Oban and the law

In the mid-late 1800s, the law was beginning to establish itself in Oban. Defendants accused of serious crimes were sent to Inveraray, which involved a long and costly journey, however minor crimes were dealt with in Oban. The growing population naturally meant a rise in criminal activity, though some of the crimes recorded from this era seem bizarre today.

There is the example of the case of a man fined one shilling for stealing manure from the park of Malcolm MacLaurin. Punishment was also in the spirit of the age. To summarise minutes from Oban Burgh Criminal Court on 18 November 1826, there is the case of Mary MacDonald. Mary, along with several other accused, who appeared on trial for the theft of towels, tumblers, knives and forks from the inn of Alexander Menzies and for selling them at an undervalue in return for spirits and cash. Two of the co-accused were found 'not guilty' and the court apologised to them. The other defenders, who were guilty by their own judicial declarations, were each fined £1. The court appointed Mary MacDonald to be put in the stocks for two hours that very afternoon, from one until three o'clock. It must have been a bitterly cold experience to be kept in the stocks on a wintry day.

The stocks were installed in Argyll Square in the early 1820s, at a cost of £1.12s. This was a very public humiliation in a town where everybody knew not only your name but also all your relatives, friends and associates. It is said that the stocks were pinched by young louts in the 1850s, taken up the Druimvargie Rock and tossed into a local doctor's back garden. No doubt the law was able to think up a suitable punishment for these young gentlemen, were they ever caught.

More information on visiting the area can be found here.