Big Wood
Enclosure (Period Unassigned), Farmstead(S) (Period Unassigned), Head Dyke(S) (Post Medieval), Kiln (Period Unassigned)(Possible), Lime Kiln(S) (Period Unassigned), Township(S) (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Big Wood
Classification Enclosure (Period Unassigned), Farmstead(S) (Period Unassigned), Head Dyke(S) (Post Medieval), Kiln (Period Unassigned)(Possible), Lime Kiln(S) (Period Unassigned), Township(S) (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Upper Gaskan
Canmore ID 25161
Site Number NN76SW 1
NGR NN 746 608
NGR Description Centred NN 746 608
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/25161
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Blair Atholl
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NN76SW 1 centred on 746 608
(Previously recorded as NN76SW 1)
NN76SW 1.01 centred on NN 739 610 Township; Lime Kiln
NN76SW 1.02 centred on NN 741 609 Township; Lime Kiln
NN76SW 1.03 centred on NN 746 608 Township
NN76SW 1.04 NN 746 606 Farmstead; Lime Kiln; Head-dyke
NN76SW 1.05 NN 7500 6058 Farmstead; Kiln (possible); Head-dyke
NN76SW 1.06 centred on NN 7566 6026 Township; Lime Kilns
Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 6 October 1997
NN 739 610. Depopulation: Over Bohespic; Tighmore; Upper Gaskan; Lower Gaskan; Tighnacoil; Easter Bohespic. Building foundations, kilns, clearance heaps, and...
(NN 7367 6130) Grassy mound 6 x 3ft.
(NN 7406 6114) Two circular enclosures each 15ft diameter.
(NN 7426 6098) Stone cairn 15ft diameter.
(NN 7473 6073) Round foundation 10 x 8ft.
(NN 7477 6065) Several shieling foundations.
(NN 7526 6014) Circular grassy mound.
Information from M E C Stewart, 20 November 1962
A large area of depopulation centred on NN 746 608 comprising six named multiple farms or townships. The site shows continuous habitation; Over Bohespic and Easter Bohespic are still occupied, and the remainder appear to have been occupied into the 19th century. The area now belongs to the Forestry Commission and many of the remains have been destroyed by ploughing. The various features noted by Stewart are associated with the depopulation structures; no cairns or hut circles were seen in the area, and the 'shieling foundations' are in fact stone clearance heaps.
Visited by OS (WDJ) 19 June 1969
Publication Account (2009)
The website text produced for Bohespics webpages on the Forest Heritage Scotland website (www.forestheritagescotland.com).
Introduction: Land; reward, repayment or rent
Bohespic in Gaelic is 'Both an Easbean' meaning bishop's dwelling. The land was associated with Dunkeld Cathedral and bishops possibly used it as a summer retreat in medieval times.
For centuries, Bohespic was part of the lands of the chiefs of Clan Donnachaidh. In 1451, King James II gave the land to [i]"Roberto Duncansone of Strowane"[/i]. This was a reward for bringing to justice Sir Robert Graham, who led a group of Scots to murder King James I in 1437. In 1513, however, King James V gave the land to John, Earl of Atholl to repay money owed by the current Struan clan chief.
The land included "duabus Bospekke", the two main settlements of Wester and Easter Bohespic. Over time the land was divided into more farms, the last division in 1801 by the caretaker of the Atholl Estate, James Stobie. Why? More rent, of course!
"I have made a neat division of Bohespike in the Hill as well as the arable (land), forming the whole into regular farms and taken offers from the best of the tenants which amount to about £260 - £40 more than double the old rent"
James Stobie in Estate rent records
The other farms or townships were called Tighmore, Gaskan, Tighnacoile, Dalno and Dalriach. Today both the Bohespic named sites have modern houses built on them. With the exception of Dalriach, located by the River Tummel, the rest are hidden within the national forest estate.
People Story: Dealing with the Neighbours
The rent records for the Atholl Estate provide a picture of the relationships between landlord, tenants and their neighbours.
In 1802, Charles Gow rented Tighmore for £25 a year. In 1816, his widow passed the running of the farm to Duncan and John Robertson. The records show that the brothers made complaints because the two sub-tenants, Duncan McDonald and James Robertson, refused to "flit" to let the brothers move in.
The caretaker of the Atholl Estate recorded other squabbles. It was often difficult to know who was in the right or telling the truth.
Gascan and Tighnacoile tenants shared common pasture land for their animals to graze. Alex and Donald Robertson of Gascan complained that their neighbours turned dogs on their animals, while James Wilson of Tighnacoile claimed that their animals were on his land and that the Gascan people had driven his family off the pasture "by stoning them nearly to death".
The views of the estate were also represented in the records, through comments about the characters of the tenants , for example;
William Lamont Tighmore (1822) – middling good tenant only
Duncan Stewart of Tighnacoile(1822) – rather an industrious tenant
John Robertson of Dalno (1808) – the greatest knave in the country
