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Post Clearances - The Duke's Statue

In 1994, Sandy Lindsay of Inverness proposed that the Statue of the Duke of Sutherland be removed from its lofty perch on Ben Bhraggie, in Golspie, Sutherland. He appealed to the descendants of the Highland Scots who were driven off their lands by agents of the Duke of Sutherland, often with their houses burned over their heads.

The plan was later amended to remove, rather than demolish the statue and to site some information panels on the top of Ben Bhraggie, in memory of the people who were cleared and harried by the Duke.

The man, whose memory still offends so many, stands on a 76ft pedestal casting his proud, stony gaze on the town of Golspie below. The Sutherland statue is seen by many Scots, particularly in the North, as a symbol of power, greed, oppression and heartless evictions. It represents a family, a ruling class, and a period in history which split communities and sent families to the far corners of the earth in search of livelihood denied them on their own soil.

A harsh land, a harsh sea, and a harsh climate were hard enough burdens to be borne by the people, but harsh overlords backed by unfair laws, and servants of these laws, were the final tribulations, which brought a way of life to an end for many for the benefit of a privileged few.

Many see it as a monument to the greed and vanity of the Sutherland family, the toadyism of their hirelings, and the efficient extortion racket which squeesed contributions from unwilling tenants.

Arguments against Removal

Removing the statue would be an empty gesture as we cannot rewrite history. The influence of a ruling class and the ravages of sheep and deer on our landscape will last long after the weather has eroded the features from the statue of the Sutherland duke. The massive statue, and the opulent castle of Dunrobin have to be vital parts of case against the Dukes of Sutherland. Their wealth, power and vanity are enshrined in stone and should be preserved as warnings to future generations to beware of allowing such circumstances to happen again.


Zoom in

Statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled in Bagdhad, his images were destroyed throughout the country.



If we start moving statues about, who would decide what is to go and what should replace it? Could it not lead to political and cultural chicanery? Would it not allow parties of the left and right, when in power, to remove opposing symbols to obscure corners to be followed by tit-for-tat action when power is reversed?

What if women's groups agitate for the Scott Monument, Allan Ramsay and other male company to be removed from Princes Street in Edinburgh? Who would decide the new heroes and heroines of the day and would they be any better? The Gaels have taken their vengeance on the Sutherland duke's statue with their graffiti. Let us leave it at that. The duke should be left standing high on his tiered pedestal in the biting wind. Many think he deserves such a fate.

If, in centuries to come, the monument could simply be allowed to crumble under the forces of nature, its decaying condition would be an even more dramatic reminder.

Edited from an article by Ken Andrew, courtesy of Chebecto Community Net.