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The Napier Commission 1884

Jessie Morrison, 7 Knockaird, bringing the cattle home from the summer shieling village of Cuisiadar on the Ness Moor		   The Gladstone government of 1883 set up a Royal Commission “to enquire into the condition of the crofters and cottars in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and all matters affecting the same or relating thereto.”

Visiting extensively throughout the Highlands and Islands the ‘Napier Commission’ reported to Parliament in 1984 and identified a number of concerns among the crofters and cottars [Cottar: person with a year-to-year tenancy of a dwellinghouse with no land attached situated in the crafting counties – historically, this was often offered by landlord in return for labour as required]
 
The principal complaints received by the Napier Commission included:
  The limited size of holdings
  High rents
  Loss of land to sporting pursuits
  Lack of compensation for land improvement by tenants
  Lack of security of tenure
   

As a result of the Commission’s subsequent report, the Government introduced the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886, which offered the crofters protection under the law in a number of respects.  Crofters were given the right to a reasonable rent and were now entitled to pass on the tenancy of a croft to a family member.  In addition, where a crofter wished to give up his tenancy, the Act stated that he should be entitled to compensation for any improvements made to the land.  The 1886 Act also set up the Crofters Commission – the forerunner of the present organisation.
 
Scottish Crofters Commission & Scottish Land Court

In 1955 the modern Crofters Commission was established to develop and regulate crofting.  The new Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 tasks the Commission with developing crofting and overseeing crofting legislation.

Originally constituted as a result of the passing of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 1911, the Scottish Land Court was set up on 1st April 1912 and is currently empowered under the Scottish Land Court Act 1993.  The Scottish Land Court is a Court of law, with its jurisdiction set firmly within the context of Scottish farming. It has authority to resolve a range of disputes, including disputes between landlords and tenants, in agriculture and crofting. The Court is based in Edinburgh, but holds hearings throughout Scotland.
 
Crofting tenure in Scotland

In total, there are about 17,700 crofts and 11,500 crofters in Scotland, with approximately 33,000 people living on crofts.  The amount of land under crofting tenure covers some 800,000 hectares and accounts for over 25% of the agricultural land in the Highlands and Islands. 

Population density on croft land is about 9 people per kilometre.  In some parts of west coast mainland Scotland, crofting households account for 30% of households and rises to nearly 65% in areas such as the Western Isles and Skye.

  


Calum MacLean and son Sandy, Cross Skigersta Road, thatching  in 1949
 

The principle crofting areas are situated in the Western Isles (6,000 crofts), Shetland 2,700), Skye and the Inner Hebrides (1,800) and the north-west Highlands (2,300). [SOURCE: Crofters Commission]

Few earn a living from crofting - it remains very much a subsistence form of small-scale farming.  Modern day crofters are typically employed in industries such as building and weaving, the service and retail sectors, oil-related activities, self-employment, and working for the public sector, such as the local authority - a major employer in the Highlands and Islands.
 
Crofting and the community
  Social and economic interdependence within crofting communities has played a major part in retaining the culture and Gaelic language of the Highlands and Islands.  Over the past few hundred years, crofting in fragile rural communities throughout Scotland was more than about agriculture and housing - it was, and continues to be, a unique way of life that still persists today in many peripheral areas despite the new pressures and challenges of the 21st century.
Donald Smith ('Frypan'), Eoropie, driving a David Brown tractor with trailer
 
There are about 24 crofting townships in northern Lewis, represented by:
 
  Eoropie; Fivepenny; Knockaird; Port of Ness; Lionel; Eorodale; Adabrock; Skigersta; Habost; Swainbost; Cross; North Dell; South Dell; North Galson; South Galson; Melbost Borve; High Borve; Borve; Lower Shader; Upper Shader; Airidhantuim; Ballantrushal.   
 
These villages, together with Upper Barvas and several local authority housing schemes, make up the Galson Estate, a privately owned estate that is currently subject to a proposed 'community buyout' under the auspices of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act.
 
Cross Skigersta Road, which is a Scottish Office owned enclave within the Galson Estate, is a collection of 133 parcels of small allotments.  Known as 'Fishermen's Holdings', these allotments were originally created to provide land for local fishermen to build homes and grow essential crops.