Auchindrain Ferm Toun

In The Claudians it is assumed that the Somers family lived in a ferm toun.  Grandfather Somers is known to have taken part in the Cambuslang Wark (Awakening). His daughters were born there, as were his grandchildren: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan.

Auchindrain, in the Highlands, is sometimes described as a clachan and sometimes as a ferm toun. The surviving buildings are characteristic of both. Clachans were small rural hamlet, typically found in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Often the houses were close together but had a loose and unplanned layout. They were typically inhabited by crofting communities, where each family working a small plot of land called a croft. Ferm touns (farm towns) tended to be largerand slightly more organized. The buildings usually had a planned layout of buildings and agricultural areas, often around a central courtyard or group of barns. With Lowland Scotland having undergone rapid development between 1750 and 1850 there are few surviving buildings which show their historic architectural character. In Highland Scotland many ruins survive, because large areas were depopulated, but few have walls and very few have roofs. Auchindrain is an exception and appears to have buildings which indicate the character of buildings in both highland and lowland areas. In 1776 the Duke of Argyll reacquired the township and in 1875, it was visited by Queen Victoria as an example of a 'primitive' Scottish settlement.