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Massacre of the Greenyards, Strathcarron 1854

Q: When did Massacre of the Greenyards, Strathcarron 1854 take place?

Massacre of the Greenyards, Strathcarron 1854 took place in 1854, Scotland. On 31 March 1854 a party of around 35-40 police under Sheriff Taylor and Superintendent Cummings, sent by landlord Major Robertson of Kindeace to serve eviction (removal) writs, were met by a crowd of about 300 local people (roughly two-thirds women, armed with stones, men at the rear with sticks). The police baton-charged the crowd; 15-20 women were seriously injured (some accounts say around 60 women attacked), one woman reportedly died of her injuries, and five women were arrested and briefly jailed in Tain before release on bail. The writs were served. The event, publicised as the 'Massacre of the Rosses'/'Massacre of the Greenyards' via Donald Ross's pamphlet, became a landmark case in raising public awareness of Highland Clearance brutality and contributed to the later push for crofting reform.

Q: Who won Massacre of the Greenyards, Strathcarron 1854?

Sheriff's officers (police force) was victorious. The defeated side was Greenyards tenants and residents (evictees and their supporters). On 31 March 1854 a party of around 35-40 police under Sheriff Taylor and Superintendent Cummings, sent by landlord Major Robertson of Kindeace to serve eviction (removal) writs, were met by a crowd of about 300 local people (roughly two-thirds women, armed with stones, men at the rear with sticks). The police baton-charged the crowd; 15-20 women were seriously injured (some accounts say around 60 women attacked), one woman reportedly died of her injuries, and five women were arrested and briefly jailed in Tain before release on bail. The writs were served. The event, publicised as the 'Massacre of the Rosses'/'Massacre of the Greenyards' via Donald Ross's pamphlet, became a landmark case in raising public awareness of Highland Clearance brutality and contributed to the later push for crofting reform.

1854

Scotland

Era

modern

Battle Type

Skirmish

Location

Scotland

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

Greenyards tenants and residents (evictees and their supporters)

Victor

Sheriff's officers (police force)

Forces involved

Approximately 35-40 police officers/constables under Sheriff William Taylor and Superintendent Cummings, opposed by a crowd of roughly 300 local residents (about two-thirds women), of whom perhaps a dozen or so men stood at the rear

Outcome

On 31 March 1854 a party of around 35-40 police under Sheriff Taylor and Superintendent Cummings, sent by landlord Major Robertson of Kindeace to serve eviction (removal) writs, were met by a crowd of about 300 local people (roughly two-thirds women, armed with stones, men at the rear with sticks). The police baton-charged the crowd; 15-20 women were seriously injured (some accounts say around 60 women attacked), one woman reportedly died of her injuries, and five women were arrested and briefly jailed in Tain before release on bail. The writs were served. The event, publicised as the 'Massacre of the Rosses'/'Massacre of the Greenyards' via Donald Ross's pamphlet, became a landmark case in raising public awareness of Highland Clearance brutality and contributed to the later push for crofting reform.

The Battle

History & Significance

Massacre of the Greenyards, Strathcarron 1854 was a modern skirmish, fought in Scotland in 1854. Sheriff's officers (police force) prevailed over Greenyards tenants and residents (evictees and their supporters). On 31 March 1854 a party of around 35-40 police under Sheriff Taylor and Superintendent Cummings, sent by landlord Major Robertson of Kindeace to serve eviction (removal) writs, were met by a crowd of about 300 local people (roughly two-thirds women, armed with stones, men at the rear with sticks). The police baton-charged the crowd; 15-20 women were seriously injured (some accounts say around 60 women attacked), one woman reportedly died of her injuries, and five women were arrested and briefly jailed in Tain before release on bail. The writs were served. The event, publicised as the 'Massacre of the Rosses'/'Massacre of the Greenyards' via Donald Ross's pamphlet, became a landmark case in raising public awareness of Highland Clearance brutality and contributed to the later push for crofting reform.

Confirmed battlefield location

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Massacre of the Greenyards, Strathcarron 1854 lies on Loch Eil Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite.

Casualties & Losses

15-20 women seriously injured by police batons (one source specifies around 60 women attacked in total, including named victim Grace Ross with a fractured skull); one woman reportedly died of her injuries; five women arrested

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Monuments

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Battlefields

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Roman Britain

The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.

Stat Accounts

The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Massacre of the Greenyards, Strathcarron 1854

Boath, three chambered cairns NE and NNE of Easter Ballone Farm

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~4.2 mi

Boath is a neolithic three-chambered cairn complex situated in Ross-shire, north-east and north-north-east of Easter Ballone Farm. The monuments occupy ground underlain by Lower Old Red Sandstone bedrock, a mixed sequence of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone formed during the Early…

Drumore,farmstead,field system,chambered cairn & cupmarks 600m W of

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~6.5 mi

Drumore is a neolithic farmstead, field system, chambered cairn and cupmarks located in Ross-shire, Scotland. The site comprises multiple periods of use spanning the fourth and third millennia BC, situated on bedrock of Lower Old Red Sandstone conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone datin…

Easter Baldoon,chambered cairn 190m NNE of

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~7.5 mi

Easter Baldoon is a Neolithic chambered cairn situated in Ross-shire, Scotland, approximately 190 metres north-north-east of a reference point in the local landscape. The monument belongs to a widespread class of prehistoric burial and ceremonial structures dating to the Neolithic period, when co…

Heights of Brae, chambered cairn 375m NNW of Firth View

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~8 mi

Heights of Brae is a Neolithic chambered cairn located in Ross-shire, standing 375 metres north-north-west of Firth View. Built during the Neolithic period, this stone monument represents one of Scotland's earliest substantial architectural achievements, constructed by farming communities who set…

Stittenham House,chambered cairn 135m W of

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~8.4 mi

Stittenham House is a Neolithic chambered cairn located in Ross-shire, Scotland, situated 135 metres west of Stittenham House itself. The monument dates to the Neolithic period, when such communal burial structures were constructed across Scotland as focal points for early farming communities. Ch…

Eileanach Lodge,settlement & field system 550m WSW of

Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~3.9 miles

Balnacrae, chambered cairn 230m WSW of

Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~6.2 miles

Cladh Churadain,chapel and burial ground

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~6.3 miles

Other modern Battles

Battle of Carrickfergus (1760)

In the same landscape

Battles near Massacre of the Greenyards, Strathcarron 1854

Battle of Bealach nam Broig

1299

~6.1 miles away

Bliadhna nan Caorach Ross-shire sheep riot Boath 1792

1792

~8.2 miles away

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