Giuthas Cottage - Ardgartan Forest
Modern photograph is courtesy of Fiona Paterson, John Keenleyside and Mary Haggarty. The information below has been gleaned from a number of sources including the Journals and Annual Reports of the Forestry Commission plus details from John Keenleyside who was Chief Forester at Ardgartan Forest for a period in the 1970s.
The upper image is courtesy of a Forestry Commission Album dated 1919 – 1934 compiled by an unknown officer but information from the 1925 Annual Report is as follows:
‘‘Some experiments have been made in substituted types of construction; at Ardgarten and Glenmore, where conditions are particularly difficult, five steel houses have been erected; these are of the Weir type and have cost £575 each, inclusive of all expenditure connected with the site, drainage and water supply. In all these structures water is conveyed into the houses. The contract price for each of the houses delivered on the ground was £480. These houses have taken from two to three months to erect, and have been found quite satisfactory. The tenants who have been in occupation during the winter, state that they are highly pleased with the dwellings. At Ardgarten one Swedish wooden house was erected for the forester, and while this may be regarded as a quite suitable type of construction, the cost (£800) prohibits the use of the type for holdings’ purposes.’’
The house is located at the entrance area to Ardgartan Forest at the point where the public road leaves the loch shore and turns inland to begin its climb over the Rest and Be Thankful. The name Giuthas (gaelic for pine) could refer to the fact that it was made from Swedish conifer wood or as John comments possibly also from the fact that the forest area above and behind the house was known locally as Giuthasd (a version of Pine forest in gaelic Coille-ghiuthais?). Note the former wooden cladding has been replaced with cement harling.
The first forester likely to have occupied the building would have been David Spraggan who initiated the planting in the forest in 1925 and spent a number of years there before rising in the ranks to eventually serve as a District Officer with, at one point, a tour of duty in Fort Augustus district. Records after 1930 are less detailed but in 1948 the forester Mr J M Reid was in charge with Don McCaskill as the assisitant. By 1951 Don McCaskill was in charge and on his transfer to Perthshire, Fred Cowie took over the reins.
Also according to John Keenleyside, Forest Wildlife Ranger Alex Seaton took up residence in the house no doubt after the forester’s house was built in the Succoth area and he continued to live there after retirement still religiously taking the meteorological readings every day for a full fifty years.
The wooden log forest office built in early 1970s was located nearby as was the old tin hut that served as the Glen Croe School for as John remembers about six to ten children.
Any more details and memories of this house and location would be very welcome.
Regarding recreation and camping in the Ardgartan area the following extract from the
Forestry Commission Annual Report of Sep 1935 is of interest:
‘‘Reference was made in the Commissioners’ last Annual Report (1934)
to the possibilities of providing recreational facilities on the Commission’s
unplantable land and to- the formation of a Committee,
under the Chairmanship of Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, to consider
a specific example.
The Committee were appointed in March,
1935, “to advise how the surplus and unplantable land in the
Forests of Ardgartan, Glenfinart, Benmore and Glenbranter in
the County of Argyll may be put to a use of a public character.”
In their Report the Committee stated that the whole area under
review (including the adjoining Ardgoil Estate, which the Glasgow
Corporation was willing to bring into the scheme) extended to
nearly 100 square miles and was particularly suitable for hiking and
rambling. They recommended accordingly the encouragement of
the use of the area by responsible organisations and especially by
those connected with the Youth movement. This would be
facilitated by the acquisition of Ardgartan House and policies, and
by the provision of youth hostels, alpine huts and camping
grounds. The Committee recommended also that Government be
asked to provide £5,000 for the Commission’s use in developing
the proposals put forward, the money to be expended mainly on
the lay-out and equipment of camp sites. The acquisition of
Ardgartan House and policies should be met from sources outside
the Commission.
Considerable progress has been made in giving effect to the Committee’s
advice. Sanction has been secured for the Commissioners
to incur expenditure on camping sites and similar projects, the
Jubilee Trust has purchased Ardgartan House, the Carnegie Trust
is taking an interest in other parts of the scheme, and a representative
Advisory Committee and a small Management Committee have
been set up. It is expected, therefore, that the first National
Forest Park will begin to function in a small way during the
summer of 1936.’’
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Groups: Buildings in Forests, Forestry Areas, Recreation Activities and Art in the Forest