Rattray Silver Arrow

[Tom]

An interesting story I saw on the BBC News Website.

Originally Posted by BBC News

'End in sight' for arrow dispute

A row which broke out over the ownership of a valuable archery trophy has taken a step nearer being resolved.

Residents in Rattray, Perthshire, were angered when a silver arrow which had been in the area for hundreds of years was put up for auction. The local laird had claimed he inherited the 400-year-old arrow. But it was later withdrawn from sale by Lord Robert Mercer-Nairne and a public meeting will now be held to decide who owns the piece, worth up to £68,000. The Rattray community was outraged when it emerged that the arrow was to be auctioned off by Sotheby's with some of the Nairne family silver. It is claimed it was bequeathed to the people of Rattray, while the family remained the custodians of the arrow, which was made in Perth in 1612. Mr Mercer-Nairne, who withdrew the item from sale when the dispute surfaced, has now hinted that the residents may be correct.

"A number of weeks ago I thought I'd inherited a small silver arrow and now I'm pretty sure I've inherited an obligation," he said. "I and the community now have to work out the best way forward."

A document in Perth Museum makes it clear that the arrow belongs to the community, it has been claimed.

'Significant symbol'

But Mr Mercer-Nairne said the document was a copy, adding: "It may very well be a copy of an original, but I don't know if we've seen the original, and it doesn't talk specifically about ownership, it talks about obligations with regard to the arrow." But he said: "What is clear is that the arrow was given to the Rattray community. For 279 years its been in the possession of the Nairne family."

North Tayside MSP John Swinney, who will chair the public meeting on Friday night, said people had been taken by surprise that there was a question mark over the arrow's ownership.

"There certainly is, from what I've seen, a lot of evidence that the arrow is deeply, deeply rooted in the history of Rattray and that it has, as Robert says, been in the custody of this family for a very long time," he said. "Certainly that documents that I've seen demonstrate very clearly to me that the people of Rattray were the original owners."

Mr Swinney, who said he was optimistic of having the situation resolved, added: "For a small communities like Rattray, symbols like this are very significant of their history."