Field Visit

Date 7 June 2016 - 10 June 2016

Event ID 1019661

Category Recording

Type Field Visit

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1019661

As part of a graffiti art pilot project undertaken by HES in 2016, a range of graffiti was recorded within the interior of the threshing mill and the adjoining stable in the North Steading at Scalan. The aim of the project was to record and transcribe the graffiti that was known to have been written on many of the timber fittings, including doors, plank and lathe wall linings, the thrashing machine and some of the rafters. The graffiti ranges from pencil-written local histories and names and dates (mainly between 1874 to around 1955, but with a few more recent dates) to drawings of people and animals. There are also a limited number of chalk and crayon illustrations. The graffiti provides evidence of ‘everyday’ lives on the farm. Much of the graffiti is closely-spaced and there is also an amount of over-writing. Given the density of the graffiti and the amount of over-writing, this description aims to group the graffiti into a range of general categories, which through further research can be expanded.

Most of the graffiti in the mill is concerned with the day-to-day running of the farm and the information it contains ranges from such things as the costs and quantities of materials required by the farm, to the number of timber posts and the length of wire required for fencing. The yields of different produce from the farm are carefully detailed and in some cases the writers have used the vertical planking on the doors in order to add up quantities and establish costs -- in the same way a columnar notebook would be used. On a personal level the graffiti charts people’s relationships and describes who performed what roles on the farm. In addition, there is evidence relating to global events and how they impacted on the farm, including people going to and returning from war. Specific social occasions are also documented, including trysts and marriages. On one of the stable stalls there are details of a cricket match held between teams representing Tomintoul and Glenlivet. There is a large quantity of drawings of animals, including sheep, cattle, wild cats, otters and weasels.

Visited by HES, Survey and Recording (AGCH, ZB) 7-10 June 2016.