By Kirsty Gilchrist
One of the oldest records in the Scottish Maritime Museum’s collection is a rental document from the 19th century. This agreement between John Shedden, a fisherman from Saltcoats, and the Earl of Eglinton & Winton concerns the conversion of old stables into cottages for use by fishing families.
It has been noted that throughout the document John Shedden is sometimes written as John Sheddan – perhaps this contract was completed by someone else on his behalf at the time of signing which resulted in these spelling mistakes. When the document was donated to the Scottish Maritime Museum, the family provided a transcript which uses the name spelled as ‘Shedden’.
The cottages discussed in the document are located on the land that is now part of Royal Troon Golf Course. When Royal Troon was built in 1878, the golf course was designed around these ‘Blackrock Cottages’ which were left untouched. The cottages eventually fell into disrepair, and the present-day structure, named ‘Blackrock House’, was built in the same spot in the 1920s. The current owners often rent out the house when busy events like the Open Championships are hosted at Royal Troon. The house recently went up for sale for £1.5 million, and the land’s interesting history likely played a part in deciding this price.
The rental agreement document, or “tack”, is dated 1841 and may be missing a page or two based on a reading of the content. A tack is a type of estate paper related to the management of agriculture, forestry, fishing or industry on an estate. Acting as a legal document, this tack recorded the terms and conditions for the lease of land or a building from an estate owner. In this instance, the tack sets out terms for the lease of a fishing cottage.
These written documents replaced previous verbal agreements with tenants and caused significant changes in many rural areas that were undergoing development in the late 1700s and early 1800s. For instance, large scale evictions occurred during the Highland Clearances because of these changes to the law regarding land ownership and rental agreements.
Records like this one help to draw attention to the precarious nature of employment for many working-class people during this period. Jobs were often tied by contract to housing, so if someone lost their job suddenly, for instance due to rapid industrial changes, they would also likely have to move out without any notice.
This situation can also be seen in other trades. For example, the 1920s styled tenement flat currently cared for by the Scottish Maritime Museum was built in 1907 by the owner of the local sawmill in Irvine, William Breckenridge. The flats in these tenement buildings were intended for sawmill or shipyard workers and were in good condition for the time. However, if an employee were to lose their job, they would be evicted from their home on the same day along with any family staying there.
For more information about housing conditions for shipyard workers, we recommend joining a tour to the tenement flat during your visit to the Scottish Maritime Museum.
Sources:
2026-007(013) Rental Agreement between Earl of Eglinton & Winton and John Shedden, Fisher, 1841, for fisherman’s cottage on Royal Troon Golf Course, © Scottish Maritime Museum
OS Map Screenshot: ‘Ordnance Survey, 25 inch to mile, 1st edition, 1857 survey’, National Library of Scotland
Photograph: ‘Blackrock Cottage (c.1910)’, pp. 12, Troon Golf Club by I. M. MackIntosh, 1974
Photograph: ‘Blackrock House, Troon (2026)’, and ‘Outer Building, Blackrock House, Troon (2026)’, © Alan Kempster, 2026
Rentals, tacks and estate papers | Scotland’s People
