The Downright Gabbler

And that brings us back to where we started, outside the Downright Gabbler.

This block housed the post office, now the Highland Hospice shop, as well as the chemist. We have seen photos of these buildings dating back over 100 years and in them you can see the traditional apothecary sign of a pestle and mortar that still hangs there today. The building that houses the Gabbler and our neighbours Morrisons, a fantastic traditional ironmongers, was originally a coaching inn, dating back to the 1820s. Now converted to an attractive house the old stables and space to keep carriages etc. that served the inn sit behind the Gabbler. We are told that the blacksmiths were located just behind them but that has been demolished and replaced by more modern housing. The original owner of the ironmonger split the property into two, creating a private house where the Gabbler is, and used the property next door for his business. When the family of the present owner took over they sold the house as a small hotel. We took it over in 2019.

People are curious about the name. We tell stories about Scotland's history through food and drink. During what is known as the Enlightenment, Scotland played a central role in this flourishing of intellectual and scientific advancements. Many Scots were central characters in this movement including David Hume and Adam Smith. But all of the well known figures from this period were men. Where were the women? And then we found the "Downright Gabbler". 

Frances Wright was born in 1795 to a wealthy family in Dundee but was orphaned at a young age. Through a friend of her late father she gained regular access to the library at Glasgow University, rare for a woman. She had a fierce intellect and was a passionate advocate of equality. Fascinated by America and the ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, she decided she had to visit this new country.

In the company of the French General Lafayette who was a hero of the war of independence she met with three of the four first US presidents, Adams, Jefferson and Maddison. According to the records in Monticello, Jefferson's home, she had many debates with him about the need to end slavery. She ran a series of public lectures across the USA, unheard of behaviour for a woman. She argued that to live up to the ideals of the founding fathers they must have universal suffrage, free education for all children and improved conditions for workers. This did not endear her to many of the rich and powerful men of the day who organised noisy protests at some of her meetings where they would disrupt proceedings by loudly hissing. This led one newspaper to portray her with the head of a goose, captioned the "Downwright Gabbler, or a goose who deserves to be hissed". The cartoon is held in the Library of Congress in Washington DC.

A feisty and intelligent woman with immense courage, we can't help but feel if Frances Wright had been a man we would all have learned about her at school. We're delighted to do our wee bit to correct the omission.