Museum Blogs

Vikings in Kirkcudbright and the surrounding area.

I am not going to go in depth on the Galloway hoard there are plenty of articles out there as well as the Crystal jar being at the Kirkcudbright galleries on loan as I write this. We do have other Viking items on show in the Stewartry Museum both potentially linked, and items not linked at all to the hoard.

The first of these items are silver, an ingot, and two smaller pieces of silver. The ingot has the tell tale nicks of the Viking trader. The smaller pieces are potentially melted down silver and a bit of jewellery. These were found at Balmaghie near where the hoard was found many years later. Are they linked or two separate deposits? The two deposits bring forth many questions. Were they moulded on site? Was it the same group that hid the hoard? Were they years apart in hiding or were they both hidden for the same reason? Was it Vikings that hid both or not? Questions we probably will not answer but gives us plenty of workable theories, unless more is found to help answer them.

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Here is a cheery subject for the day. Not everyone’s idea of a lovely subject but in the modern age we are prone to not discuss death, whereas in history and prehistory they had a different view and/or respect of death. They, in my belief, did not fear death like modern man does but embraced it, respected it, and had some beautiful traditions around it. How many of us consider how we want buried? Today we have several options burial, cremation, a combination of both when our ashes are buried with a tree sapling. We have an array of coffins to choose from including biodegradable/eco friendly ones. You can also still get permission under specific criteria be buried at sea. In Scotland there are two designated areas for sea burials. We have gravestones and markers, some families still have crypts and mausoleums. Some have even taken to carrying a small amount of ash in vials or jewellery of our loved ones. Are we reconnecting with older prehistoric traditions?

In the Early Christian and Medieval eras, we had Log coffins, cists, coffins similar to ours, shroud burials, crypts, Roman mausoleums to mention a few.  However, Prehistory had a view of death we did not. They share many similarities but also ways that were not ours and only for a specific amount of time. You could see them as trends if you wanted like the Victorian trend of adding metal grills and bells on burial sites. Or the different themes of carvings on graves to mark out certain people like the Covenanters or any of the Incorporated trades, or masons.

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While searching for inspiration on which subject to write about in this blog, I found three books on a similar theme within the archive library here at the Stewartry museum. Although the genre is the same the subject is different. Each has its own style but packed with information. They are books on individual areas/parishes in The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. I was just looking for a subject to grab me out of my block. (Too many interesting subjects and don’t know where to start.) They took me down several rabbit holes I did not expect. Old buildings gone such as the Infectious diseases hospital that used to stand in Castle Douglas, the connections King David the first of Scotland had to Galloway, to the Blacksmiths of Twynholm who may turn out to be a past generation of my family. The many new stories they hold gleaning new mysteries to add to the ever-growing list of research I would love to do if I had the time.

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The word Terret comes from the Old French word toret/touret. It simply means small and round. This perfectly describes a terret. They are metal loops used on a horses harness. The reins or lines are passed through it to prevent tangling, or for them getting caught on the harness or shafts. On occasion a teret is U shaped or even square but the majority are round. There will be usually two pairs of terrets. One is on the harness saddle and the other an the hames of a collar both of which are used on horses pulling a vehicle. The vehicle could be a trap, chariot, carts etc.

Today and modern history have them made of brass or steel. However, in the Iron age they would most commonly be made of Bronze.

Fly terrets were introduced to help discourage flies bothering horses but in the 19^th century they also had a decorative role. Fly terrets and brasses in their ornamental status were very popular from 1850 through to 1910.

Decorative mounts could also be found on saddles and armour for the cavalry. These are seen from prehistoric chariots, Cavalry from the romans to Napoleonic wars, through to the decorative eras of the Victorians. Many dressage events today have polished up decorative items in their harnesses and saddles.

In the Stewartry museum there are some beautiful terrets and some very decorative mounts on display within the Treasure trove displays.

Today, everyone keeps track of time—some wishing for extra hours, others hoping it would slow down. Yet, there are those who truly enjoy crafting and repairing timepieces.

This week’s Museum Blog highlights a remarkable collection of watchmaking tools, including lathes, chamfers, callipers, spare parts, and particularly impressive fob watches. Museum Blog Timepieces

In the Stewartry Museum there is a small selection of metalwork attributed to the Auchencairn blacksmith and poet, Joseph Heughan.

Museum Blog, Joseph Heughan_

Many people researching their family will have found out that not everyone enjoyed financial stability, wealth, social status, or home ownership. Some

may have faced homelessness or poverty through no fault of their own. This week’s Museum Blog details Museum resources available for research into the lives of these unfortunate people. Blog 10, Poor relief

If you are doing either family history research or researching your home both the Valuation roles and the Sasine records may be of interest and easily accessible for anyone who comes into the Stewartry museum.

When researching your home, the best place to start is always the deeds, and or local Planning departments. Many councils have archives for older buildings, or they can tell you who may hold the archive such as the local library archival service.

Valuation rolls hold the most information out of the two types of records. They go by property, who owns it, who lives in it, the yearly rent or value, and if a Feu duty is to be paid also who it is paid too.  They are broken down into Parishes and all the properties held by an owner are kept together. These were issued yearly so you can track a family member or address for years, through different addresses or tenants.

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