In the early 1900s, Murdo MacLeod left his native village of Keose on the Isle of Lewis for the sheep farms of Patagonia, South America. There, his skill in livestock judging earned him the respect of his employer, Jose Menendez. So deep was that respect, Menendez asked Murdo to include his name in that of his first-born child. True to his word, when Murdo returned home and settled in Ropework Cottage, Stornoway, he and his wife Christina named their son Charles Menendez MacLeod—a name that would go on to become a byword for quality in Scottish black pudding.

Raised near what would become the family business, Charles MacLeod was educated in Achmore and Stornoway before earning a degree in agriculture from Aberdeen University.

After serving in North Africa and Europe during the war, he returned home and, in 1947, founded the butchery that still bears his name in Ropework Park, Stornoway. With his wife Mabel—a nursing sister from Macduff—they raised two sons, Iain and Charles, who would later take over the business.

Charles passed away suddenly in 1967 and was laid to rest on Eilean Chalium Chille (St Columba’s Isle), part of Crobeag Farm in South Lochs, which he had purchased in 1958—a fitting resting place for a man so deeply connected to the land.

Charlie MacLeod, having worked on farms in his youth, returned from wartime service to establish his butcher’s business in Stornoway in 1947—on the very site where the shop still stands today. In 1958, he expanded his connection to the land by purchasing Crobeag Farm, including St. Colm’s Isle, from Roderick MacLeod (Ruaraidh Mòr) of Balallan. The sale included livestock, equipment, and even a new boat valued at £50.

Charlie poured energy and resources into revitalising the land and building up the stock on both sides of the loch. By the early 1960s, he had chartered a coaster to bring lime from Glasgow to enrich the soil—a symbol of his commitment to long-term growth. That spirit of regeneration and investment continues to shape the company’s values to this day.

During the Second World War, Mabel MacCallum, originally from Macduff in Banffshire, came to work as a nurse at Lewis Hospital in Stornoway. It was there she met and married Charles MacLeod, and together they raised two sons, Iain and Charles.

By the late 1950s and early ’60s, Charlie was deeply invested in improving the quality of livestock on St. Colm’s Isle, employing local workers and becoming a respected figure in the community. He held a deep affection for the island—not only for its farming potential but also for its spiritual heritage as an early Christian site. Moved by its legacy, he set aside a consecrated resting place overlooking the Caolas, the narrow stretch of water separating the isle from Crobeag. When he passed away in 1967 at just 52, he was laid to rest there.

Mabel and their sons carried forward his vision. Both boys attended agricultural colleges and returned to take the reins of the business—Iain leading the butchery side, while Charles Jr. managed the farm. During the 1980s Integrated Development Programme, they reinvested in the land, enhancing the farm’s infrastructure and strengthening ties with the local crofting community, all while maintaining the high standards that had become the hallmark of the Charles MacLeod name.

(Excerpt from article donated with kind permission of thePairc Historical Society)

Patagonia, located in the southernmost reaches of Argentina and Chile, is a land of dramatic geography—stretching from the Andes in the southwest to the Atlantic coast in the east, and including the windswept archipelago of Tierra del Fuego. In the late 19th century, sheep farming became the region’s cornerstone industry, introduced by British settlers and rapidly expanded by enterprising Spanish businessmen.

Among them was Jose Menendez, whose sharp business sense saw him collaborate rather than compete with British farmers. Recognising their skill, he recruited many into his own enterprises, offering not just shepherding roles but opportunities to rise through the ranks into management positions in farming, shipping, and trade. Scots and Englishmen, including islanders from Lewis, found success and status in these ventures.

One such islander was Murdo MacLeod of 5 Keose, who earned Menendez’s admiration as a top judge and buyer of livestock. When Murdo announced his return to Lewis to marry, Menendez made a special request—that his name be given to Murdo’s firstborn. True to his word, Murdo and his wife Christina settled in Ropework Cottage, Stornoway, and in 1915 welcomed their son, Charles Menendez MacLeod.

That child would go on to found a legacy of his own. In 1947, after wartime service, Charles opened the butcher’s shop now known across the Hebrides as “Charlie Barley,” a business still proudly run by his sons, Iain and Charles.

“Patagonian sheep-farming owed its origins to British farmers in the Falkland Islands but it was the business acumen of shrewd Spaniards like Menendez and Braun that helped it flourish and spread northwards into Chile and the Argentinian Provinces…”

— Extract from the book “Why Patagonia” with kind permission of the author Greta MacKenzie.