The Uncommon Herd: William Presslie of Arnage

Looking across the valley of the Ebrie from close to the present South Lodge of Arnage Castle

William Presslie was born in 1832 at the porter Lodge of House of Arnage 5 miles north  of Ellon. This had  a small croft attached and was close to the woods of Arnage about a mile away from the present South Lodge  by Arnage Station. Until the age of about 10, William received a very basic education of varying quality at  a variety of country schools. His education was frequently   interrupted by the need to work seasonally as a herd loon, looking after 'free range' cattle at local farms .

At the age of 24  William wrote an autobiography which has been edited by his great grandson Ian William Platt and was published as  'The Uncommon Herd' in 2012. In this William gives  a fascinating picture of life in the area lamenting the  effect the  enclosure of land had on poor families: 'When I was a boy every farmer required one or two persons to keep his cattle: now wire and wooden palings, hawthorn and holly hedges, and stone and earthen fences perform the work formerly assigned to the herd boy. This was a serious loss to many poor people with large families especially in the country. Although they got but little wages for herding still their meat (food) even was considered  a great deal...it was an excellent thing for boys intended for farm servants...it  seasoned them to endure cold and rainy weather.'

The view along the Line from Burngrains Bridge.

During William's own childhood there was, in the vicinity of his grandmother's house at Burngrains, a shop where,  on Tuesdays,  a merchant from Clochcan traded in an astonishingly wide range of   commodities. At the shop he bought farm produce -'butter, cheese, eggs, calves, swine, grain, honey etc' for 'a miscellaneous assortment of goods, besides groceries  ropes, tar, sweeties, oil, candles, lamps, lanterns, dishes of all sorts, combs, needles, thread, worsted, all sorts of cloth worn in the country, mittens, pots marbles, pigs, mousetraps, cutlery, bones of manure, guano, coats etc...as his trade was extensive and his profits extraordinary he was at this time very rich.'

William's autobiography is well written and provides a fascinating account of the daily life of rural working class life in 19th century Aberdeenshire. The daily hardships which were endured before the days of waterproof clothing, electric light, easy transport  and instant heating are salutary.

The Uncommon Herd may be purchased from Amazon as a print or ebook or directly from Ian Platt via his website   http://scottishsocialhistory-autobiography.blogspot.co.uk/