JEAN GORDON AND THE 16TH-CENTURY SALTMAKING INDUSTRY OF SUTHERLAND

‘ONCE UPON A TIME A RICH MAN HAD THREE DAUGHTERS AND ASKED EACH ONE HOW MUCH THEY LOVED HIM. THE FIRST SAID, AS MUCH AS LIFE; THE SECOND, AS MUCH AS THE WORLD; THE THIRD, AS MUCH AS MEAT NEEDS SALT…’
THE FAIRYTALE OF CAP O’RUSHES

ean Gordon is best remembered in Scottish history for being the first wife of the notorious earl of Bothwell: Jean divorced her husband so that Bothwell could marry Mary Queen of Scots, a disastrous marriage that contributed greatly to Mary’s downfall. However, there is much more to Jean’s story – including her perhaps surprising involvement as a woman in charge of the development and management of the salt industry and associated coal mining in the highlands, at a time when many people considered the far north of Scotland to be an underdeveloped, rural backwater. The history of salt and salt-making in Scotland, although it first seems to be a niche subject, is actually hugely important in its economic and cultural significance – an industry that is not only undergoing a historical reassessment, but also a modern-day revival.