Arichonan and the Free Church

I published a book on the 1848 Arichonan Clearance a couple of years ago. Since then, I have picked up bits of information, which I have added to the "Arichonan" section on my website.

And here is another interesting piece of information, taken from the Inveraray Jail site: of the rioters who were jailed, only Mary Adams (an eighteen year old Paisley servant working at Gallachoille farm) listed her religion as "Established Church." All of the others list themselves as members of the (relatively new) "Free Church." I am not implying that the riot was caused by a religious impulse. Consider, however, that the Landlord, Malcolm of Poltalloch, was a member of the Church of ENGLAND (not of Scotland.) The Free Church was adamantly Presbyterian, but of a more radical kind than the established Church of Scotland.

This is, in my opinion, a significant marker of the great distance that existed between tenant and proprietor.

I hope to add something about this "Free Church versus Established Church" to my website. It was of very great importance to Knapdale people in the 1840s and beyond.