1733

St Mary’s church was burnt. Tradition says this happened when a villager was shooting at a doo (pigeon) on the roof of the church. The heather thatched roof caught fire. The church was re-roofed with slate and continued to be used until 1862 when the new kirk was built

1790s

The population was 100 and the first school had already been established. At this time thousands of cattle were being sold at the Barthol fair each year. The north-south road that for so long had been an important route was now busy as a drovers road with livestock moved in the autumn from the breeding farms in the hills to be fattened in the richer lands on the low ground.