I would never escape!)

Stromness is built around Hamnavoe (safe harbour), a very pretty harbour with a outlook across to the hills of Hoy; one of the most picturesque views from the Orkney mainland.

Initially, I spent just a few days in Stromness, and then took my rental car on a ‘road trip’ around Mainland and a couple of the neighbouring islands.  But I spent my final week in Orkney back there.  From a facilities and logistics point of view, Kirkwall would have been the more obvious choice (all the bus transport originates from Kirkwall, it has more shops, bigger supermarket for catering, the gym…)  But: I loved staying in Stromness: it was smaller and friendlier, and by the end of the week I couldn’t walk down the street without seeing someone I recognised!  The Brown’s hostel where I stayed was a really homely place (actually 3 separate parts, but all really comfortable).  Sylvia Brown was a wonderful host, and I spent many happy hours preparing meals in the well-equipped kitchen, or curled up in front of the TV on the green leather sofa in front of the (fake) glowing fireplace (sounds a bit kitsch; but was actually lovely). 

I joined a guided walking tour of Stromness with John (an Irishman) – I think it took us about 2 hours to walk a mile (down the main street, up some of the closes, and down to some of the small piers).  Some famous people were born in Stromness: George Mackay Brown (poet and author), John Rae (arctic explorer and discoverer of the fate of the Franklin expedition), and Dr John Clouston (my great-great grandfather)?!  John’s partner Lynn does storytelling evenings: I went, and it was fantastic – more like a one-man play; very theatrical.

Talking with several of the locals it seems that some of the businesses in Stromness are struggling (especially over the winter period).  There is great concern that the Stromness – Scrabster (mainland Scotland) ferry might be cut, (currently, the ferry companies bid for the routes as a bundle – taking the less profitable Stromness route with the other more popular crossings – however, there is talk about unbundling, which may mean they opt not to continue  this service).  Cutting the Stromness-Scrabster route would have implications for tourism and also supplies that are currently brought on this route.  I really hope this doesn’t happen: as I say, I love Stromness, and it would be a pity if less people were able to enjoy it.

Historical Orkney

Western Mainland is where the concentration of the main archaeological sites are located, and with a car I was able to get around easily (I love driving on the islands: there are very few cars to contend with!)

I managed to time my visits to the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Ring of Brodgar, and Maeshowe with guided ranger talks (with Maeshowe you have to go in with a guide).  These places are incredible – the earliest parts date back 5400 years – I found it just mind boggling to think of all that history!  The guides were invaluable; as without them, the sites are ‘just stones to me’ (albeit, the standing ones are still impressive in sheer size).  To hear the rangers talk about how these places were constructed, and what they might have been used for was far more interesting. 

For instance: the Ring of Brodgar (which looks to me like a ring of giant stones in a really pretty location between two lochs) may have been built by people from villages all around the island – they have traced the stones as coming from multiple different locations.  The stones may have been erected as a memorial to their dead, and it appears that the intent was to continue to add stones (there are empty ‘slots’ in which no stone has ever stood). 

Maeshowe is a burial tomb, but was later found by the Vikings and used as a shelter – during which they carved graffiti runes on the ways (a lot seemed to be about treasure, a few referred to women, and one; carved high up about the entry tunnel, read “I am a Viking, writing up high” - that got a few laughs).

Skara Brae is described as Orkney’s ‘finest’ neolithic settlement.  The buildings are the best preserved, but I actually liked it less than the other sites I went to.  The settlement is right on the coast, and it was a rather miserable windy and rainy day – so that didn’t help.   I also found it hard to visualise how all the structures would have appeared (I didn’t have a guide in this instance).

I was also lucky enough to time my visit with an open day at the ‘new’ dig at the Ness of Brodgar (I think they’ve been working on it for about six years).  The archaeologists are all really excited about what they are finding: there are several very large structures, and all are ‘never-before-seen’ configurations.  Taking a tour with one of the rangers was fascinating, and her enthusiasm for the discoveries was infectious.  However, I did conclude that I might not be ‘cut out’ for archaeology: it’s all deduction and speculation; and I would find it highly frustrating not to know anything for certain!

Around mainland

With a hire car, it was very simple to explore the surrounding countryside (distances in Orkney, as in Shetland are not far). 

·         I visited several of the places from where my family originated (Stomness, Orphir and Dounby in particular)

·         The cliffs at Yesnaby: I thought they were a little less impressive than some of the places I’d been in Shetland, but the rock stacks were still interesting, and I had a nice day to sit and enjoy it (It is supposed to be even more spectacular during a storm – but I think it would be significantly less fun being there under those conditions!)

·         In addition to the well-preserved Neolithic sites, Orkney was also the site of much Viking activity (they settled there, and Orkney was under Scandinavian rule until the 15^th century).  After wandering around sites from 3-5000 years ago, I’d almost forgotten that the (comparably) recent 9/10^th century Viking settlements are also ancient ruins in themselves.

·         At one point, I was killing time (before being due at the ferry terminal), do I drove up the road and diverted to see a ‘Doocot’ – marked on my tourist map.  I had no idea what this was… Turns out it is a ‘Dovecote’; a Broch-like circular tower, with an opening at the top, and nesting spots inside to encourage pigeons – the people use to eat the pigeons, use their droppings as fertiliser etc.  The structure was still being used by the birds: with several inside, feathers and droppings all over the floor (and one dead pigeon) – I definitely didn’t venture fully inside: the chances of being dive bombed or fertilised seemed far too high!