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THE
SHINESS MATHESONS
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Mathesons of Lochalsh came under the influence and power of the Mackenzies and the MacDonells of Glengarry. This was also a time of turbulence and migration for these Mathesons of the West, many of them moving from Lochalsh to Skye, Lewis and many mainland parts. In his Genealogical History of the House of Sutherland, written in 1631, Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun paints a sharply contrasting picture of the relative position of the Mackenzies and the Mathesons within the Earldom of Sutherland: “Ther is a race of people in Southerland, of equal, yea rather of greater force than the `Seill Thomas [Mackenzies in `Southerland, apparently of Ardmeanagh] called Seill Wogan [Siol Mhathan], seed of MacMathan or Mathesons”.
Their standing during these years allowed the Mathesons to retain their lands of Shiness, which they had held from the time of Iomhair Matheson of Shiness in the 15th century, if not earlier. With the continued backing of the Earls of Sutherland, the Clan was able to achieve continuity of occupation of Shiness for at least four hundred years.
The Shiness territory formed the eastern part of a large tract of land known as the Breachat, which extended from the Ross-shire borders in the south west of Sutherland to the upper reaches of Ben Armine in the North East. Gordonstoun describes the area graphically in his history of 1631:“ Ther is a part of Southerland called Breachat: that is the hight of Cattey, or Southerland full of cornes, fresh water fishes, grasse, cattell, woods, deir, and wildfouall, verie pleasant, and exceeding profitable for feiding of bestiall; it is tuentie mylls in lenth, and is divyded into two pairts by the River Shin, which proceeds from Loch Shin, and running from the north to the south, entereth into the river of Port-ne-Couture; that part of Breachat which lyes east and northeast from Logh Shin joynes with the Diri-More at Phuarran-poole-dai. The western pairt of Breachat is called the Barony of Gruids, wherin is contained the forrest of Diri-Meanigh, with Corri-kean-losh, Steill-Chorri, Garwelayd,and Craigskaulay; the deir of the forrest, and also of all the rest of the forrests and schases in Southerland are fatter and bigger than other deir in Scotland”.
The Clan following may also have extended into the Barony of Gruids, on the Western bank of Loch Shin and of its southern tributary, the Shin.
By the late 18th centaury, the Chiefs of the Siol of Mathan held the lands as a wadset, or redeemable estate, within the earldom. The estate was lost when the Countess of Sutherland, pursuing a consolidation policy, redeemed the wadset in 1809. However, the line of the Chiefs of Sutherland retained an estate at Achany, on the West bank of the Shin, for some years thereafter.