The papers shed light on Sellar’s views of the people who carved out a living on highland estates
The name of Patrick Sellar echoes down from the early 19th century into the present day as one of Scotland’s worst villains (see our article on page 16). Architect and executor of some of the worst examples of the highland clearances, heartless moderniser and the man who escaped a capital sentence when tried for culpable homicide in 1816 on a technicality, Sellar will always be guilty in the eyes of posterity.