Friday 11 October, 2024

Scottish history and heritage online

Editorial

Online publication covering Scottish history, heritage and archaeology. Featuring articles, reviews, historic attractions, places to visit, and events. mail@scottishhistory.org

Conservation work begins at Kisimul Castle

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has announced that essential conservation work has begun at Kisimul Castle, Barra, with the aim of addressing concerns related to the concrete and its reinforcement bars, which shifted during the...

Fairlie’s Secret War

During the Second World War, the Royal Navy’s vitally important Anti-submarine Experimental Establishment was secretly moved from Portland in Dorset to the Ayrshire village of Fairlie, to escape German bombing on the south coast....

Pictish ring discovered at Burghead Fort

A "remarkable" Pictish ring with an intricate setting has been discovered at Burghead Fort by a volunteer during a dig led by the University of Aberdeen. The kite-shaped ring with a garnet or red glass...

The Lighthouse Stevensons

An exciting new edition of Bella Bathurst’s epic story of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ancestors and the building of the Scottish coastal lighthouses against impossible odds. ‘Whenever I smell salt water, I know that I am...

Buildings at Risk Register to be suspended following review

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has published a review of the Buildings at Risk Register (BARR), the register of historic buildings at risk in Scotland which is currently maintained by HES. HES engaged Harlow Consultancy to...

New reports highlight the strength and contribution of Scotland’s historic environment

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has released a set of reports providing insights into Scotland’s historic environment sector and a framework to help drive its contribution to Scotland’s economy, communities, and net zero ambitions. The...

HES seeks the public’s help following heritage crime at Kilwinning Abbey

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is asking the public for help after a heritage crime occurred at Kilwinning Abbey in Ayrshire. A 13th-century pier, which supports the arched entrance to the abbey's southwest tower, was damaged....

Galloway Hoard urn originated in Iran

Experts have revealed that a lidded urn which was part of the Galloway Hoard discovered in 2014 originated in modern-day Iran The silver vessel was still wrapped in ancient textiles and was found to contain...

The Battle of Largs

Over the last seven hundred and sixty years, tales about the Battle of Largs have been many and varied. From the very first Norse Saga to famous Scottish Historians it is a story that has...

Siege on the Forth event returns to Blackness Castle

Historic Scotland's 'Siege on the Forth' event is set to return to Blackness Castle on Saturday 7 September and Sunday 8 September. This historic landmark, famously referred to as the 'ship that never sailed,'...

21 August

21 August 1689: At the battle of Dunkeld the Jacobites under the command of Brigadier-General Alexander Cannon attacked a Scottish government force of Cameronians, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel William Cleland, in and around the town...

Meet Scottish poet Robert Fergusson on the 250th Anniversary of his death

The Real Mary King’s Close, one of Edinburgh’s most iconic historic sites, is proud to announce an exciting new experience as part of its 2024 calendar: Meet the Poet: Robert Fergusson. This special event...

19 August

19 August 1745: The Jacobite standard was raised at Glenfinnan at the head of Loch Shiel in Lochaber, marking the beginning of the Jacobite Rising of 1745.

Dallas Dhu Distillery to reopen as a working distillery

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has announced that the Dallas Dhu distillery in Moray Speyside will reopen as a working distillery. Aceo Distillers Company Limited (Aceo) will be taking over the management of the distillery...

Old Ways New Roads

Old Ways New Roads draws on the output of key travellers – from soldiers, surveyors and scholars to artists, writers and leisure tourists – to consider the connections between the military occupation of 18th-century...

19 May

19 May 1746: Captain John Fergusson of the Furnace and Captain Robert Duff of the Terror anchored in Loch nan Uamh and put ashore 120 sailors and Argyllshire militia to burn the house of...

18 May

18 May 1689: At Dalcomera, where the River Spean meets the River Lochy in Lochaber, James VII and II's highland army mustered under the command of John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee. It marked...

17 May

17 May 1654: While campaigning in Perthshire during the Earl of Glencairn's Rising, General George Monck issued orders from Cardross House ordering woodland near Aberfoyle to be cut down as it was giving "great...

16 May

16 May 1689: In the first military engagement of the Jacobite Rising of 1689, Scottish government forces attacked around 300 Jacobites on Loup Hill at the western end of West Loch Tarbert in northern...

15 May

15 May 1567: Mary Queen of Scots married her third husband, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell. 15 May 1689: Captain William Young's 500-strong Scottish government force boarded hired boats at Largs and sailed across to...

14 May

14 May 1689: The Earl of Angus's Regiment of Foot (the Cameronians) was mustered at Douglas, Lanarkshire. It was commanded in the field by Lieutenant-Colonel William Cleland and was the largest regiment raised in...

13 May

13 May 1568: Mary, Queen of Scots was defeated in her attempt to regain the throne from her son James VI and his supporters at the Battle of Langside, outside Glasgow. Mary's army, led...

12 May

12 May 563: Columba and twelve companions land on the island of Iona, where they would establish a monastery. The island of Iona is said to have been granted to Columba by King Conall...

11 May

11 May 1141: The death at Skelton Castle, Yorkshire of Anglo-Norman magnate Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale. He was the first of the Bruce dynasty to hold lands in Scotland after he...

10 May

10 May 1307: At Loudoun Hill, Robert the Bruce and his small force shattered the charge of Aymer de Valence's heavy cavalry on well-prepared ground on the old Roman road (now the A71). 10 May...

9 May

9 May 1645: a Royalist army commanded by James Graham, Marquis of Montrose heavily defeated a Scottish Covenanter force under Major-General Sir John Urry at the Battle of Auldearn, outside Nairn 9 May 1719: Royal...

8 May

8 May 1705: Colonel Robert Duncanson was killed in action at Valencia de Alcántara during the War of the Spanish Succession. Duncanson's military career began during the Earl of Argyll's Rising of 1685 and...

7 May

7 May 1544: After landing in the Firth of Forth and capturing the port of Leith Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford leads an English army into Edinburgh which is burned and looted during the...

6 May

6 May 1941: The Luftwaffe conducted bombing raids on Greenock over two consecutive nights targeting the shipyards and vessels offshore. 280 people were killed and over 1,200 injured in what became known as the...

5 May

5 May 1646: King Charles I surrendered himself to General David Leslie, commander of the Scottish Covenanter army besieging Newark-on-Trent. Charles was held in Newcastle until he was handed over to the Parliamentarians in...

4 May

4 May 1654: General George Monck arrived in Edinburgh and was welcomed by the city magistrates who held a banquet for him. General Monck proclaimed the Ordinance for uniting Scotland into one Commonwealth with...

3 May

3 May 1679: A group of Covenanters led by John Balfour of Kinloch murdered James Sharp, Archbishop of St Andrews on Magus Muir, Fife. Sharp was returning to St Andrews from Edinburgh with his...

2 May

2 May 1568: Mary, Queen of Scots escaped from Loch Leven castle where she had been imprisoned following her forced abdication in favour of her infant son James VI. Mary revoked her abdication and...

1 May

1 May 1455: During the civil war between the House of Stewart and the powerful Black Douglas family, the Black Douglases were defeated by an army loyal to James II at the battle of...

30 April

30 April 1940: While at anchor at the Tail o' the Bank off Greenock, the French Vauquelin-class destroyer Maillé Brézé suffered an explosion and sank following the accidental firing of one of the vessel's...

29 April

29 April 1690: At a council of war held at Coulnakyle, Major-General Thomas Buchan decided that the Jacobite army would encamp on the open ground at Cromdale overlooking the fords on the River Spey.

28 April

28 April 1746: Charles Edward Stuart wrote a final letter to the chiefs of the Jacobite clans stating that it was best if he went to France to try and get more French assistance...

27 April

27 April 1296: John Balliol's Scottish forces were defeated by an English army led by John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey at the battle of Dunbar. 27 April 1650: A Royalist army of Orcadian levies...

26 April

26 April 1711: The birth in Edinburgh of David Hume, the most influential thinker of the Scottish Enlightenment and one of the greatest philosophers of all time.

25 April

25 April 1710: The birth near Rothiemay of Scottish astronomer James Ferguson. Ferguson gained fame through his travelling lectures and easy-to-understand works on the basics of astronomy, despite never receiving formal training. He learned...