Cromarty Archive

Changing times - the old sheds are going ...

Changing times - the old sheds are going ...

Date Added: 11 March 2009 Contributor: John Wood Year: 2009 Picture No: 2310

Demolition starts on the old dairy sheds behind Townlands Barn

Albums: Buildings

7 Comments

Time must move on, but still I feel great sadness seeing the old sheds coming down. As a child in the summer holidays I would more often than not be in the old dairy and sheds with my granny Gracie. She and I both loved being together there, so many giggles we had with many locals passing by or coming in to pay their milk. Comment left on 19 March 2009 at 10:37 by Selma Brown (Mary Grants daughter)
I remember being sent up to buy a pint of milk from Grace when I was about four. Ethel and June next door sent me, and I'd never gone so far from my house alone before. I carried the slippery glass bottle all the way back to the top of Oswald Lane where I dropped it and it smashed. I cried all the way back. Comment left on 19 March 2009 at 15:10 by Loren Scott-Lodge
Its very sad to see Townlands dairy go. This was my Mothers life for 50 years [GRACE] and she enjoyed every minute of it. Happy childhood memories of Cromarty in the good old days Comment left on 20 March 2009 at 22:22 by Alex Grant
It was a sad experience to come to Cromarty after many years and to see, still there, the silent, derelict, rubbish littered buildings of what had once been a living dairy farm.
The largest of the three buildings was the byre. After milk production at Townlands ceased, the stall partitions were ripped out and the drains and troughs filled in with concrete, making the original purpose of the building less obvious. The byre accommodated 31 cows and 1 Aberdeen Angus bull. There were some notable characters amongst the cows, including one called "Bagpipes" who always had to be milked twice, and another called "Markie" who was the herd matriarch and took sadistic pleasure in making graze marks on the hides of her terrified victims, hence the name.
The cows were kept in the fields at the top of the Denny. Bringing the cows down for milking, single handed, was the most challenging task for the cattleman. The cows enjoyed the occasional escapade into the graveyard, when somebody had left the gate open. So you had to try and outflank them via the field to prevent them from turning in there while "coming under fire" from motorists held up by the herd.
The smaller building to the right of the byre, with the fire in front of it, was the dairy. Here the bottles were washed and sterilised and the milk was filtered, cooled and bottled for retailing.
The building nearest to the camera was the stable for Patsy the horse and also in winter housed some of the younger cattle.
My favourite memory of Townlands is of Gracie coming through to the byre brandishing a particularly horrifying looking used milk filter and saying, "Christopher, if the Sanitary Inspector finds E coli in the milk, we'll be closed down on the spot!"
Comment left on 21 March 2009 at 00:49 by Christopher Hart
Great memories Christopher, one that stays in my memory is the day that Henry and I came round the top of the Denny and ran into the herd of dairy cattle on their way up to the field, there was a nice bump on the bonnet and a cow lying on the road with John panicking incase we were hurt, we were lucky and the cow just got up and strolled into the field.

Great memories of my Aunty Grace also, when we went up to get milk if we needed extra, I loved seeing all the bottles going on the machine for washing. She was one tough lady out in all weathers and up for work when some people on a night out were just going to bed.

Alex nice to see you on the internet at last, you'll need to look out some nice photos of Aunty Grace and put them on. Love to Selma Susan and all the family.
Comment left on 21 March 2009 at 23:09 by Margaret Cassie ( Clelland )
I also remember when the bull turned on jock and threw him in the air then trampled on him,he was very lucky not to be killed-I think that was at the top of the park. Comment left on 03 January 2011 at 10:13 by Sue florence
The Dairy area looked sad and forlorn when I saw it recently. Comment left on 31 July 2011 at 16:53 by Mary Mackay now Tomlinson Harrison
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