The Tinkers’ Heart (2) – Some Background* and How it Looks Now
In 1928 the nearby road was resurfaced by workmen from the local council, who covered the Heart. Both Tinkers and local landowners objected to this action and Lady George Campbell insisted that the tar be removed from the site. Not only was the Heart restored, this episode showed the importance of the Heart to both a distinct Scottish cultural group and to the local gentry. By protecting this site, Lady Campbell showed her appreciation of the diverse cultures within the Scotland of her time and her appreciation of the people farmers relied on as seasonal agricultural workers. She understood that the land and its entire people are intertwined: the land shapes the people as much as people shape the land.
The layout of the road was changed in the 1970s and the main road was realigned, leaving the Heart in a field instead of at the junction of the roads. The RCHAMS record of the site clearly documents that it was the road that was moved to the east, whilst the Tinkers’ Heart remained in its original position: http://tinyurl.com/ovzkk9z .
How long the Heart has been in Argyll is not known for certain but stories of Caird men (Tinkers from the area) who fought and did not return from the Battle of Culloden of 1745, were remembered by their kinsfolk, in way of the ancient practice of laying a quartz stone for each one lost, culminating in the heart shape and its significance both to the area and the culture. The same understanding of the Tinkers’ Heart as a place of memory to honour those who travelled away to war and never came back is still extant in tales told of those who went to war in the 20th c and never came home again.
The Heart is more protected now than when the photo posted earlier of Jess at the site was taken. The new fencing goes some way to preventing the Heart being trampled on by cattle. If Jess is successful in her campaign to have this monument listed, other protective measures can be put in place. The Tinkers’ Heart is not a huge site in physical terms, but in terms of love, of memory and of sacred significance, it is a site of enormous proportions and cultural, historical and religious significance.
“We only ask for our thumb print on the earth; our Tinkers’ Heart. We owe it to the sacrifices made by our ancestors.” ~ Jess Smith.
*The background information in this blog post has been taken from the petition Jess is working on.
