| Description | Novar Estate, 1761-1967 including Correspondence, 1891-1948; Financial records, 1785-1921; Leases, Let Agreements, 1855-1921; Papers relating to rentals , 1761-1891; Legal and other documents - estate administration, 1786-1917; Papers re management of the estate, 1863-1887; Miscellaneous papers, 1785-1967; Culrain Estate, 1810-1868; Novar marches, 1806-1866
Novar Forests records, 1882-1955 including Forester's Letter Books, 1894-1911; Financial records, 1882-1955; Other records, 1899-1913
Novar House, 1770-1919 including Butler's records, 1770-1791; Inventories, 1777-1917; Note of wines sent from Novar to Drummond by Mrs Mackay (Housekeeper) to Mrs Monro , 1777-1781; Novar House Auxiliary Hospital correspondence, 1917-1918; Novar House Hotel, n.d.; List of Damages in Novar House During the Tenancy of Mr (Leslie) Urquhart, 1919; Photographs of Novar House, n.d.; Letters re lease of Novar house, 1822; Estimate of Mason work at Novar, 1791
Findhorn and Muirtown holdings, Novar Estates, 1575-1948
Drummond Farm papers, 1770-1798
Gordon of Culgour Executry, c.1673-c.1782
Raith Estate, 1882-1949 including Correspondence, 1903-1911; Financial Records, 1882-1949; Raith Woods, 1935-1946
Papers re other lands - holdings outwith Novar, Muirtown & Findhorn and Drummond, c.1673-1890 including Lands of Lealty (Parish of Alness), 1795-1864; Alness, 1862-1864; Kildermorie Forest, 1873-1890; Abstract of return of Judicial Rental of lands of Rarichies, Shandwick, Ankerville… belonging to Lord Ankerville; Inventory of the Title Deeds of the Superiority of the lands of Ankerville in favour of Sir Hector Munro, 1786-1811; Kiltearn: papers re parish teind and stipend, 1809-1844; Kincardine: papers re stipend, 1809-1831; Parish of Dornoch: statement of Surplus Teinds, 1874; Parish of Kinloss, 1808-1867; Teaninich, 1787-1865; Documents relating to a case involving Adam Gordon and others, John Ross and Alex Donaldson seemingly relating to lands in the Aberdeen area, c.1673-c.1690; Lands of Culcairn and Contullich, 1770; Dispositions, 1820-1827; Roup roll of the Grass Inclosures of Lonekyle, 1805; Fowlis Estate, 1845
Papers of Sir Hector Munro, 1745-1829 including Correspondence, 1761-1799; Accounts paid, 1768-1800; Miscellaneous papers, 1766-c.1791; Papers relating to settlement of Sir Hector's affairs after his death , 1805-1829; Copy of correspondence between Duncan Forbes and Lord Lovat, 1745; Will of Sir Hector Munro, 1806-1810; Genealogy of Sir Hector Munro, n.d.
Papers of other members of the Munro family, 1736-1822
Robert Ferguson of Raith, 1791-1820
Hugh Andrew Johnston Munro of Novar, 1817-1864
Robert Munro Ferguson, 1864
Ronald Crawford Munro Ferguson, Viscount Novar of Raith, c.1885-1922
Helen Munro Ferguson, c.1914
Robert Munro Ferguson, 1898
Helen Mackenzie Ross, 1861-1863
Alexander Munro, 1806-1810
Sir Hector Munro - Indian records, 1760-1783
Papers of unknown or uncertain provenance, 17th century-c.1898 |
| Administrative History | Novar is an estate in Alness, Ross and Cromarty-shire, north east of Dingwall. Andrew Munro (fl. 1616- 1633), was the second son of John Mor Munro (fl. 1599) of Pittonachy, now Rosehaugh. He was the first of the Munro family of Novar. He died c.1633. His heir and successor was Robert Munro (d. c.1649), his eldest son. Robert Munro, second of Novar, married Ellen, daughter of George Munro, second of Tarlogie and was succeeded by his eldest son George. George Munro (fl.1650), third of Novar was succeeded by his eldest son of his first marriage to Isabel, daughter of Neil Munro, second of Findon. Hector Munro (fl.1701), fourth of Novar, was an elder in the Parish Church of Alness. He married Agnes, daughter of Hugh Munro, fourth of Teaninich, and was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, John. John Munro (d. 1734), fifth of Novar, was also elder in the Parish Church of Alness like his father. He married Anna, daughter of George Brodie, third of Brodie, and was succeeded by his only son, George. George Munro, sixth of Novar, became an ensign in Loudon's Highlanders and died unmarried at the age of 63. He was succeeded by his uncle, Hugh Munro (d. c.1760), seventh of Novar, second son of Hector Munro (fl. 1701), fourth of Novar. Hugh Munro, seventh of Novar, was a merchant and married Isabella, daughter of Sir Robert Gordon of Embo. He died c.1760 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Hector. General Sir Hector Munro of Novar (1727-1806) entered the army and was appointed Major in 1759, Lieutenant-Colonel in 1764, Major-General in 1774 and was knighted Sir Hector Munro in 1778. He returned to Scotland in 1782 following service in India and was appointed Colonel of the 42nd Highlanders, Black Watch in 1789. In 1793 he was made a Lieutenant-General and shortly afterwards a K.B. In 1798 he retired from the army as General. He was member of Parliament for Inverness from 1768 to 1802 and from 1767 to 1776 Provost of Fortrose. During his proprietorship General Sir Hector Munro greatly improved the estate of Novar. He died in 1806, unmarried with three natural children. He was succeeded by his brother, Sir Alexander Munro, ninth of Novar. Sir Alexander Munro was Consul-General at Madrid and subsequently a Commissioner of Customs in England for which he was rewarded with a knighthood. He was succeeded by his only son, Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro (d. 1868), tenth of Novar. He died unmarried in 1868 and was succeeded in the estate of Novar by his cousin Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Munro-Ferguson of Raith, Fife (1802-1868), eleventh of Novar. He was elected MP for Kirkcaldy in 1841 until 1861 and commanded the 79th Cameron Highlanders for a time. He married Emma, daughter of James Henry Mandeville of Merton, Surrey, in 1859, and died in 1868. He was succeeded by his eldest son Ronald. Ronald Crawford Munro-Ferguson (b. 1860), of Raith and Novar, joined the Fife Light Horse Volunteers and subsequently became an officer in the Fifeshire Artillery Volunteers. He served with the Grenadier Guards from 1879-1884. In 1884 he became member of parliament for Ross-shire. In 1886 he was Private Secretary to the Earl of Rosebery at the Foreign Office and became member of parliament for Leith. He married Lady Helen Hermione Blackwood, eldest daughter of the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava in 1889.
A significant proportion of the papers were created by Estate Factors or their predecessors, between c.1730 and the mid-20th century. The collection also includes many legal documents (some with 16th and 17th century dates) and solicitors' correspondence. There are also collections of personal papers (not directly related to the running of the estates) for several members of the family, most notably Sir Hector Munro (1727-1805) among which are letters to him in his role as Member of Parliament for Inverness District of Burghs (1768-1802). In addition, a small collection of 'Indian papers' derives from Sir Hector's distinguished army service there between 1760 and 1782.
Probably the greater part of the collection relates to Novar Estate, Novar House and Forests; other papers relate to Findhorn and Muirtown, Culcairn, Culrain and Raith Estates, and Drummond Farm - either or both their acquisition by Sir Hector Munro, and their subsequent management. A separate summary of the 16th and 17th century papers relating to Findhorn and Muirtown, and to Raith, follows.
In general the papers were found in a disordered state, apart from the Factor's accounts; many had evidently been bundled together for convenience rather than a semblance of an original order, and many groups are clearly incomplete. A scheme of arrangement was devised for their listing and with access for possible future research in mind. Broadly, Estate records (prefixed by the letters A to H) were separated from personal papers (letters I to S); within these groups, several categories or subject groups were defined.
Probably the greater part of the collection is in good condition, particularly most of the 16th and 17th century documents and many of the Factors' records, probably undisturbed for 200 years and more. Some 19th and early 20th century volumes have been affected by damp and decay to varying degrees.
The collection is of particular importance for information about:
. Very specific events in 18th century India
. Management of Novar Estate - work by individual tradesmen and by tenants, produce from the farms, improvements carried out
. Early legal history of Raith, Muirtown and Findhorn Estates
. Establishment of forestry at Novar
. A rare first-hand account of an attempted clearance on the Culrain estate
. 18th and 19th century legal processes relating to inheritance and land ownership
. Local reaction to the 1832 Reform Act Scotland; the subsequent election |