It may not be the most poetic name in Scotland; neither mellifluous nor romantic, and yes, it has been described as the ugliest name of any town in Scotland but, to those of us who are thirled to toponymics the name Skinflats is an intriguing one.
Skinflats in 1861
Skinflats in the 1920s
At a personal level, it is one that has become my bête noire: an unhappy circumstance that results from a local tradition which holds that the name was given by Dutchmen who reclaimed the carseland in that area at some indeterminate period. Having done so, we are told, they then looked over the results of their labours and proclaimed, “Schone flats”! Consequently, when involved in any local discussion on place-names someone will ask, 'Do you know what Skinflats means', to which my well rehearsed reply is, 'No, but I think you're about to tell me', and the Dutchmen, as you might expect, make their due appearance. My equally well rehearsed counter-questions follow: (1) when was this done? (2) who paid to have it done? (3) why is there no record of the event and (4) why does the increased value of the land not appear in any valuation? The answers to these are (1) “Dinni ken.” (2) “Dinni ken.” (3) “Dinni ken.” and (4) “Whit?” However, my favourite question is kept for last: “Who paid these Dutchmen to remain here long after they had completed the job? Which they would have to do in order to see the results: the process used to reclaim land from the sea did not produce an instantaneous effect; indeed it could take years and, fiscally speaking, Skinflats is only a very loud hail from Fife. It should also be mentioned that on one solitary occasion I encountered a variation of the story which states that that it wasn't land being reclaimed from the sea that brought the Netherlanders but the draining of an alleged moss.So let's set the scene and look at the facts. Firstly, Skinflats is a small settlement that originated as miners' rows serving a local colliery. It was built sometime between 1817 and 1861 on a piece of land then known as Skinflat. Presumably, the –s attached through usage as the rows would have come to be known as *the Skinflat's rows to distinguish them from numerous others in the vicinity.
In 1841 the parish minister commented, 'There is no village in the parish, except a small portion of Carron Shore, the greater part of which is in the parish of Larbert'. Skinflats was described in 1861 as, 'Two rows of colliers houses, partly slated and partly tiled. It contains two public houses and one smithy. The parish school is situated near the north end of the village'. The earliest overt record I've recovered for the land on which its stands comes from 1714 when Alexander Johnstoune of Kirkland (of Bothkennar) took heritable possession of 'the parts and portions of the estate of Newtoun called Houkers, the Tiend Yeard, Skimflat and Bamershyre'. In subsequent sections of the charter the name appears as Skamflat. Five years later it reappears as Skameflat and in a sasine that specifies the extent of these pieces of land the notary has entered, 'Skameflat being [blank] acres of land or thereby'. A bit unfortunate on the one hand but, on the other, it is acknowledges that is was measured in acres and, therefore, was arable.
This charter also gives the marches of Skameflat along with the adjoining place known as Tiend Yard which was acquired at the same time. Together, they are said to be 'bounded betwixt the right of way that leads betwixt the ferries of Airth and Carron on the west. The lands belonging to Newton possest be Adam Lidle on the east. The lands possest be John Slanders on the north and the lands of Newton possest be John Rae tenant on the south side'.
Both places are described as having, 'house biggings yards tofts crofts parts [and] pendicles', and so not only was this holding measured in arable units but it had an established steading with the usual arrangement of buildings and associated enclosed areas. This last charter, in dealing with Tiend Yard, has the following clause: 'Excepting from this disposition as it is thereby excepted that piece of ground taken of the said lands for making of ane entry to the school house of Bothkennar'. Although mentioned in earlier records, this is the first document to locate the school and shows that it was situated where the first edition of the Ordnance Survey depicted it in 1861 and, indeed, where the present village school still stands. Both of these places were parts of larger units defined within the charters in oxengates and, therefore, in an area that tradition states to consisted of moss, myre, bog, or saltings we find the land being measured in oxgangs and acres. Now, having ploughed my way (no pun intended) through hundreds of charters and sasines I've yet to see one that specifies the actual extent of any muir or moss let alone one that uses the terminology of arable division for such places.
Certainly, in Bothkennar there was reclamation as the parish minister reports in the 1790's: 'Within these few years, a considerable extent of ground has been gained in this parish and neighbourhood from the Frith (sic), which, though defended at a great expense, will soon become a valuable acquisition to its possessors'. This information was restated some fifty years later by his successor who, in 1841, states: 'The Earl of Zetland has reclaimed from the Frith (sic) of Forth, by embankments about 200 acres which have not as yet been subjected to the payment of any part of the minister's stipend. There are still 800 acres which are left dry by the tides twice every twenty-four hours, and which will certainly, at no distant period, be recovered from the sea'. This ties in with the canalization of the River Carron which took place in the years 1767-70 to allow vessels of large burden to reach Carronshore. The Earl's lands lay on the south side of the river, but as a consequence of the straightening, part of these were transferred to the north bank. All of the old course of the river and the substantial estuary were banked and reclaimed and there can be little doubt that this formed most, if not all, of the 200 acres.
A casual observer might perceive the carselands to be as flat as a bowling green but, in fact, there are undulations. Parts lie at only 3 metres O.D., while much of it attains 4 metres and in other places, including the site of the church, it rises to 5 metres, but sitting on the highest point of the parish is Skinflats which is on the 6 metre high summit. It must also be pointed out that Skinflats is located more than one and a half kilometres inland from the coast. Between Skinflats and the coast are several places which have a considerable history. Among these is Newton (1502), the largest estate in the parish and the one that Skinflats is a division from. Also on the seaward side were the smaller estates of Orchardhead (1526) and Stonehouse (1632), both at the shore. Close by Skinflats are (or were) Mains of Bothkennar (1507), Howkerse (1637) and Grange of Bothkennar (1376). Immediately adjoining is Tiends Yard (1637). Another factor that must be taken into consideration is that the Carse of Bothkennar (1359), far from being a morass, was a highly productive tract of arable land from at least the mediaeval period.
Evidence for this comes from the thirteenth century, when records provide unequivocal evidence that wheat was being grown there. Due to the climate and northerly latitude of Scotland this is a more difficult crop to grow than oats or barley. Certainly, it will not flourish on marginal lands of poor quality. As Bothkennar was Crown Land and returned rents in kind to the king, the records indicate the produce. As each and every square inch of the parish of Bothkennar lay on the carse, there can be no doubt that all revenue derived from Bothkennar was the produce of that tract. In 1290 Norman de Arcy, knight and keeper of the castle of Stirling, issued a receipt to the Abbot and convent of Newbattle for 4 chalders of wheat, and 12 merks sterling instead of 6 chalders of wheat, of the ferm (the rents) of Bothkennar. This was probably part of what was due annually from revenues which Newbattle Abbey derived from Bothkennar: it was common for rents and benefices to be paid on two terms yearly and we find a further receipt for 5 chalders of wheat and 10 merks issued by Sir Norman in the same year. It would seem, therefore, that Newbattle paid 20 chalders of wheat per year to the keeper of the castle with half of this being commuted to cash. Newbattle's revenue from Bothkennar was a consequence of an early gift to the abbey and so only represented that part of the produce grown there; it follows that we are seeing in these transactions only a fraction of the wheat production.
King Robert the Bruce issued directions in 1317 to the sheriff and baillies of Stirling to ensure payment to the abbot and convent of Cambuskenneth from the king's tiends of Bothkennar, 'both in grain and money as they were wont to receive them in the time of King Alexander III' (1249-1286). It is worth noting that these had been exchanged at the time of Alexander for certain tiends of the lordship of Stirling which had originally been granted to the abbey by the kings of Scotland. It would seem that the stability brought to the country by the victory at Bannockburn was reflected in the produce of Bothkennar for, in 1328, the sheriffdom of Stirlingshire and the king's ferms from that county were assessed by the auld extent, with the exception of Bothkennar. There a new assessment was made and, it is of interest to note, only two years before, Robert the Bruce petitioning parliament for a grant of money because the crown lands had diminished by gifts and transferences and by occasione of war.
As late as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it is common to find in feu charters of lands in Bothkennar the obligation to pay to Cambuskenneth various quantities of wheat. It is equally noteworthy that rents from the Carse of Bothkennar were being paid partly in money in that early period. This tells us that the tenants had produce well in excess of subsistence and were converting the surplus to cash. The very act of commuting rent in kind for money is the most convincing indicator of the valuable nature of the agriculture of the carse at that time. We are told, in 1841, that the main produce of the parish was wheat and beans. Due to agricultural improvements such as drainage and crop rotation the average of crop of wheat was around six quarters per acre, and the best years as much as nine. The rent of the land even than was still reckoned as a grain rent.
In all likelihood the myth origin of the name is tied into several of these factors and events, particularly the eighteenth century engineering of the River Carron. Nevertheless, this does not explain the ongoing part of the legend that it was carried out by Dutchmen. This probably emanated from ill recalled versions of a passage in Sir Robert Sibbald's account of Linlithgow in 1710 when, speaking of a stretch of shore on the south bank of the firth known as Ladies Scape, he states: 'The Dutch did offer some time ago to make all the Scape good arable ground and Meadow, and to make Harbours and Towns there in convenient places, upon certain conditions which were not accepted'.
In the discussions mentioned above, having explained these circumstances to the proponents, they inevitably strike back with their killer punch, which is, 'Well, whit aboot the Dutch Inn then?' This establishment, opened in the 1960's, is a popular eating place in the village. The suggestion that the Dutchmen were Moss Lairds must also be refuted. The Military Survey clearly shows three mosses along the carselands: at Throsk, Elphinstone (now Dunmore) and Letham. The first has been totally drained although it survived into the eighteenth century, fragments of Elphinstone, which was huge, are visible but fragmentary while Letham is still exploited for moss today. The Military Survey indicated that both Throsk and Elphinstone had colonies of Moss Lairds. All three mosses had associated place-names such as Moss-side and Mossneuk. There is not a solitary example of a name having moss as an element recorded in Bothkennar Parish. Further evidence for the existence of mosses arises because feudal tenants had privileges on them and these rights were usually stated within their charters of sasine. Given that Bothkennar is so well documented, had there ever been a moss there within the historical period it certainly would have been noted.
As far as a derivation for the name is concerned, no sense of skim provides any logical derivation but skam is found as an element in names such as the recurring Scam(m)adale ARG, INV and the variants Scammi Dale SHE and Scamodale INV. As far as the Shetland instance is concerned Stewart gives the derivation of the element as ON skammr, 'short' as does Cameron for Scampton LIN. It is also worth noting Skinnaquoy ORK, a name that has developed from Skanaqoy (1595). It may be inferred that the meaning of Skamflat was 'short flat'. Cf. Shortflatt NTB. It is notable in terms of dating names containing the element flat that of the twenty recorded in West Lothian, not a single instance is located on the carselands, which expanse is comprised of land reclaimed in the seventeenth century. Of the seven places quoted by SND, three are recorded c.1240 and the latest in 1327.
In the Falkirk area, over and above Skinflats, we find several such names, all of which are located on the carse. These are: Almond Flat (1399), Carronflat (1542), (which lay a long way from the River Carron having been stranded from it by a change in the course of the river that occurred sometime before 1450), Scotflatt (1655), Reedyflats (1544), Reddoch Flat, (1635), Middleflat (1655), Smallburn Flat (1399), Smoothflats (1805), Wholeflats (1635), Burnsflat (1621), Gallowflat (1569), Ladyflat (1628), Maryflats (Marieflattis), Millflatts (c.1755), Powflat (1700) and Tillyflats (1731).
John Reid (prompted by a local news report …)
Interesting read!
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