Forestry Commission Tulliallan Forest Nursery for sale
The photographs are courtesy of Will Anderson, Seafield and Strathspey Estates. Will worked for a period with the Forestry Commission in Tulliallan Nursery and surrounding forests. The year is an approximate estimate.
It is difficult to sift out the history of Tulliallan Nursery but there are reports of seed being collected there in 1923 but that may have been the private estate of the same name. Certainly however there are records of Scots pine cones being collected in various area of Fife and extracted at Tulliallan Nursery in 1923. By March 1925 there is a record of Tulliallan Nursery with Forestry Commission Forester A N Simpson in charge.
Will confirms that the Historic Environment Scotland notes on the designed landscape of Tulliallan Castle says that “by 1923 the Forestry Commission was leasing 112 acres for a nursery”. The estate was sold in 1925 and perhaps the FC may have purchased at that time.
As a side line there was a mention in the Journal of the Forestry Commission of a prominent former resident of St Kilda working or present in the nursery in 1932. “A tall picturesque figure with a long white flowing beard ... also his dog with its teeth ground down as was the custom on that island”. Will remembers some details “Neil Ferguson was the St Kildan who worked at the nursery. He was the last person to be married on St Kilda before the evacuation. His wife was Mary Ann (nee MacQueen). I think there was a bit of bad feeling amongst the St Kildans against the government after the evacuation because they were spread throughout Scotland and not kept in a community.”
The end of an era! The nursery was under the charge of A N Simpson from at least 1925. His name is still shown as in charge in 1952 which must be something of a record. There are only sketchy records of his service at the nursery but any confirmation of his full years would be very welcome.
Any historical details of its near 70 years as a FC nursery and of men and women who worked there would be very welcome.
Note that Newton Forest Nursery near Elgin started later in 1933 but it is still going strong in state ownership as it wends its way towards a century. Will it make it that far?
The PDF shows the approach road to the nursery and some of the buildings then on site. Any details would be welcome.
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Groups: Forest Nurseries
In the event almost all were settled at addresses in Lochaline. Comment left on 06 November 2022 at 09:41 by Steve Newsom