Duncan Davidson of Tulloch and the History of Inchbae

Inchbae’s history reaches beyond the lodge beside the River Blackwater to a family whose influence extended across the Highlands. Among its most important figures was Duncan Davidson of Tulloch, who lived from 1800 to 1881. The fourth Davidson laird of Tulloch, he is a strong candidate for the laird remembered in connection with Inchbae. His association with the estate is documented, although the question of who commissioned the lodge remains open. [1, 2]

Davidson belonged to a succession of landowners based at Tulloch Castle near Dingwall. His father was Henry Davidson, the third Davidson laird; another Duncan Davidson, his grandfather, had held the estate before him. These repeated family names matter when reading old accounts: a reference to Duncan Davidson does not always identify the man born in 1800. The younger Duncan inherited Tulloch and combined the responsibilities of a landowner with a public career. A nineteenth-century account records his service in the Grenadier Guards, his time in Parliament and his later position as Lord Lieutenant of Ross-shire. [1, 3]

An 1820 portrait shows Davidson aged 20, wearing blue tartan. View the portrait on the Clan Davidson Association website.

A more personal portrait survives through his daughter, the novelist known as the Honourable Mrs Henry Chetwynd. In Helen C. Black’s 1893 book Notable Women Authors of the Day, she recalled a childhood governed by demanding lessons and plentiful outdoor exercise. Latin and mathematics formed part of the girls’ education, alongside history and geography. Summer lessons began at six in the morning, with breakfast following the sound of the family piper at eight. Her recollections of long walks and rides suggest a household in which learning and physical stamina were both valued. This is an affectionate family account, offering a particular view of the laird rather than a complete assessment of his conduct as a landlord. [3]

Black’s account explicitly includes Inchbae’s deer forest among Davidson’s inherited properties. Further evidence appears in Catherine Dagg’s 2007 archaeological report. Drawing on census records, Dagg describes an agricultural labourer’s household at Inchbae in 1841 and the presence of gamekeeper Alexander Ross by 1851. The change points towards the growing importance of sporting activities. Dagg suggests that two unoccupied houses recorded in 1851 had recently been built and are the present farmhouse and lodge. [2, 3]

These clues support describing Inchbae as a mid-nineteenth-century sporting lodge associated with the Davidson estate of Tulloch. They do not establish an exact construction date or prove that Duncan Davidson personally ordered it built. Dagg’s interpretation is a reasoned reconstruction from surviving records; the distinction between ownership and commissioning should remain clear. [2]

The family’s history also belongs to a wider and more difficult story. Historian David Alston traces earlier Davidson generations’ involvement in the West Indian sugar trade and records that Duncan’s brothers Henry and William retained plantation interests and received compensation following emancipation. The Tulloch family’s Highland position therefore needs to be understood alongside its connections to Caribbean slavery. This context adds a necessary dimension to the affectionate domestic memories preserved by Davidson’s daughter. [4]

For visitors interested in Inchbae, Davidson provides a link between the local landscape and the world of Highland estates. The gamekeeper recorded there, the deer forest remembered by his daughter and the lodge’s likely sporting origins bring that history into focus. Together, they offer a firmer foundation for telling Inchbae’s story, while leaving room for further discoveries about the building itself. [2, 3]

Sources

1. Clan Davidson Association, Davidson of Tulloch family tree. Records Duncan Davidson 1800–1881 as the fourth Davidson laird. Read source

2. Catherine Dagg, Proposed Development at Inchbae Lodge Archaeological Evaluation, 2007, historical background, printed pages 3–4. Highland Council Historic Environment Record. Read source

3. Helen C. Black, Notable Women Authors of the Day, 1893, chapter on the Honourable Mrs Henry Chetwynd, pages 250–252. Public-domain text via Project Gutenberg. Read source

4. David Alston, Slaves and Highlanders, Davidson Graham and Barkly. Read source