The Riddell Collection of Wax Seals:
Seal Life Stories: the remarkable careers of 23 individuals from the Riddell Collection of Wax Seals
14: Sir James Milles Riddell of Ardnamuchan and Sunart (1787-1861)
Scotstown in Strontian, Ardnamurchan, owned for much of the nineteenth century by Sir James Riddell
Sir James Riddell was born in Strontian, Argyllshire, to Thomas Riddell, and Margaretta Campbell, succeeding to the baronetcy of Ardnamuchan and Sunart in 1797 on the death of his grandfather. After studying at Christ Church, Oxford, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1821.
James’s grandfather, Sir James Riddell, 1st Baronet of Ardnamurchan had purchased the estate of Ardnamurchan and Sunart in 1767. The estate passed to James, along with the baronetcy and from the first decade of the new century he would take a practical role in the running and management. Detailed surveys, maps, and valuations were commissioned at this time, with recommendations for improvements in the efficiency of the land’s production.
Whether the estate was in financial difficulty isn’t clear, but in the early C19 agricultural improvement was in full effect in the Highlands, and the largest landowners were removing tenants from the land to make space for livestock.
An account of 1892 describes James Riddell’s part in the Clearances of one the villages on his estate - “….attended with many acts of heartless cruelty on the part of the laird’s representatives. In one case a half-witted woman who flatly refused to flit, was locked up in her cottage, the door being barricaded on the outside by mason-work. She was visited every morning to see if she had arrived at a tractable frame of mind, but for days she held out. It was not until her slender store of food was exhausted that she ceased to argue with the inevitable and decided to capitulate.”
Another observer recorded that, “To clear Bourblaige, the laird’s men shot the dogs, and they shot the goats, and they drove away the cows. And then they took the roofs off. It was in the wintertime that they did it. Ploughs were put through the potato pits so that they would spoil in the frost. And the people walked to Swordle [on the north coast] through showers of snow.”
Parts of the estate have now been designated as scheduled monuments by Historic Environment Scotland - “The monument is of national importance for its potential contribution to an understanding of the way of life and the architecture of post-Medieval communities in this area of Scotland. Many of the buildings are well preserved and contain complex architectural information.”
Sir James married Mary Brooke in 1822, having four children, including Sir Thomas Riddell 3rd baronet .