Writings
Everything under one roof. all the posts combined.
Scottish Antiques and Collectables. Seal.
Pubs in Scotland. O’Neill’s
Nestled in the heart of Aberdeen, O’Neill’s is the bustling boozer that’s coming out on top. Whether you fancy a casual beer and a burger, lively evening watching the sports fixtures or night on the tiles dancing to live music, they’ve got you covered.
If you’re looking for a pub open late in Aberdeen, it’s time you walk through the doors of O’Neill’s. They’re famous for their live music every Thursday to Sunday until late, and they have a 3am licence so you can get your dancing shoes on for a night to remember.
Take a seat in their buzzing main bar or upstairs for all the sporting action across Sky, BT, and Premier sports, or book their private function room for those special occasions that need to be celebrated together (they can fit up to 100 people).
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Scotland and its History. Edinburgh 4.
Kings-Queens of Scotland David I.
David I of Scotland (1084 – May 24, 1153) was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland.
David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Modern: Daibhidh I mac [Mhaoil] Chaluim; c. 1084 – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex, David spent most of his childhood in Scotland, but was exiled to England temporarily in 1093. Perhaps after 1100, he became a dependent at the court of King Henry I. There he was influenced by the Anglo-French culture of the court.
When David’s brother Alexander I died in 1124, David chose, with the backing of Henry I, to take the Kingdom of Scotland (Alba) for himself. He was forced to engage in warfare against his rival and nephew, Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair. Subduing the latter seems to have taken David ten years, a struggle that involved the destruction of Óengus, Mormaer of Moray. David’s victory allowed expansion of control over more distant regions theoretically part of his Kingdom. After the death of his former patron Henry I, David supported the claims of Henry’s daughter and his own niece, Empress Matilda, to the throne of England. In the process, he came into conflict with King Stephen and was able to expand his power in northern England, despite his defeat at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. David I is a saint of the Catholic Church, with his feast day celebrated on 24 May.
The term “Davidian Revolution” is used by many scholars to summarise the changes that took place in Scotland during his reign. These included his foundation of burghs and regional markets, implementation of the ideals of Gregorian Reform, foundation of monasteries, Normanisation of the Scottish government, and the introduction of feudalism through immigrant French, Anglo-French, and Flemish knights.
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Scottish Architecture. Culter House.
Culter House (St. Margaret’s School for Girls Boarding House).
Main Block: S.E. part c. 1640/70, 3-storey with end tower
projections, 4-window centre with central moulded doorway and
corbelled centre chimney with Cumin coat of arms triple
shafted at top; c.1730 3-storey and basement 9-window front
with architraved central doorpiece added to N.W. doubling
width of house. Symmetrical N. & S. wings of good design
added 1910 W. Dalton Ironside (Walker and Duncan). Fire
damaged 1910, interior reinstated with principal rooms
faithfully reproduced incorporating parts of original (but
with woodwork varnished), Dr. Wm. Kelly. Harled throughout,
original part steeply battered, slighter batter in later
work. Principal interior 2nd floor ballroom, R-doric
pilasters coved ceiling with painting of Aurora after Guido
Reni (by Allan Sutherland, replacing original lost in fire).
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Scotland and Its History. (Crime)
The Square Mile Of Murder
Scotland.
In 1961, Scottish author Jack House wrote The Square Mile of Murder. It covered four of Glasgow’s most infamous crimes which took place in the same square mile area over a period of 50 years between 1857 and 1908.
First was the case of Madeleine Smith. She was a socialite who was accused of poisoning her lover in 1857. Although most scholars who studied the murder believe that Madeleine was guilty, the jury at her trial gave a verdict of “not proven,” meaning she was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
Afterward came the Sandyford murder of 1862. Servant Jessie McLachlan was convicted of killing another housemaid named Jessie McPherson. However, a separate commission investigated the evidence in the trial and commuted her sentence from hanging to life imprisonment.
In 1865, Dr. Edward William Pritchard was executed for the murders of his wife and mother-in-law. He was also suspected of having killed a servant girl a few years earlier. The last and certainly the most famous crime occurred in 1908 when 83-year-old Marion Gilchrist was killed during an attempted robbery. German Jew Oscar Slater was convicted in what was arguably the country’s most notorious miscarriage of justice.
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Scotland and its History. Edinburgh 6.
Austrian rock group Milestones pictured together on Princes Street prior to competing to finishing in 5th place with the song ‘Falter im Wind’ in the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest in Edinburgh, Scotland on 25th March 1972. (Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Scottish Bands-Music. The Killdares.
Scottish Towns-Cities. Erskine.
Erskine (/ˈɜːrskɪn/ Scots: Erskin, Scottish Gaelic: Arasgain) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the lowest crossing to the north bank of the river at the Erskine Bridge, connecting the town to Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Erskine is a commuter town at the western extent of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, bordering Bishopton to the west and Renfrew, Inchinnan, Paisley and Glasgow Airport to the south. Originally a small village settlement, the town has expanded since the 1960s as the site of development as an overspill town, boosting the population to over 15,000. In 2014, it was rated one of the most attractive postcode areas to live in Scotland.
History.
Archaeological evidence states that agricultural activity took place within the area as far back as 3000 BC and it has been inhabited by humans since 1000 BC. The first recorded mention of Erskine is at the confirmation of the church of Erskine in 1207 by Florentius, Bishop of Glasgow. The land around the town was first part of the estate of Henry de Erskine in the 13th century. Sir John Hamilton of Orbiston held the estate in the 17th century until 1703 when it was acquired by the Lords Blantyre. By 1782 there were twelve houses and a church in Erskine. A new church was then built which is still in use today. An influx of workmen moved to the area during 1836-41 due to the construction of the Inverclyde railway line. In 1900 it passed into the ownership of William Arthur Baird, who inherited it from his grandfather, Charles Stuart, 12th Lord Blantyre.
In the late 18th century, the town of Erskine was a hamlet. During this time, stone quays were constructed to support the Erskine Ferry to Old Kilpatrick and Dunbartonshire. This replaced the river ford which had been in place since medieval times. In light of increased industry and infrastructure in the surrounding area, it gradually became a village in the following century. The small church community grew to having 3,000 residents in 1961, when Renfrewshire County Council unveiled its “New Community” plan for the town’s development which involved the Scottish Special Housing Association.
The development began in 1971 with the building of both privately owned and rented accommodation which boosted the town’s population by around 10,000. Having established itself as a thriving commuter town, the 1990s saw the building of larger and more expensive housing, aimed at more affluent property buyers. Due to apprehension about further expansion of the town, several proposals for further large housing developments have been rejected. This is largely because the town has only one secondary school.
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Infamous Scots. Geordie Bourne.
Geordie Bourne (or Burn) (died 1597) was a well-known thief or raider in the English East Marches land that bordered the Kingdom of Scotland.
He and his band of men were attacked by a patrol led by Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth Lord Warden of the Marches (1596–98). During the assault Bourne’s uncle was killed and Geordie was beaten into surrender. After his arrest he was found guilty of March Treason and sentenced to death. Many in the garrison were deeply concerned about executing the prisoner because it seemed to be common knowledge that the convict was a personal friend of the Scottish Middle March Warden Robert Ker of Cessford. The condemned man was given a 24-hour reprieve and riders were sent to Cessford to invite his intervention. There was no response.
Meanwhile, Robert Carey, masquerading as a member of his own garrison, interviewed Bourne in his cell. According to Carey’s ‘Memoirs’, Geordie Bourne confessed that
“he had lain with above forty men’s wives, what in England, what in Scotland; and that he had killed seven Englishmen with his own hands, cruelly murdering them: that he had spent his whole time in whoring, drinking, stealing, and taking deep revenge for slight offences”.
He spent his final hours repenting to a preacher, Mr Selby, and was executed the next morning.
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Famous Scots. Arthur Anderson.
Arthur Anderson (1792, Shetland – 27 February 1868, London) was a Scottish businessman and Whig politician. He was co-founder of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).
Career.
He was born at Böd of Gremista, in Lerwick, and as a boy worked on the beach preparing fish. The Crown attempted to press gang Anderson but Bressay man Thomas Bolt persuaded the Royal Navy to wait until he had finished his apprenticeship before his impressment in 1808. Anderson was discharged 10 years later in Plymouth. Like many Shetland men, he was left destitute 600 miles from home after his service to King and country during the Napoleonic wars. Anderson moved to London and eventually became a clerk in the London shipping and insurance firm of Brodie McGhie Willcox where he became a partner in 1822 and the firm was renamed Wilcox and Anderson. They developed the shipping business between Britain and the Iberian peninsula, at one stage shipping guns and the British Legion to fight Portuguese conservatives and Spanish Carlists during their internal wars of the 1830s.
They followed this with a regular steamship service in 1830, called the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company, which became in 1837 the Peninsular and Orient (P&O). Despite cash crises, it expanded operations to Egypt (1840), India (1842), Hong Kong (1845) and Australia (1852), supported by government mail contracts. Anderson had a thrusting entrepreneurial character and by his death in 1868 P&O had the largest commercial fleet of steamships in the world.
He moved to Streatham, London,[8] and was Chairman of P&O from 1854 until his death. Other chairs included the coal transport company the Union Steam Ship Company (which he created in 1853 to supply his P&O line ships with fuel) and the Crystal Palace Co.
He served as a radical Whig MP for the Orkney and Shetland constituency from 1847 to 1852.
He also founded the Shetland Journal (1835), the Shetland Fishery Company at Vaila, and encouraged fish exports to Spain and business between Shetland and the UK mainland. After Queen Victoria‘s coronation in 1838, Anderson gave her some Shetland lace articles. The queen subsequently bought twelve pairs of lace stockings which led to a significant increase in sales of Shetland lace.
He endowed Lower Norwood Working Men’s Institute, the Anderson Educational Institute in 1862 (later known as the Anderson High School) and a home for the widows of fishermen in Shetland.
He was buried at West Norwood Cemetery, with a memorial at Lerwick Old Cemetery.
His nephew James Anderson, who worked in P&O, was married to the medical pioneer Elizabeth Garrett Anderson.
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Scotland and its History. Edinburgh 3.
The Broons.(Charity)
OOR WULLIE. (Trick or Treat)
Public Poetry.(Rabindranath Tagore)
Babys Way.
If baby only wanted to, he could fly up to heaven this moment.
It is not for nothing that he does not leave us.
He loves to rest his head on mother’s bosom, and cannot ever bear to lose sight of her.
Baby know all manner of wise words, though few on earth can understand their meaning.
It is not for nothing that he never wants to speak.
The one thing he wants is to learn mother’s words from mother’s lips.
That is why he looks so innocent.
Baby had a heap of gold and pearls, yet he came like a beggar on to this earth.
It is not for nothing he came in such a disguise.
This dear little naked mendicant pretends to be utterly helpless, so that he may beg for mother’s wealth of love.
Baby was so free from every tie in the land of the tiny crescent moon.
It was not for nothing he gave up his freedom.
He knows that there is room for endless joy in mother’s little corner of a heart, and it is sweeter far than liberty to be caught and pressed in her dear arms.
Baby never knew how to cry.
He dwelt in the land of perfect bliss.
It is not for nothing he has chosen to shed tears.
Though with the smile of his dear face he draws mother’s yearning heart to him, yet his little cries over tiny troubles weave the double bond of pity and love.
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Famous Scots.(Robert Anderson).
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, FRSE RSA (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his main work was small churches in the ‘First Pointed’ (or Early English) style that is characteristic of Scott’s former assistants. By 1880 his practice was designing some of the most prestigious public and private buildings in Scotland.
His works include the Scottish National Portrait Gallery; the Dome of Old College, Medical Faculty and McEwan Hall, the University of Edinburgh; Govan Old Parish Church and the Pearce Institute; the Central Hotel at Glasgow Central Station, the Catholic Apostolic Church in Edinburgh and Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute for the 3rd Marquess of Bute.
Early life.
Anderson was born at Liberton, outside Edinburgh, the third child of James Anderson (1797-1869), a solicitor, and Margaret Rowand (1797-1868). Educated at George Watson’s College, he began a legal apprenticeship in 1845, and briefly worked for his father’s firm. He began to study architecture in 1849, attending classes at the Trustees’ Drawing Academy (which later became Edinburgh College of Art), and was articled to architect John Lessels (1809–1883).
In 1857 he took a two-year post as an assistant to George Gilbert Scott, in his office at Trafalgar Square, London. Here he worked alongside many influential architects. He then spent time travelling and studying in France and Italy, also working briefly for Pierre Cuypers in Roermond, Netherlands.
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Infamous Scots. (Janet Boyman).
Janet Boyman (died 1572), also known as Jonet Boyman or Janet Bowman, was a Scottish woman accused of witchcraft; she was tried and executed in 1572 although the case against her was started in 1570. Her indictment has been described by modern-day scholars, such as Lizanne Henderson, as the earliest and most comprehensive record of witchcraft and fairy belief in Scotland.
Accusations of witchcraft
Janet Boyman lived in the Cowgate of Edinburgh, and was said to have been from Ayrshire. She was married to William Steill. In early modern Scotland married women did not change their surnames.
She was alleged to have predicted the death of Regent Moray who was assassinated in January 1570, and her accusation was the first to be made in connection with a political conspiracy.
She told her interrogators that she made contact with the supernatural world at a well on the south side of Arthur’s Seat a hill close to Edinburgh. There she conjured spirits who would help her heal others. Sometimes she worked cures by washing the patients’s shirt at the well at St Leonards.
She was condemned as:
ane wyss woman that culd mend diverss seikness and bairnis that are tane away with fairyie men and wemen
a wise woman that could heal diverse illnesses and children taken away by fairy men and women.
Jonet Boyman was executed on 29 December 1572.
Personal life.
There is little information available concerning Boyman’s personal life; however the trial record shows her as living in Cowgate, a street in Edinburgh. No indication is given of her age but she was married to William Steill.
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Scottish Architecture. (Craigmillar Castle).
Craigmillar Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is three miles (4.8 km) south-east of the city centre, on a low hill to the south of the modern suburb of Craigmillar. The Preston family of Craigmillar, the local feudal barons, began building the castle in the late 14th century and building works continued through the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1660, the castle was sold to Sir John Gilmour, Lord President of the Court of Session, who breathed new life into the ageing castle. The Gilmours left Craigmillar in the 18th century for a more modern residence, nearby Inch House, and the castle fell into ruin. It is now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument, and is open to the public.
Craigmillar Castle is best known for its association with Mary, Queen of Scots. Following an illness after the birth of her son, the future James VI, Mary arrived at Craigmillar on 20 November 1566 to convalesce. Before she left on 7 December 1566, a pact known as the “Craigmillar Bond” was made, with or without her knowledge, to dispose of her husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.
Craigmillar is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Scotland. The central tower house, or keep, is surrounded by a 15th-century courtyard wall with “particularly fine” defensive features. Within this are additional ranges, and the whole is enclosed by an outer courtyard wall containing a chapel and a doocot (dovecote).
History
Origins
The lands of Craigmillar were granted to the monks of Dunfermline Abbey by King David I in the 12th century. The Preston family were first granted land in the area by King David II in 1342 and held 2/3 of the estate. In a further grant of 1374, King Robert II gave the remaining lands of Craigmillar to Sir Simon de Preston, Sheriff of Midlothian. It was Simon’s son, Simon Preston, or his grandson, Sir George Preston, who began work on the tower house which now forms the core of the castle. This was in place by 1425, when a charter was sealed at Craigmillar by Sir John Preston. The courtyard wall was probably added by Sir William Preston (d. 1453), who had travelled in France, and drew on continental inspiration for his new work. He also brought back the arm of Saint Giles, which he presented to the High Kirk of Edinburgh, where the Preston Aisle is named for him. In 1479, John Stewart, Earl of Mar, brother of King James III was held prisoner at Craigmillar, accused of practising witchcraft against the King. He later died in suspicious circumstances.
16th century
In 1511 Craigmillar was erected into a barony, and the outer courtyard was built around this time, possibly by another Simon Preston (d.1520), Member of Parliament for Edinburgh in 1487, who had succeeded in 1478. In September 1517, during an outbreak of plague in Edinburgh, the infant James V of Scotland moved to safety at Craigmillar. His French guardian De la Bastie had new locks made for his chamber and the two iron gates, and a stable was built for the king’s mule. The family chapel within the outer court was first recorded in 1523. During the so-called Rough Wooing of Henry VIII of England, the English attempted to impose, by military force, a marriage between Edward, Prince of Wales, and the young Mary, Queen of Scots. Craigmillar Castle was burned by English troops under the Earl of Hertford on 8 May, after he had sacked Edinburgh. Sir Simon Preston (d.1569) had the castle repaired, with domestic ranges in the courtyard being remodelled. Preston served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh for several years, and was a loyal supporter of Queen Mary, who appointed him to her Privy Council.
Queen Mary stayed at Craigmillar twice In September 1563 she met the English ambassador Thomas Randolph at the castle, with the Earl of Moray and William Maitland. She stayed from 20 November to 7 December 1566, still in poor health following a serious illness in October, and, according to Philibert du Croc, suffering from depression. She gave an audience to a diplomat from Savoy, Jean, Count de Brienne, who had arrived for the baptism of Prince James. Mary is traditionally said to have slept in the small former kitchen within the tower house, although it is more likely that she occupied larger accommodation in the relatively new east range.
Several of her noblemen were with her at Craigmillar in November 1566, and suggested to her that her unpopular husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, could be removed, either by divorce or by other means. An agreement, the “Craigmillar Bond”, was signed by Mary’s Secretary of State William Maitland of Lethington, and several nobles including the earls of Bothwell, Argyll and Huntly. The bond does not survive, but set out the conspirator’s intent to remove Darnley. Although Mary made it clear that she was unhappy with Darnley, she was not part of the conspiracy, and was probably unaware of the plot to kill her husband. It was initially intended that Darnley would lodge at Craigmillar when he returned to Edinburgh, although he opted to stay at Kirk o’ Field in the town, where he was murdered on 10 February 1567.
During the Marian Civil War, Captain Melville and two of his soldiers, who fought for Mary’s cause, were killed in the grounds of the castle on 2 June 1571 when a barrel of gunpowder exploded. In 1572, Regent Mar used Craigmillar as a base while besieging Edinburgh Castle, which was held by supporters of the exiled Queen. Stable were built for a company of light horsemen.
King James VI visited Craigmillar himself when he was the guest of Sir David Preston. In September 1589 James had been at Seton Palace expecting the arrival of Anne of Denmark, and came to Craigmillar still waiting for news of his bride, “as a kind lover spends the time in sighing”. It was at Craigmillar that he decided to sail to Norway to meet his Queen, delayed by contrary winds. In 1591, Agnes Sampson was accused of placing a charmed wax image in a dovecote at Craigmillar to help her friend Barbara Napier.
The Gilmours
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On the death of Sir Robert Preston in 1639, Craigmillar passed to a distant cousin, David Preston of Whitehill. His son sold the castle out of the family, and it was bought by Sir John Gilmour (d.1671) in 1660, who purchased the neighbouring estate of The Inch at the same time A Royalist, Gilmour was rewarded following the Restoration of King Charles II, becoming Lord President of the Court of Session in 1661. He remodelled the west range to provide more modern accommodation in the 1660s, but in the early 18th century, the Gilmours left the castle for Inch House, just west of Craigmillar. It was claimed that two of the laird’s daughters continued to live in Craigmillar Castle after the rest of the family had left. Afterwards, Craigmillar Castle formed a romantic feature in the park of the Inch estate. It was ruined by 1775, when the antiquarian and poet John Pinkerton wrote Craigmillar Castle: an Elegy. The castle became a popular tourist attraction from the late 18th century, and was drawn by numerous artists. A proposal to renovate the building for the use of Queen Victoria was put forward in 1842, but came to nothing. Victoria herself visited the castle in 1886, and much restoration work was undertaken by its then owner, Walter James Little Gilmour (d.1887).
Craigmillar Castle has been in state care since 1946, and is now maintained by Historic Environment Scotland. The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the grounds of the castle are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, the national register of historic gardens.
Description
Key: A=Kitchen, B=Dining Room, C=Chamber, D=Tower entrance, E=Tower cellars, F=East range cellars
At the core of Craigmillar Castle is the 14th-century L-plan tower house, built on a rocky outcrop. Wrapped around this is the 15th-century courtyard wall, with ranges of buildings at the south-east, east, and west. Beyond the wall is a lower outer wall, enclosing a broad outer courtyard. This contained gardens and a chapel. Further gardens lay to the south, where the outline of a fish pond can be seen.
The tower house
The four-storey tower forms the keep of the castle, although it originally stood alone. It measures 15.8 metres (52 ft) by 11.6 metres (38 ft), with a projecting wing, or jamb, of 8.5 metres (28 ft) by 3.5 metres (11 ft), to the south. The walls are up to 3.3 metres (11 ft) thick, and the second and fourth storeys have vaulted ceilings. The tower is built on the edge of a rock outcrop, with the original entrance door protected by a natural cleft in the rock. This would have been spanned by a wooden bridge, until it was filled in when the curtain wall was built. Above the door are the arms of the Preston family. A stair leads up from the entrance to a guard room in the jamb, which would probably have had “murder holes” through which missiles could be dropped on any attackers who gained entry. At ground floor level are cellars, which formerly had a timber loft above. The dividing wall and doors at either end are later additions.
On the second floor is the hall, with a kitchen occupying the jamb, and later passages connecting to the east and west ranges. The hall has a large carved stone fireplace of around 1500, and once had a timber ceiling, probably painted. The kitchen was replaced by a larger one in the 16th-century east range, and converted into a bedroom. A smaller fireplace was inserted into the large kitchen hearth, and larger windows added. The next storey, accessed via a spiral stair, contained a windowless room in the vault above the hall ceiling. Above the kitchen is the lord’s bedroom, the only original private chamber in the building. The stairs continue to give access to the parapet walks around the stone-flagged roof. A further storey was added to the jamb in the sixteenth century, containing a single chamber. The exterior of the castle formerly had two timber balconies, or viewing platforms, one overlooking the gardens to the south, and one looking east across the Lothian countryside.
The inner courtyard
The mid-15th-century curtain wall encloses a courtyard around 10 metres (33 ft) across, and is up to 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) thick. Externally, the curtain wall measures 40 metres (130 ft) by 27 metres (89 ft). Round towers are located at each corner, with a postern, or side gate, located at the base of the south-east tower. The towers have keyhole-shaped gun holes, intended for decoration as well as defence. The round-arched gate is in the north wall. Over it are the arms of the Preston family, with the royal arms of Scotland above. The walls are defended by machicolations, spaces through which missiles could be dropped on attackers, and battlement walks give access to the entire length of the wall. On the inside of the wall, traces of windows suggest that there was once a south range of buildings in the courtyard. There is no well in the courtyard, but a stone trough runs through the curtain wall, allowing water to be brought into the castle.
The east range
The east range occupies the south-east and east sides of the inner courtyard. The original east range, contemporary with the courtyard wall, was rebuilt in the 16th century and linked to the tower house by a new, broad spiral stair. The building at the south-east adjoins the tower house, and comprises two chambers on the first floor. Cellars below were occupied by a bakehouse and a possible prison. A corridor connects the tower to large, vaulted kitchens in the east range, also accessible via a straight stair from the courtyard. Another depiction of the Preston family arms, supported by monkeys, appears above the door to the east range. Below the kitchens are vaulted cellars, containing a blocked-up postern gate through the courtyard wall. Above, a long gallery occupied the second floor, although only the lower walls of the gallery survive.
The west range
The west range was entirely rebuilt by the Gilmours, in the 1660s, to provide a spacious suite of modern accommodation, to suit Sir John’s position as a senior judge. The roof slates were brought in 1661 from Stobo, carried by horses from Peebles. The ground floor contained a large central drawing room dining room, with large windows, and a carved stone fireplace. This room would also have had plaster ceilings and other decorative features. To the north was a kitchen, and to the south a chamber, with a wine cellar below. The first floor had four bedrooms. Another new stair was built, connecting the west range with the tower house. The door to this tower has a classical pediment, above which is a 20th-century plaque, erected by a descendant of the Gilmours, and bearing the arms of Sir John Gilmour and his wife. The west range is now roofless, the internal floor is also gone, and the large windows have been blocked up.
The outer court and gardens
The outer walls, dating from the early mid-16th century, are smaller and less formidable than the inner walls, but they enclose a much larger area. A round tower at the north-east corner has gun holes and a doocot, or pigeon house, upstairs. The family chapel was built around 1520, and dedicated to St Thomas Becket. It is now a roofless burial aisle, still used by the Gilmour family. Gardens occupied the east and west parts of the courtyard, with the western terrace overlooked by the large windows of the west range. The barn at the north-west of the courtyard was converted into a Presbyterian church, for the village of Liberton, in 1687. South of the castle were informal gardens and orchards, with the bases of 16th-century viewing towers remaining at the corners of this drystone-walled enclosure. The former fish pond, shaped like a letter P for Preston, is a nationally significant archaeological garden feature, due to its rarity. In the 1820s, a plan was drawn up to lay out picturesque landscape gardens between Inch House and the castle, which would have incorporated “Queen Mary’s Tree”, a Sycamore supposedly planted by Mary, Queen of Scots. Much of the woodland within the castle estate dates from the early to mid 19th century.
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Scottish Football Teams. (Livingston FC)
Livingston Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Livingston, West Lothian.
Livingston currently play in the Scottish Premiership and were founded in 1943 as Ferranti Thistle, a works team. The club was admitted to the Scottish Football League and renamed as Meadowbank Thistle in 1974, and played its matches at Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh. In 1995, the club was relocated to Livingston, West Lothian and renamed after the town. Since then Livingston have played their home games at Almondvale Stadium. In the ten years following the move to Livingston the club enjoyed notable success, winning promotion to the Scottish Premier League in 2001, qualifying for the UEFA Cup in its maiden season in the top flight (finishing third behind Celtic and Rangers) and winning the 2004 Scottish League Cup. However, the club hit financial problems in 2004, and was relegated to the Scottish First Division in 2006. In July 2009 the club faced further financial problems and were on the verge of suffering a liquidation event before a deal was struck. Livingston were subsequently demoted to the Scottish Third Division, but the club achieved consecutive promotions and went on to regain its place in the top tier after winning the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership play-offs.
History.
Ferranti Thistle (1943–1974)
The club began life as Ferranti Amateurs in 1943. A works team of the Ferranti engineering company,they initially played in the Edinburgh FA’s Amateur Second Division. In 1948 the club became known as Ferranti Thistle and began competing in the Edinburgh and District Welfare Association where they competed for five seasons, before moving to senior football in 1953 joining the East of Scotland League. During this period the club won the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup in 1963. In 1969 the club moved to the City Park ground in Edinburgh.
In 1972 the club became members of SFA which allowed them to enter the Scottish Qualifying Cup which they won in 1973 which previously had not been open to them. The club’s first match in the Scottish Cup was on 16 December 1972 against Duns.
In 1974, as a result of the demise of Third Lanark seven years earlier, and the new three-tier format of the Scottish Football League, a place opened up in the second division of the competition. After beating off competition from four Highland League sides, Hawick Royal Albert and Gateshead United, Ferranti Thistle were accepted into the league by a vote of 21–16 over Inverness Thistle. The club faced a number of obstacles before they could join the Division as their name did not meet stringent SFL rules on overt sponsorship of teams at the time and the City Ground was not up to standard. The local council offered use of Meadowbank Stadium, a modern stadium built in 1970. After an Edinburgh Evening News campaign to find a name for the club, the name Meadowbank Thistle was chosen. This was approved by the SFL in time for the new season.
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Scottish Towns-Cities. (Viewpark)
Viewpark is an area in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Situated immediately north-east of Uddingston (but on the other side of the M74 motorway), Viewpark is two kilometres (1+1⁄4 miles) west of Bellshill. It has an estimated population of 13,916 in 2016, a figure which also includes the smaller adjoining neighbourhoods of Birkenshaw, Bellziehill, Calderbraes, Fallside and Tannochside under the Thorniewood ward of the local council.
St Columba RC Church Viewpark.
History.
Viewpark takes its name from a rural estate of that name, located just off New Edinburgh Road (today part of the A721, which dates from the early 19th century and is thus ‘new’ only by comparison to Old Edinburgh Road which runs parallel further north), near to which was the Viewpark Colliery, one of several mines dug in the area between Uddingston, Bellshill and the North Calder Water including Rosehall, Tannochside and Bredisholm, each of which had several pits. The workers were housed in scattered hamlets of miners’ row cottages at Aitkenhead/Nackerty, Thorniewood, Tannochside, Muirpark and Cockhill, while other mansions in the area included Thornwood House (the site of which was north of Lynnhurst), St Enoch’s Hall (near Banyan Crescent today) and Fallside House (today at Quarrybrae Gardens), the latter of which had a railway station on the Clydesdale Junction Railway from the 1870s to the 1950s (this line and the Caledonian main line, a short distance to the north, are both still in use to day, although there is no local station). A section of Roman road was found in the grounds of Fallside House in 1952. Other local industries included a brickworks and an oilworks.
Famous people from Viewport. Jimmy Johnstone
Viewpark House mansion had a varied history: built in the 1830s to a design by noted architect John Baird, from the 1850s to the 1900s it was the home of the Addie family who controlled the local mines, who extended the estate to the limits of what would become the housing development, it then became a women’s refuge, housed Belgian refugees of World War I and afterwards was divided into small individual apartments. The house, like others in the area, was demolished in the 1950s, but its grounds – Viewpark Gardens – are still present and used by the community as a park, allotments area and walled flower garden including a greenhouse, popular for wedding photography due to its backdrop of flora and original brickwork features. The gardens contained a group of life-sized sculptures, of which only two remain: Hercules and Athena. They were inspired by Aesop’s fables and may be the work of Robert Forrest, whose sculpture was collected by another wealthy Lanarkshire coal merchant, Sir James Watson, for his estate at Earnock.
More Scottish Towns and Cities.
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Scottish Battles. (Raith).
The Battle of Raith was the theory of E. W. B. Nicholson, librarian at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. He was aware of the poem Y Gododdin in the Book of Aneirin and was aware that no-one had identified the location “Catraeth“. He parsed the name as “cat” Gaelic for battle or fight, and “Raeth” and he recalled that there was a place in Scotland called Raith.
Nicholson’s claim was that this battle was fought in 596 AD to the west of present-day Kirkcaldy. An invading force of Angles landed on the Fife coast near Raith and defeated an alliance of Scots, Britons and Picts under King Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata.
This was an attempt at identifying the location of the Battle of Catraeth. Today this is usually recognised instead as Catterick.
Nicholson’s proposition was given added circulation when it was included in the local history book “Kirkcaldy Burgh and Schyre” by its editor and co-author Lachlan Macbean.
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Scotland and its History. Edinburgh 2.
Aerial view of Princes Street looking west from the North British Hotel, July 10, 1977. Picture: Mirrorpix.
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Worldwide Murder Mysteries.
THE TAMAN SHUD CASE.
The Zodiac Killer wasn’t the only one who loved to use codes. On the morning of December 1st 1948, a body was found on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, Australia. The man’s body was in perfect condition, with no injuries to be found. He was well dressed, although all the labels on his clothes were missing. In his pocket was a train ticket to Henley Beach, never to be used. It would be a month later when they would find a suitcase linked to him at Adelaide Railroad Station. Its label was removed as well as those on the articles of clothing inside it. Unfortunately, it led to no clues, just like his autopsy, which reported no foreign substance in his body that could directly link his death to poisioning. A month later they would find the most substantial but puzzling evidence in a secret pocket in the man’s trousers. It read, “Taman Shud.”
Public library officials called in to translate the phrase. They concluded that it meant “ended” or “finished”, which can be found in a collection of poems entitled The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Immediately police ran a nationwide search for the book where this scrap paper was torn from. A man came forward, claiming that he found the book in the backseat of his unlocked car a week or two before they discovered the body. On the back of it was a strange code scrawled out in pencil. A phone number linking to a nurse was also discovered, though the nurse said she had given a copy of the Rubaiyat to an army officer named Alfred Boxall. Both the man who found the book and the nurse denied any connection with the dead man. They never got any further with the case, although many suspect it may have been a suicide since the book’s theme was about having no regrets when life ends. Others think he may be a spy. And until there are any breaks in the case, his grave will remain reading, “Here lies the unknown man who was found at Somerton Beach 1st Dec. 1948.”
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Scotland and its History. Edinburgh
Part 1. Edinburgh in the 1970’s
The 1970s was certainly a memorable decade for those living in Edinburgh.
It was an era in which the capital took centre stage on a number of high-profile occasions, with the city hosting both the Commonwealth Games and the Eurovision Song Contest in the early ’70s.
Edinburgh was a world-beater in boxing, with the late great Ken Buchanan becoming the undisputed world lightweight champion in 1971, while the capital’s very own Bay City Rollers were the biggest pop group on the planet by the middle of the decade.
READ MORE – Edinburgh Ryanair passenger fumes at ‘€8 food voucher’ after 13 hour flight delay
Locals also witnessed great change in the city, with the old being ushered out for the new.
Shopping was revolutionised as the St James Centre opened its fully-automatic doors for the first time, while over in Portobello we waved farewell to the district’s famous power station which once supplied the city with electricity.
We’ve trawled through the archives to bring you 34 snapshots of Edinburgh life as it was during the 1970s.
Pedestrians squeeze past the infamous ‘bottleneck’ outside the Waverley Market at Princes Street, c1975. Picture: Lost Edinburgh.
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Scottish Antiques-Collectables.(compact)
This is an original Gwenda powder compact from the 1920’s. It is oval in shape and has crinoline ladies on the top with foil accents. The inside is signed Tap Flap Gwenda Made in England. It is oval and measures 8.2cm in length and 5.8cm in width. It has some light tarnish as photographed. Other than that, it is in very good condition for it’s age and would be a nice addition to a collection.
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Famous Scots. (Gerard Butler)
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as Mrs Brown (1997), the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, he starred as Count Dracula in the gothic horror film Dracula 2000 with Christopher Plummer and Jonny Lee Miller.
He played Attila the Hun in the miniseries Attila (2001), then appeared in the films Reign of Fire with Christian Bale (2002) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life with Angelina Jolie (2003) before playing André Marek in the adaptation of Michael Crichton‘s science fiction adventure Timeline (2003). He then was cast as Erik, The Phantom in Joel Schumacher‘s 2004 film adaptation of the musical The Phantom of the Opera, with Emmy Rossum; it earned him a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor.
Butler gained worldwide recognition for his portrayal of King Leonidas in Zack Snyder‘s fantasy war film 300. That role earned him nominations for an Empire Award for Best Actor and a Saturn Award for Best Actor and a win for MTV Movie Award for Best Fight. He voiced Stoick the Vast in the critically and commercially successful How to Train Your Dragon franchise (2010–2019). Also in the 2010s, he portrayed Secret Service agent Mike Banning in the action thriller series Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, Angel Has Fallen and the upcoming Night Has Fallen. He played military leader Tullus Aufidius in the 2011 film Coriolanus, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare‘s tragedy of the same name, and Sam Childers in the 2011 action biopic Machine Gun Preacher.
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Infamous Scots. (Nicol Muschat)
Nicol Muschat (1695–1721) was a Scottish physician, remembered for his murder of his teenage wife, Margaret Hall (1704-1720).
Life.
He was born in 1695, possibly at Boghall Farmhouse on Biggar Road just south-west of Edinburgh, as he is often referred to as “Muschat of Boghall”. His father died when he was young, and he was raised by his mother; the family appears to have been relatively wealthy.
While studying medicine at Edinburgh University he resided in the top floor of the Auld Cameronian Meeting House on the east side of Blackfriars Wynd just off the Royal Mile.
In 1715, he served as assistant to Dr Thomas Napier in Alloa on the opposite side of the Firth of Forth. In less than a year he returned to Edinburgh where he lodged on Anchor Close and took a job as a shop assistant nearby on the Royal Mile.
In 1719 a customer called Margaret Hall caught his eye. She was the daughter of a wealthy wine merchant further up the street at Castlehill. He married her on 5 September 1719, three weeks after meeting her. They lived some weeks with her parents, then found their own lodgings on St Mary’s Wynd (now called St Mary Street).
Nicol had three friends in Edinburgh with whom he both confided his plans and sought their aid: James Campbell of Burnbank (the storekeeper at Edinburgh Castle); James Muschat (his cousin); and James’ wife, Grizel. They made three failed attempts on her life (according to his own confession at trial). Firstly, being given 20 guineas by Muschat, they attempted to murder her on Dickson’s Close. Secondly, in November 1719, Campbell of Burnbank was offered the immediate repayment of Muschat’s debt of 900 merks, to fabricate some crime against his wife, but this did not materialise. Thirdly his brother James and his wife were minded to poison her, but although administering mercury in a glass of brandy, she did not die.
A scheme to drown her in a ditch at the side of Easter Road after a trip to Leith was abandoned. Grizel, frustrated by the lack of payment, due to the failed schemes, pressed the men to continue with their murder plans.
Finally, on 17 October 1720, Muschat had been drinking with James until 7 pm and returned to his house on St Mary’s Wynd where Grizel sat with Margaret. He invented a story of wishing to walk to Duddingston and they started walking down The Canongate, leaving James and Grizel in his house. Margaret started crying in St Anne’s Yards, just east of Holyrood, suspecting something afoot. He declared if she did not accompany him to Duddingston, he would never speak to her again. They reached a point on the north edge of Holyrood Park then highly distant from any house. Here he slit her throat and left her. He returned home to confess the crime to his brother.
Margaret’s body was found around 10 am on the following day. She was easily identified and Nicol went into hiding in Leith where he tried to gain passage on a ship to Europe. Meanwhile, Grizel, worrying about her own potential prosecution, revealed Nicol’s location to the town guard whilst seeking indemnity against prosecution for herself and her husband. She led the guard to his whereabouts in Leith, and Nicol was arrested. Grizel received a reward from the town council for this act. He confessed all, including the earlier failed plans. He was held at the Tolbooth Prison. He was hanged in the Grassmarket on 6 January 1721.
James and Grizel Muschat escaped all punishment and further turned King’s evidence against James Campbell. Campbell was tried in March for “art and part” (aiding and abetting) in the crimes. He was sentenced to transportation for life to the West Indies as a slave on the plantations.
Memorial
Local people raised a stone cairn in 1721. The original cairn was removed in 1789 during improvements to the park, but was rebuilt in 1823 a few metres east of the original site. The 19th century cairn was around 2 meters (6.6 feet) in diameter and 2 m tall, and appears to have remained intact until the Second World War when it was partially pulled down, thereafter lacking its original height and form. It now remains as a somewhat sprawling stack of stones, and lacks a man-made or purposeful appearance.
The cairn stands opposite the East Lodge at the Meadowbank entrance into Holyrood Park.
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Scottish Places of Interest.(Aberdeen)
The Maritime Museum in Aberdeen is centrally located near the Harbour, in the historic Shiprow, which wanders down from Union Street to the harbour.
The Museum tells the story about Aberdeen’s long relationship with the Sea and there are exhibits that chart the development of the city’s harbour, shipbuilding industry, fishing communities and more recent pivotal role in the North Sea oil industry.
It is an award-winning museum, and the building is worth a visit in its own right as it is a clever piece of architecture with a labyrinth of stairs connecting multiple different floor levels. We assume the architect was inspired to some extent by the structures of oil rigs. The museum houses a collection of well-presented exhibits covering all aspects of Maritime history and it is the only museum in Scotland to specialise in the history of the North Sea oil industry.
There is a wide range of maritime themes ranging from the early fishing boats that operated from Aberdeen harbour through to the modern age, with several exhibits about the North Sea Oil industry. A prominent feature of the museum is a large-scale model of an oil platform that is suspended in mid-air so that you can view it from different floor levels within the museum.
The museum is a free attraction that will keep you occupied for an hour or so. Children will enjoy steering and diving the remote-controlled submersible ROV model in the Oil exploration section. However, we would say that there are not a lot of interactive displays to keep younger children entertained.
Within a short walking distance of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum, there is an NCP multi-storey car park. The charges for this car park are quite high at ~£3.50 per hour, but there are cheaper car parks if you are prepared to walk a bit further.
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Scottish Towns-Cities.(Bathgate)
Bathgate (Scots: Bathket or Bathkit, Scottish Gaelic: Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, 5 miles (8 km) west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated 2 miles (3 km) south of the ancient Neolithic burial site at Cairnpapple Hill, Bathgate and the surrounding area show signs of habitation since about 3500 BC and the world’s oldest known reptile fossil has been found in the town. By the 12th century, Bathgate was a small settlement, with a church at Kirkton and a castle south of the present day town centre. Local mines were established in the 17th century but the town remained small in size until the coming of the industrial revolution. By the Victorian era, Bathgate grew in prominence as an industrial and mining centre, principally associated with the coal and shale oil industries. By the early 20th century, much of the mining and heavy industry around the town had ceased and the town developed manufacturing industries, principally in vehicle production and later electronics before these factories closed in the late 20th century. Today Bathgate is the second largest town in West Lothian, after Livingston and serves as a regional commuter town within the Scottish Central Belt.
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Kings-Queens of Scotland.(Eochaid)
Eochaid ab Rhun (fl. 878–889) was a ninth-century King of Strathclyde, who may have also been King of the Picts. He was a son of Rhun ab Arthgal, King of Strathclyde, and descended from a long line of British kings. Eochaid’s mother is recorded to have been a daughter of Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts. This maternal descent from the royal Alpínid dynasty may well account for the record of Eochaid reigning over the Pictish realm after the death of Cináed’s son, Áed, in 878. According to various sources, Áed was slain by Giric, whose ancestry is uncertain and who then proceeded to usurp the Alban throne.
Heir to the Brythonic kingdom of Strathclyde and a claimant to the Gaelic throne of Alba, Eochaid was of mixed-blood. Indeed, the name Eochaid is Gaelic and may indicate his maternal descent from the Alpínid dynasty. It is uncertain if Eochaid and Giric were relatives, unrelated allies, or even rivals. Whilst it is possible that they held the Pictish kingship concurrently as allies, it is also conceivable that they ruled successively as opponents. Another possibility is that, whilst Giric reigned as King of the Picts, Eochaid reigned as King of Strathclyde. Eochaid’s floruit dates about the time when the Kingdom of Strathclyde seems to have expanded southwards into lands formerly possessed by the Kingdom of Northumbria. The catalyst for this extension of British influence appears to have been the Viking conquest of this northern English realm.
According to various sources, Eochaid and Giric were driven from the kingship in 889. The succeeding king, Domnall mac Custantín, was an Alpínid, and could well have been responsible for the forced regime change. The terminology employed by various sources suggests that during the reigns of Eochaid and Giric, or during that of Domnall and his successors, the wavering Pictish kingdom—weakened by political upheaval and Viking invasions—redefined itself as a Gaelic realm: the Kingdom of Alba.
Eochaid is not attested after 889. Likewise, nothing is recorded of the Kingdom of Strathclyde until the first quarter of the next century, when a certain Dyfnwal, King of Strathclyde is reported to have died. Whilst the parentage of this man is unknown, it is probable that he was a member of Eochaid’s kindred, and possibly a descendant of him. A daughter of Eochaid may have been Lann, a woman recorded to have been the mother of Muirchertach mac Néill, King of Ailech.
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Scottish Battles. (Turnberry)
The Battle of Turnberry was a battle fought in February 1307 during the Scottish Wars of Independence near Turnberry, Ayrshire, Scotland.
King Robert I of Scotland‘s invasion of his ancestral lands in Annandale and Carrick began in 1307. The Carrick invasion force was led by Robert, his brother Edward de Brus, James Douglas, Lord of Douglas and Robert Boyd. The force comprised thirty three galleys. They sailed to Turnberry and landed near Turnberry Castle. The invasion force quickly overwhelmed the English forces of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy encamped around Turnberry Castle, but failed to take the castle.
Henry de Percy was forced to leave the castle after this defeat.
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The Broons.(school)
OOR WULLIE. (jings)
Worldwide Murder Mysteries. (Zodiac)
Most people are usually quiet about their crimes, but “Zodiac”, as he dubbed himself, was anything but. From 1968-1969, he terrorized San Francisco with his murder spree, taunting the police with his coded letters to the local paper. He had at least five killings directly connected to him, although he claims to have killed 37 people. His terror began when Betty Lou Jensen, 16, and David Arthur Faraday, 17, were found lying outside of their bullet-peppered car. Jensen was found dead at the scene with five gunshot wounds to her back, while Faraday died of a bullet to the head en route to the hospital. Half a year later, a couple who parked their car four miles away from that crime scene was also gunned down, one injured and one killed. The survivor, Michael Mageau, was able to give a description of the killer. He described a heavyset white man around 5’8″. It would be the Zodiac Killer himself that would give the police the remaining evidence.
At 12:48 a.m. that same night, police received a strange call:
“I wish to report a double murder. If you go one mile east in Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot with a nine-millimetre Luger. I also killed those kids last year. Good-bye.”
A month later, newspapers received the first letter from the Zodiac Killer. He demanded them publish the letter on the front page or he’d go on a killing rampage. The letter described the murders, all written with mysterious ciphers that seemed to form a code. This was a common theme with the other letters he would send, all signed with a crossed-circle symbol. One such letter was decoded by a high-school teacher and his wife. It read:
“I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST BECAUSE MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUE ANAMAL OF ALL TO KILL SOMETHING GIVES ME THE MOST THRILLING EXPERENCE IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN GETTING YOUR ROCKS OFF WITH A GIRL THE BEST PART OF IT IS THAE WHEN I DIE I WILL BE REBORN IN PARADICE AND THEI HAVE KILLED WILL BECOME MY SLAVES I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY NAME BECAUSE YOU WILL TRY TO SLOI DOWN OR ATOP MY COLLECTIOG OF SLAVES FOR MY AFTERLIFE EBEORIETEMETHHPITI.”
The Zodiac Killer would go on killing and leaving frustrating evidence for the police– coded letters, anonymous phone calls, the crossed-circle written on victims’ cars, sending over blood-stained shirts, accounts from survivors– but the police never found him.
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Scotland and its History.(Alba)
Rise of the Kingdom of Alba
Conversion to Christianity may have sped a long-term process of gaelicisation of the Pictish kingdoms, which adopted Gaelic language and customs. There was also a merger of the Gaelic and Pictish crowns, although historians debate whether it was a Pictish takeover of Dál Riata, or the other way around. This culminated in the rise of Cínaed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) in the 840s, which brought to power the House of Alpin. In 867 AD the Vikings seized the southern half of Northumbria, forming the Kingdom of York; three years later they stormed the Britons’ fortress of Dumbarton and subsequently conquered much of England except for a reduced Kingdom of Wessex, leaving the new combined Pictish and Gaelic kingdom almost encircled. When he died as king of the combined kingdom in 900, Domnall II (Donald II) was the first man to be called rí Alban (i.e. King of Alba).]The term Scotia was increasingly used to describe the kingdom between North of the Forth and Clyde and eventually the entire area controlled by its kings was referred to as Scotland.
The long reign (900–942/3) of Causantín (Constantine II) is often regarded as the key to formation of the Kingdom of Alba. He was later credited with bringing Scottish Christianity into conformity with the Catholic Church. After fighting many battles, his defeat at Brunanburh was followed by his retirement as a Culdee monk at St. Andrews. The period between the accession of his successor Máel Coluim I (Malcolm I) and Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II) was marked by good relations with the Wessex rulers of England, intense internal dynastic disunity and relatively successful expansionary policies. In 945, Máel Coluim I annexed Strathclyde as part of a deal with King Edmund of England, where the kings of Alba had probably exercised some authority since the later 9th century, an event offset somewhat by loss of control in Moray. The reign of King Donnchad I (Duncan I) from 1034 was marred by failed military adventures, and he was defeated and killed by MacBeth, the Mormaer of Moray, who became king in 1040. MacBeth ruled for seventeen years before he was overthrown by Máel Coluim, the son of Donnchad, who some months later defeated MacBeth’s step-son and successor Lulach to become King Máel Coluim III (Malcolm III).
It was Máel Coluim III, who acquired the nickname “Canmore” (Cenn Mór, “Great Chief”), which he passed to his successors and who did most to create the Dunkeld dynasty that ruled Scotland for the following two centuries. Particularly important was his second marriage to the Anglo-Hungarian princess Margaret. This marriage, and raids on northern England, prompted William the Conqueror to invade and Máel Coluim submitted to his authority, opening up Scotland to later claims of sovereignty by English kings. When Malcolm died in 1093, his brother Domnall III (Donald III) succeeded him. However, William II of England backed Máel Coluim’s son by his first marriage, Donnchad, as a pretender to the throne and he seized power. His murder within a few months saw Domnall restored with one of Máel Coluim sons by his second marriage, Edmund, as his heir. The two ruled Scotland until two of Edmund’s younger brothers returned from exile in England, again with English military backing. Victorious, Edgar, the oldest of the three, became king in 1097. Shortly afterwards Edgar and the King of Norway, Magnus Barefoot concluded a treaty recognising Norwegian authority over the Western Isles. In practice Norse control of the Isles was loose, with local chiefs enjoying a high degree of independence. He was succeeded by his brother Alexander, who reigned 1107–1124.
When Alexander died in 1124, the crown passed to Margaret’s fourth son David I, who had spent most of his life as a Norman French baron in England. His reign saw what has been characterised as a “Davidian Revolution“, by which native institutions and personnel were replaced by English and French ones, underpinning the development of later Medieval Scotland. Members of the Anglo-Norman nobility took up places in the Scottish aristocracy and he introduced a system of feudal land tenure, which produced knight service, castles and an available body of heavily armed cavalry. He created an Anglo-Norman style of court, introduced the office of justicar to oversee justice, and local offices of sheriffs to administer localities. He established the first royal burghs in Scotland, granting rights to particular settlements, which led to the development of the first true Scottish towns and helped facilitate economic development as did the introduction of the first recorded Scottish coinage. He continued a process begun by his mother and brothers helping to establish foundations that brought reform to Scottish monasticism based on those at Cluny and he played a part in organising diocese on lines closer to those in the rest of Western Europe.
These reforms were pursued under his successors and grandchildren Malcolm IV of Scotland and William I, with the crown now passing down the main line of descent through primogeniture, leading to the first of a series of minorities. The benefits of greater authority were reaped by William’s son Alexander II and his son Alexander III, who pursued a policy of peace with England to expand their authority in the Highlands and Islands. By the reign of Alexander III, the Scots were in a position to annexe the remainder of the western seaboard, which they did following Haakon Haakonarson‘s ill-fated invasion and the stalemate of the Battle of Largs with the Treaty of Perth in 1266.
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Scottish Bands-Music. (Amy)
Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter.
In 2007, she released her debut studio album, This Is the Life, which respectively produced the singles “Mr. Rock & Roll” and “This Is the Life“; the latter charting at number one in six countries, while reaching the top 10 in another 11 countries. The album reached number one in four European countries – the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland – and sold three million copies worldwide.Moderate success in the American music market followed in 2008. Macdonald has sold over 12 million records worldwide.
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Scottish Battles.(Loch Ryan)
The Battle of Loch Ryan was fought on 9/10 February 1307 during the Scottish Wars of Independence near Stranraer on Loch Ryan, Galloway, Scotland.
King Robert I of Scotland‘s invasion of his ancestral lands in Annandale and Carrick began in 1307. The Annandale and Galloway invasion force was led by his brothers Alexander Bruce and Thomas Bruce, Malcolm McQuillan, Lord of Kintyre, an Irish sub king and Sir Reginald Crawford. The force consisted of 1000 men and eighteen galleys. They sailed into Loch Ryan and landed near Stranraer. The invasion force was quickly overwhelmed by local forces, led by Dungal MacDowall, who was a supporter of the Balliols, Comyns and King Edward I of England, and only two galleys escaped. All the leaders were captured. Dungal MacDowall, summarily executed the Irish sub king and Malcolm McQuillan, Lord of Kintyre. Alexander, Thomas and Reginald Crawford were sent to Carlisle, England, where they were executed. The heads of McQuillan and two Irish chiefs were sent to King Edward I.
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Scottish Towns-Cities (Bearsden)
Bearsden (/ˌbɛərzˈdɛn/) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow. Approximately 6 miles (10 km) from Glasgow City Centre, the town is effectively a suburb, and its housing development coincided with the 1863 introduction of a railway line. The town was named after Bearsden railway station, which was named after a nearby cottage.
Bearsden was ranked the seventh-wealthiest area in Britain in a 2005 survey, and has the least social housing of any town in Scotland.
The Roman Antonine Wall runs through the town, and the remains of a military bath house can be seen near the town centre. In 1649, the first New Kilpatrick parish church was built, which became the centre of administration for the area. The town’s official Gaelic name Cille Phàdraig Ùr (meaning “new church of Patrick”) reflects the name of the parish. By the early 20th century, a town had grown, with large townhouses, primarily occupied by wealthy commuter business workers.
Further development of more affordable housing has increased the population of the town to approximately 28,000. Formerly a burgh, the town now has local government being the responsibility of East Dunbartonshire Council, but until 2011, the council had some departmental offices at Boclair House in Bearsden.
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Scottish Places of Interest (zoo)
The wildest visitor attraction in Scotland. Edinburgh Zoo is home to over 1,000 rare animals from around the world and home to the UK’s only giant pandas and koalas.
Home to over 1,000 rare and endangered animals, including the UK’s only giant pandas. RZSS Edinburgh Zoo is packed with fun and un-zoo-sual things to do.
Why not watch our famous penguin parade and visit the world’s only Knighted penguin, Sir Nils Olav. Or spend your day learning about brilliant birds, mischievous meerkats, super strong sun bears and more with daily keeper talks!
Get closer than ever to monkeys, lemurs, wallabies and pelicans in our walkthrough habitats or at our daily animal-handling sessions. Watch a Sumatran tiger walk right over your head in Tiger Tracks, our amazing glass viewing tunnel. And if you prefer smaller critters, you’ll enjoy Wee Beasties where you can find reptiles, amphibians and insects.
It’s more fun at the zoo this summer so prepare for an adventurous day out exploring 82 acres of beautiful parkland full of incredible animals and experiences. Please note that pre-booking is essential this summer for all visits to comply with Scottish Government guidelines.
Edinburgh Zoo is unlike any other visitor attraction in Scotland. As part of RZSS, one of Scotland’s leading conservation charities, the Park acts as a gateway to our wider work, both here in Scotland and in over 20 countries around the world.
More places of Interest and worth a visit.
