Township (Scotland)

In northern and western areas of Scotland, many people live in small crofting townships such as here on the Isle of Skye.

In Scotland a crofting township is a group of agricultural smallholdings (each with its own few hectares of pasture and arable land (in-bye land)) holding in common a substantial tract of unimproved upland grazing. Like older Scottish landmeasurements, such as the davoch, quarterland and oxgang, the extent of a township often varies according to the quality of the land it is on, and this can range from a hundred to a few thousand hectares.

In reference to the history of Scotland, a township is often called a toun (the Lowland Scots word for a township), though before the coming of Scots (Inglis) the words baile was the most common.

Each Crofting Township comprises a formal legal unit.

There is often a substantial tract of unimproved upland common grazing - known as a "shieling" or "àirigh" which is held in common. This tends to be used in the summer, but with the advent of fertilisers it is often used in colder times as well.

See also

• Townland
• Quarterland
• Davoch
• Half-foot