By Margaret RorieÂ
Kelp making was an important industry in Orkney, especially in the North Isles. James Fea of Stronsay was credited with introducing kelp production into Orkney about 1722 (Thomson 2008: 209). Most Orkney kelp went to Newcastle but some went to east coast markets such as the Port Seton Glass Works and chemical works at Bo’ness and Falkirk. Sales were negotiated by a kelp agent who tried to get the best price in a fluctuating market (Thomson 2008: 215).
The process for weighing kelp was complicated and the weights were not standardised. The wey (weigh) and quarters seemed to be the main measurement. In 1803 one wey was equivalent to 2 cwts and 12 weys equalled one kelp ton (Thomson 1983: 68).
However, a kelp ton was not a standard measure and could range from 20 cwt to 25 cwt to account for the proportion of ‘small kelp’ which had more impurities in it (Thomson 2008: 216).
Prices for kelp ranged from £3 to £9 a ton in the eighteenth century and sometimes even higher (Thomson 2008: 217). Different prices were paid depending on the quality of the kelp with round kelp achieving higher prices than ware or small kelp (Thomson 1983: 68).
In common with any commodity, the price of kelp varied according to supply and demand. Prices increased when wars prevented the import of any alternatives to kelp. Lairds made a great deal of money from kelp production as this required little capital outlay and there was a plentiful supply of seaweed on the shores around Orkney. The estates had an available labour force as the tenants were used to carting seaweed for manuring their fields.
Between 1780 and 1830 Orkney produced about 3,000 tons of kelp per year and the usual price paid to the laird was £9 per ton. At this time £2 could buy a good cow. These were boom years for Orkney when over one million pounds came into the islands (Thomson 2008: 217). In 1830 prices fell dramatically once imports became available at the end of the Napoleonic wars and tariffs were removed. Many estates went bankrupt including the Weststove estate in Sanday (Thomson 1983: 49-50). Prices rose again in the mid-nineteenth century with increased demand for kelp to produce iodine (Thomson 1983: 51).
Kelp production in North Ronaldsay
The estate records for North Ronaldsay are very detailed and show that the island was an important kelp producer from the eighteenth century until the 1970s (Tulloch 1995: 115). The Old Statistical Account reported that the island was producing about a hundred tons of kelp annually in 1793 and kelp had been an important commodity for the previous 30 years (OSA: 454). In 1845 North Ronaldsay was still producing 100 tons of kelp per year and drift seaweed (tangles) was now collected (NSA 1845: 112). Production of kelp continued throughout the nineteenth century as Table 1 demonstrates. It appears from the figures below that 21 cwts were accepted as the kelp ton in North Ronaldsay.
| Year | 1835 | 1837 | 1838 | 1840 | 1868 | 1871 | 1875 | 1876 | 1896 |
| Tons | 64 | 98 | 117 | 83 | 167 | 147 7/21 | 93 10/21 | 100 | 125 |
Seaweed was an important resource in North Ronaldsay being used as manure for the fields and as fuel in the absence of any peat. The tenants were accustomed to working with seaweed so kelp production was an extension of the work expected of them.
Although working in the kelp was not popular as it was cold, dirty and hard work, (Thomson 2008: 223) the tenants had no choice as being tenants-at-will the threat of eviction was always present. Whole families worked in the kelp with women playing an important role in this industry while the men were away fishing.
Reverend White criticises the North Ronaldsay women saying: “There is a great want of neatness and cleanliness in the management of household matters’ (NSA: 106-107) as so much of their time is taken up with outdoor work.”
It is interesting that the tenants of North Ronaldsay continued to work in the kelp industry after the Crofters’ Act of 1886 had provided security of tenure. Did the tenants still depend on the income which kelp provided?
When considering the price of kelp it is necessary to consider who is being paid (Thomson 1983:47). In North Ronaldsay there were two different prices paid for kelp – the laird received a payment per ton for the kelp sold while the kelp worker was paid a different price based on the weys of kelp produced. The price of kelp varied depending when it was sold and on the type of seaweed.
In 1837 the price of kelp had fallen to £2 per ton but steadily increased during the century. In 1868, drift weed was sold for £5:10: 0 per ton while cut weed only fetched £2:15: 0 per ton. In 1875 drift weed fetched £7:10:0 per ton and cut weed £3: 5: 0 (D34/E/4/1 and D34/E/10).
Orkney lairds had few expenses in relation to kelp production. There was the cost of shipping the kelp from Orkney to the mainland and payment to the kelp workers and the kelp grieve. The fee to the kelp grieve was related to the amount of kelp produced during the season. Kelp rakes had to be provided and the blacksmith paid for making and repairing the kelp tools. A barrel of tar for burning the kelp is noted in the accounts as costing £1: 3: 0 from Leith in 1835. Kelp was taken to kelp stores to await onward shipping.
Two stores were noted in the estate records at Howar and Bewan (D34/E/10). The old kelp store at Bridesness was destroyed by the sea (Fenton 1978: 66). The Factory Accounts show the cost of shipping the kelp and the destination ports. Most of the North Ronaldsay kelp seemed to have gone to Bo’ness or Whitby. Table 2 provides details of the expenses and profits from kelp in 1866 (D34/E/4/1).
| Kelp payment and transport | £ | s | d |
| Payment for kelp | 715 | 0 | 0 |
| Cost of transporting the kelp | 103 | 19 | 2 |
| Remainder | 611 | 19 | 2 |
| Less expenses (below) | 340 | 18 | 0 |
| Profit to laird | 271 | 1 | 2 |
| Local expenses | £ | s | d |
| 1992 ½ weys @ 3s 4d per wey | |||
| Tenants credited on account of rents of crop 1865 | 332 | 1 | 8 |
| Kelp grieve’s wages | 7 | 13 | 6 |
| Rake | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| Repair of rake | 0 | 11 | 6 |
| Total expenses | 340 | 18 | 0 |
Payment to the tenants
In the first phase of the kelp industry payment to the kelp workers varied depending on the type of seaweed collected. The entry for 1822 shows that 3 shillings were paid for tang kelp, 5 shillings for skerry kelp, 5 shillings for boated redware and 4 shillings for drift ware.
In 1844, tenants were still being paid 4 shillings per wey for drift weed but this had decreased to 3s 4d in 1847 (D34/E/7). The price went up to 4s 6d per wey in 1887 and then to 5 shillings per wey the next year and stayed at 5 shillings until 1902. Figure 3 shows the quantities of each type of ware collected in 1822 and the money paid to some tenants. The measurements are in weys and quarters.
Figure 4 shows the tally marks for the weys and quarters of kelp and the type of kelp collected in 1822. This is the only page in the Receipt Book showing tally marks as these would be recorded by the kelp grieve in a notebook and then transferred to the estate books.
The kelp grieve was responsible for weighing and storing the kelp collected by the tenants but was not responsible for payment. This recording system continued throughout the century as a kelp notebook found in the Kelp Accounts of 1895/96 demonstrates.
The Receipt Book of 1825 shows the note written by the factor at the top of the page which says: “State of kelp making in North Ronaldsay 1825 showing the total cost of making – the proportion thereof paid for in cash by the factor at Lammas 1825 and the bal [balance] credited to account crop 1825.”
This note was written at the top of each page in the Receipt Book relating to the production of kelp.
This page also shows the prices paid for different types of kelp and how some tenants were paid in cash at this time. For example Magnus Swanney from Ourland received 18 shillings in cash and had £2: 0: 6 credited to his account. By 1832 very little cash is paid to the tenants. The situation was very different at the end of the eighteenth century when Reverend Clouston writes that the people were coming to kirk ‘in dress of foreign manufactures’ which they had bought with their kelp money (OSA c1795: 491).
Payment for kelp formed an important part of the tenants’ rents. The New Statistical Account of 1845 states that as much as one third of the rental comes from kelp (NSA 1845: 111). The evidence from the estate books suggests that the kelp payments could amount to between 50% – 60% of the rent.
The payments varied according to how much kelp was produced each year which perhaps depended on the number of people able to work in the kelp and the availability of the seaweed. As late as 1872, 85% of the crofts on the island were still involved in the kelp industry (D34/E/8 Rent Ledger).
This dependence on kelp caused some difficulties for the tenants. They were tied to the system and had to sell the kelp to the laird at a price fixed by him. The estate acted as a bank and the estate accounts show few years when the tenants received any payments either for crop or kelp produced.
There was little employment available on the island and the crofts were too small to enable tenants to pay the rent without the additional income provided by the kelp. Kelp payments were variable and could not be guaranteed. However, this income did help the tenants survive periods of poor harvests as they could purchase grain on credit so did not need to use their valuable seed grain (Thomson 1983: 103).
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Orkney Library and Archive (OLA):
- D34/E/5 Rent ledger 1798-1801
- D34E/1/4/6 Rental of N Ronaldsay 1815 – 1819
- D34/E/10 Receipt book 1820-1845
- D34/E/6 Rent ledger 1833-1845
- D34/E/7 Rent ledger 1849-1872
- D34/E/8 Rent ledger 1872-1876
- D34/E/11 Kelp accounts 1876-1902
- D34/E/4/1 Factory accounts for the Woodwick estate
Published Sources
- Fenton, Alexander. 1978. The Northern Isles: Orkney and Shetland. John Donald Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh.
- Thomson, William P.L. 1983. Kelp-making in Orkney. The Orkney Press, Stromness.
- Thomson, William, P. L. 2008. Orkney Land and People. The Orcadian Limited (Kirkwall Press), Kirkwall.
- Tulloch, Peter, A. 1995 A Window on North Ronaldsay (Second Edition). The Kirkwall Press, Kirkwall.