Landscapes of Summer: The Shielings

The traditional Hebridean toun embraced a range of different resources. In some cases, their exploitation involved different seasons of labour to the extent that we can speak of different seasonal landscapes involving different work routines. The shielings were quintessentially a seasonal landscape, one that came alive during summer. All touns had access to some shieling grounds for the summer grazing of their stock, with bylaws or agreements in place over the exact day on which stock were to be taken to them and the day upon which they would return. The discussion reviews their locational preferences and whether differences in the construction of shiels and the material used provide a chronology for their development.   The question of whether shielings provided a frontier of expansion for Hebridean society is considered, given the extent to which some acquired an arable sector.   Finally, their role in the making of cheese and butter is reviewed along with the part which such products played within rents and the wider estate economy.