Living history as custodians of Scotland’s heritage walk in the steps of ancestors

Their workplaces are steeped in history, but employees at two of Scotland’s most important historical sites have discovered personal connections to the properties going back centuries.

Looking into her family tree revealed that Jacqui MacLennan is the fifth generation of her family to work at Inverewe Gardens in Wester Ross, after discovering a relative worked on the property about 150 years before her.

Meanwhile, while four generations of Julie Armour’s family have worked at Brodie Castle in Forres.

Here, they describe what it’s like to be walking in their ancestors’ footsteps.

The gardens are meant to be haunted so perhaps I’ve been working beside them all this time

Jacqui MacLennan always knew her family had strong ties to Inverewe House and Gardens, near Poolewe in Wester Ross, famous for its stunning gardens first created by owner and botanist Osgood Mackenzie in 1862.

Yet it wasn’t until she began researching her family tree last December that the visitor service assistant discovered she was the fifth generation of her family to be employed at the property.

“When I started looking into my family tree online I discovered that my great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side, Alexander McPherson, had been employed as the estate’s blacksmith in Tournaig around 1870,” said MacLennan, 56.

She also found out more information about her great-grandfather, who worked at Inverewe but was also famous locally as a poet. “My great-grandfather, Alexander Cameron, started when he was 13 as a shepherd and worked his way up to farm manager. During that time he met his future wife, Jessie, my great-grandmother, who was Osgood’s mother’s maid.

“They were married in 1880 and I was blown away to see Osgood named as a witness on their marriage certificate. Osgood and my great-grandfather were lifelong friends until Osgood died in 1922.”

A cairn dedicated to Cameron, who lived from 1848-1935, stands outside Inverewe Gardens.

“He was also known as the Tournaig Bard because he wrote Gaelic songs and poems all his life,” added McLennan, who lives in the village of Londubh near Inverewe.

“He was brought up speaking Gaelic and it was only through working for Osgood that he learned to speak and write in English. His employer actually funded his tuition. Not many employers would do that.”

MacLennan’s grandfather Murdo Cameron, was employed as a gardener and helped Mackenzie’s daughter, Mairi Sawyer, develop her father’s now-famous garden.

MacLennan’s father, Fachie MacLennan, also worked as a gardener on the property for 20 years while her mum, Greta, worked in the House’s restaurant and went on to be housekeeper.

Both MacLennan’s parents had passed away before she found out about her great-great-grandfather. “They’d have been amazed by this, especially my mum,” said MacLennan. “I’ll probably be the last of my family to work here so I’m keen to do this so our family history at Inverewe isn’t forgotten.

“My mum had a photo of my great-grandfather and I also found some in the Inverewe archives. It’s nice to put a face to a name. I don’t see the family resemblance but others do!”

MacLennan herself has been employed at Inverewe for 26 years, having started working in the property’s restaurant at 13 during school holidays before being employed full-time in 1994. She now works as a visitor service assistant. She met her husband, Timothy, through his sister, who also worked on the Inverewe Gardens for a short time.

She initially researched her family tree online. While she has struggled to find out more information about her great-great-grandfather, MacLennan hopes she will be able to use the Inverewe archives to find out more about her family in the future.

“I’m determined to find out more, especially about my great-great-grandparents, so I’ll keep digging. It’s addictive,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to have another look at the Inverewe archives in the winter to see what else I can dig up.”

MacLennan added: “I feel hugely proud and it’s strange to think I’m literally walking in their footsteps every day. I think my ancestors would be really pleased to see how the gardens have developed.

“They say the gardens are haunted so they are probably wandering around it anyway.”

I like to think my grandparents and the old laird are watching me work at the castle

Julie Armour, visitor experience manager at Brodie Castle, Forres, has fond memories of the fruit tarts her grandmother would sneak her on the days the laird of Brodie Castle in Forres would go shooting.

“My grandparents both worked at Brodie Castle, so we spent every summer there,” she recalled.

“My granny Jean was cook and housekeeper for Ninian Brodie, the 25th laird. On the days he and local landowners would meet up to shoot pheasants, my granny would do a lot of cooking and she would sneak me some raspberry and lemon curd tarts as a kid. So I have a fond memories of that.”

Armour is the visitor experience manager at the historic site that was home to Clan Brodie until it was taken over by the National Trust Scotland in the late-1970s. She has worked there for 20 years.

“My grandparents retired in the 90s so I still remember them working here,” said Armour, 45, who lives in Forres.

“My grandad, George McCulloch, came here to work when he was 14 and retired on his 65th birthday, so it’s the only job he ever had. He began as a gardener and retired as head forester.

“My grandad kept working for the National Trust when they took over the property, while my granny continued to work for Brodie in the private apartments he lived in. She retired in 1995.”

Armour’s mother, Heather Maine, began working at Brodie Castle as a housekeeper, aiding her mother, in the 80s. She left in 1995 and now works the Post Office shop in Forres. Armour’s aunt and cousin also worked briefly in the National Trust tearoom.

Now, Armour’s son, Tom, 18, works in housekeeping at the castle, making him the fourth generation of the family to be employed there. Her daughter Jayne, 20, who studies occupational therapy at university, also works there in catering during the summer.

“Ninian Brodie, who I knew well, always loved showing people around his home, even before the National Trust took over, so I love that I’m able to carry on that legacy,” added Armour.

“I like to think that my grandparents and old Brodie are watching over on me here and thinking, ‘there’s Jill running about and still looking after Brodie’.”