Hall of Clestrain, Orkney
THE A-listed Hall of Clestrain built in the parish of Orphir in 1769, too, has all but perished in public memory.
As a long deserted Laird’s “big house,” its weathered stonework still retains a faded grandeur and a clater of pigeons occasionally roost inside despite the valiant efforts of the John Rae Society to “bird proof” it.
Sometimes, though, Orkney shines on Clestrain. When the sun is in the right quarter its rays stream through the windows, from back to front, giving the eerie impression that the hall is lit from within and that someone is in residence.
Perhaps, one day it will be reborn as a museum, if the John Rae Society has its way.
Since being founded a couple of years ago, the society has embarked on the long and laborious task of restoring both the hall and just as importantly gaining worldwide recognition for arguably the greatest Arctic explorer of the 19th
century.
Over a period of four years in the 1840s Rae, who travelled from Orkney to Canada to work for the Hudson’s Bay Company, led four major expeditions, covering some 23,000 miles. Along the way he mapped huge tracts of uncharted territory.
Yet, for all his achievements, Rae was airbrushed out of history. His discoveries were credited to others. He was ostracised by London
26 May 2015
society, viewed with grave suspicion by the Admiralty and savagely atacked by Charles Dickens, then the most popular essayist and writer in Britain.
Rae’s “crime” was to tell the truth about the lost Sir John Franklin expedition which had also been searching – hundreds of miles away - for the North West Passage and had vanished without trace.
The hunt to discover the fate of the stolid, unimaginative Sir John Franklin and his 128 companions was a national obsession.
Rae scandalised the nation by being the first western explorer to reveal that men from the starving Franklin
Rae’s “crime” was to tell the truth about the lost Sir John Franklin expedition which had also been searching – hundreds of miles away - for the North West Passage and had vanished without trace.
John Rae, by J. Scot 1858
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