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Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 1999-03 > 0921721185


From: Edward Andrews <>
Subject: Re: CLACHAN
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 01:39:45 +0000


marcia collins wrote:
>
> Hello all,
> Can anyone tell me what type of organization CLACHAN is ? Does it goes 'hand
> in hand' with Mason and Orange Lodge?
> Thank you
> Marcia Moore Collins

In terms of social Geography a Clachan is a rural nucleated settlement,
where the inhabitants usually share kinship.

The Context which I studied it was the Irish Gaeltect, but it is one of
the features which is common on both sides of the ditch.

In neither culture is a Church or any kind of lodge a necessary
feature.

Basically the clachan provides a settlement pattern in areas of
generally dispersed settlements. Thus it probably began as the one
cottage, and over the years additional houses had been added in a
higgilty piggalty pattern.

They are now much more common in Ireland than in Scotland because of
the clearances in Scotland, and then the rural improvements from the
late 19th Century. Often now the clachan appears to be a group of out
buildings behind a modern farmhouse. The difference however is that the
buildings are detached and are of random orientation, as opposed to a
farmtoon which are usually centred on a yard.

Edward Andrews
--
St Nicholas Buccleuch Parish Church Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
Visit our Web site
http://www.btinternet.com/~stnicholas.buccleuch/index.ht

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