Search results for ""Historic Environment Scotland""

St Aidan of Lindisfarne established a monastery at ‘Mailros’ in the 7th century – a place of solitude and contemplation in the Border hills. Five centuries later, Cistercian monks settled nearby and built Melrose Abbey, inspired by the legacy of the early saints. Their austere and simple monastery would grow to become one of the wealthiest abbeys in medieval Scotland. Its magnificent buildings bear witness to almost 1,000 years of work, prayer and worship. Today, Melrose Abbey sits in a busy town. Within a radius of just a few miles lie the ruins of the three other great Border abbeys – Kelso, Jedburgh and Dryburgh. Together they form the greatest concentration of medieval religious houses in Scotland.

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The Neolithic village known as Skara Brae was continuously occupied for about 300 to 400 years, before being abandoned around 2500 BC. Despite severe coastal erosion, eight houses and a workshop have survived largely intact, with their stone furniture still in place. This is the best-preserved settlement of its period in northern Europe, and thousands of artefacts were discovered during excavations of the site. Who lived here? How did they live? And why did they ultimately abandon the village? In this lively account, Dr David Clarke, who led major excavations at Orkney's Skara Brae, describes the details of the site and explores some of the enigmas posed by this extraordinary survival.

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For most of recorded history, women have been sidelined, if not silenced, by men who named the built environment after themselves. Now is the time to look unflinchingly at Scotland's heritage and bring those women who have been ignored to light. Can you imagine a different Scotland, a Scotland where women are commemorated in statues and streets and buildings - even in the hills and valleys? This is a guidebook to that alternative nation, where the cave on Staffa is named after Malvina rather than Fingal, and Arthur's Seat isn't Arthur's, it belongs to St Triduana. You arrive into Dundee at Slessor Station and the Victorian monument on Stirling's Abbey Hill interprets national identity through the women who ran hospitals during the First World War. The West Highland Way ends at Fort Mary. The Old Lady of Hoy is a prominent Orkney landmark. And the plinths in central Glasgow proudly display statues of the suffragettes who fought until they won. In this guide, streets, buildings, statues and monuments are dedicated to real women, telling their often unknown stories.

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Some ten thousand years ago, hunter-gatherers moving through a landscape newly emerged from the grip of the last Ice Age reached four islands on the western seaboard. The shores they landed on were deserted. After making camp, they struck out to hunt and explore. We know this because the evidence of their presence has been preserved down the millennia - in traces of flint and quartz, in charred fragments of grain and animal bone, in great heaped piles of ancient shellfish. The islands were Rum, Eigg, Canna and Muck - four distinctive shapes rising from the waters of the Inner Hebrides between Ardnamurchan and Skye. Collectively, they are known as the Small Isles. From those first moments on, people have been working these islands and using their resources, adapting each landscape to suit the changing needs of the communities they served. In this definitive new book, archaeologist John Hunter searches for the stories of the Small Isles in the evidence that survives - from the fragmentary physical remains of dwellings, defences, places of worship and monuments, to the records of early antiquarians, historians and travellers. This is a journey to rediscover communities that were erased by the mass migrations of the nineteenth century, and the rise of the Victorian sporting estate. Within a few generations cultural identity on the islands disappeared and a new order developed. Placenames were changed, buildings and structures abandoned, and traditions forgotten. The Small Isles became islands without memories. This comprehensive guide - illustrated with a wealth of photographs, maps and drawings - takes readers on a tour of both place and time. Crisscrossing the landscapes of four fascinating and evocative islands, it reveals traces of a forgotten past in everything that has been left behind.

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The island of Mingulay lies at near the southern tip of the Western Isles archipelago, its fertile valleys and rugged coastline of cliffs and sea stacks a spectacular setting for a wealth of important archaeology. Up to the fifteenth century Mingulay was part of the estate of the Bishop of the Isles, and then passed into the hands of the MacNeils of Barra. Deserted in the early 1900s, since the 1920s archaeologists have been recording the island's buildings and prehistoric remains. Combining previous surveys with the results of a new project undertaken by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland, this fold-out information guide is the indispensable record of the archaeological landscapes and architectural relics of the island. A highly detailed map identifies the locations of everything from burial cairns and roundhouses to chapels and schools, and explanatory text illustrated by survey drawings and contemporary and historic photography traces the lives of the people who made this remote island their home.

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Few capital cities contain a landmark as rugged and expansive as Edinburgh's Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat. Not only does this space provide superb recreational opportunities; it also contains important habitats for a vast diversity of Scottish wildlife, and a wealth of evidence for human activity stretching back into prehistory. Long before the first humans set foot here, this element of Scotland's landscape was shaped by violent volcanic activity, and it yielded crucial clues for pioneers in the study of geology. It has provided a rich agricultural resource, a venue for royal pastimes, a religious retreat, a sanctuary for debtors, an encampment for Jacobite troops, a military parade ground, a setting for books and films and a varied environment for a wide range of leisure pursuits. This book will help you explore the Park, identify its remarkable features and discover its many stories.

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Jane Geddes studied History at Cambridge and History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, London. She worked as an Inspector of Ancient Monuments at English Heritage before joining Aberdeen University, where she is now professor of History of Art. She has published widely in the field of medieval art and served as an academic advisor toHistoric Scotland forthe museum of Pictish sculpture at St Vigeans.

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The tiny island of Iona has been a vibrant centre of Christian worship since Columba arrived in AD 563. His monastery thrived for centuries, despite repeated Viking raids beginning in 795. Around 1200, the abbey and nunnery were founded, introducing new forms of worship and new buildings, while still welcoming pilgrims to St Columba’s shrine. Even after the Protestant Reformation of 1560 brought an end to Scotland’s monasteries, Iona served briefly as a Cathedral of the Isles. Restoration of the buildings began in 1899, and in 1938 the Iona Community was formed, revitalising the abbey’s spiritual role. This unique site bears witness to a long history of religious practice that still flourishes today.

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One of Scotland’s finest late-medieval strongholds, Doune Castle stands high on a promontory between the River Teith and the Ardoch Burn in Perthshire. It is a testament to the power of one nobleman, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. He was known as Scotland’s ‘uncrowned king’, and the castle was one of his main residences in the late 1300s. For a long time Albany has been credited with the complete construction of the castle, making Doune a remarkable example of a medieval fortress built as one man’s vision. However, fresh research is casting new light on Doune Castle, suggesting a much more complex history dating back to the century before Albany and beyond.

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The Picts were a sophisticated and powerful people who dominated much of what is now Scotland for hundreds of years, before uniting with the Gaels to form the nation of Alba (later Scotland). Their language has all but disappeared, but their cultural heritage survives, above all in the form of hundreds of incised and carved stones, many marked with their distinctive symbols. Pictish symbols have provoked much curiosity and prompted many interpretations, some more fanciful than others. They are still the subject of debate among experts. This extensively illustrated book explores all the available information on the Picts in an appealing, accessible and authoritative way. It also includes full guides to the important collections of Pictish carved stones at St Vigeans in Angus and Meigle in Perth & Kinross.

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From the Early Neolithic farm at Knap of Howar to the flamboyant chapel built by Italian prisoners of war in the 1940s, the Orkney Islands are amazingly rich in historic and prehistoric sites. At their centre is a cluster of spectacular Neolithic monuments - domestic, ceremonial and burial - now inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Orkney later became a flourishing Norse centre, with St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall as its striking centrepiece. The palaces of the notorious Stewart earls also survive as a relic of Renaissance grandeur; while later periods have left evidence of industry, war and worship. In this extensively illustrated guide, Orkney-based archaeologist Caroline Wickham-Jones introduces more than 60 monuments in concise and accessible terms, set in context by a brief history of the islands. A site location directory is also included.

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Who was St Columba? Why was Mary, Queen of Scots executed? When were the Jacobite risings? Where was the new Scottish Parliament built? Scotland’s vibrant and bloody past captures the imagination. But there is far more to Scottish history than murder and mayhem, tragedy and betrayal. In Scotland’s History, historian Fiona Watson looks back across thousands of years into the lives of the people of Scotland. She captures the critical moments and memorable personalities known throughout the world – from the Picts to Bonnie Prince Charlie, and from Macbeth to the Battle of Bannockburn – revealing the truth behind the myths.

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Jedburgh Abbey is one of the most elegant examples of 12th-century architecture in Scotland. It was founded by King David I, both as an act of piety and to assert his claim to the Borders. The abbey was repeatedly ravaged over centuries of border warfare, and almost abandoned after the Reformation. But thanks to conservation work sponsored by the 9th Marquis of Lothian and excavations in the 1930s and 1980s, the magnificent abbey church can be seen in context as the heart of a medieval Augustinian abbey.

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The chambered tomb of Maeshowe sits in one of the richest and best preserved Neolithic landscapes in Europe. This was a place of stone circles, villages and burial monuments; a place where people lived, worshipped and honoured their dead. The surviving evidence tells us that about 5,000 years ago, Orkney was a thriving focus whose influence was felt many miles away. Aside from Maeshowe, visitors can discover Neolithic houses at Skara Brae and Barnhouse, dramatic stone-circled henges such as the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar, and the astonishing ceremonial centre at Ness of Brodgar, still being uncovered by archaeologists. The importance of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney was marked in 1999 when some of its key monuments were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This book will help you to explore and understand the Site, and discover other related monuments in the area.

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'I love this city, and always shall. I write about it. I dream about it. I walk its streets and see something new each day - traces of faded lettering on the stone, still legible, but just; some facade that I have walked past before and not noticed; an unregarded doorway with the names, in brass, of those who lived there sixty years ago, the bell-pulls sometimes still in place, as if one might summon long-departed residents from their slumbers.' Edinburgh is a city of stories - a place that has witnessed everything from great historical upheavals, to the individual lives of a remarkable cast of characters. Every spire, cobblestone, bridge, close and avenue has a tale to tell. In this sumptuous new book, Alexander McCall Smith curates his own, distinctive story of Edinburgh - combining his affectionate, incisive wit with a wealth of stunning imagery drawn from Scotland's national collection of architecture and archaeology. Through a series of photographs, maps, drawings and paintings - many never before published - he takes the reader on a unique tour. Just like the city's architecture, the book can move in an instant from sweeping views to secret, hidden vignettes. This is a story of famous landmarks and lost buildings; the people who made them; the people who lived in them. A Work of Beauty is an intimate portrait of a city by one of Scotland's greatest storytellers.

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WINNER OF THE CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER In Bloody Scotland a selection of Scotland's best crime writers use the sinister side of the country's built heritage in stories that are by turns gripping, chilling and redemptive. Stellar contributors Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Denise Mina, Ann Cleeves, Louise Welsh, Lin Anderson, Doug Johnstone, Gordon Brown, Craig Robertson, E S Thomson, Sara Sheridan and Stuart MacBride explore the thrilling potential of Scotland's iconic sites and structures. From murder in an ancient broch and a macabre tale of revenge among the furious clamour of an eighteenth century mill, to a dark psychological thriller set within the tourist throng of Edinburgh Castle and a rivalry turning fatal in the concrete galleries of an abandoned modernist ruin, this collection uncovers the intimate - and deadly - connections between people and places. Prepare for a dangerous journey into the dark shadows of our nation's buildings - where passion, fury, desire and death collide.

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The architecture of Scotland exists in many forms. In Mousa to Mackintosh, Frank Arneil Walker examines the recognisable and recurring features evident in Scotland's buildings across the centuries to build a picture of 'Scottishness' in architecture. This chronological history presents an expansive view of architecture in Scotland, from neolithic brochs and classical country houses to baronial tower-houses and modernist New Towns, including the work of renowned architects such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Robert Adam, Basil Spence and Robert Lorimer. Walker considers the relationship between national characteristics and international influences in these structures to ask: what is the 'Scottishness' of Scottish architecture?

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'What we build always reveals things that are deeply and innately human. Because all buildings are stories, one way or another.' Kathleen Jamie, Alexander McCall Smith, Alistair Moffat, James Robertson and James Crawford travel across the country to tell the story of the nation, from abandoned islands and lonely glens to the heart of our modern cities. Whether visiting Shetland’s Mousa Broch at midsummer, following in the footsteps of pilgrims to Iona Abbey, joining the tourist bustle at Edinburgh Castle, scaling the Forth Bridge or staying in an off-the-grid eco-bothy, the authors unravel the stories of the places, people and passions that have had an enduring impact on the landscape and character of Scotland.

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The ruin of St Peter's College has sat on a wooded hilltop above the village of Cardross for more than three decades. Over that time, with altars crumbling, graffiti snaking across its walls and nature reclaiming its concrete, it has gained a mythical, cult-like status among architects, preservationists and artists. St Peter’s only fulfilled its original role as a seminary for 14 years, from 1966 to 1979. As its uncompromising design gave way to prolonged construction and problematic upkeep, the Catholic Church reassessed the role of seminaries, resolving to embed trainee priests not in seclusion, but in communities. Although briefly repurposed as a drug rehabilitation centre, the building was soon abandoned to decay and vandalism. Ever since, people have argued and puzzled over the future and importance of St Peter’s. It has been called both Scotland’s best and worst twentieth century building. In 1992, it was listed category A. One of its architects suggested the idea of ‘everything being stripped away except the concrete itself – a purely romantic conception of the building as beautiful ruin’. And now in 2016, St Peter’s is renewed as a cultural space through the work of the arts organisation NVA. In this landmark book, Diane Watters looks at the history of a structure that emerged out of an innovative phase of post-war Catholic church building. She traces the story of an architectural failure which morphed into a tragic modernist myth: unappreciated architects betrayed by an unloving client, and abandoned by an uncaring society. This is a historian’s account of the real story of St Peter’s College: an exploration of how one of Scotland’s most singular buildings became one its most troubled – and most celebrated.

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Experience a new history of Scotland told through its places. Writers Kathleen Jamie, Alexander McCall Smith, Alistair Moffat, James Robertson and James Crawford pick twenty-five buildings to tell the story of the nation. Travelling across the country, from abandoned islands and lonely glens to the heart of our modern cities, these five authors seek out the diverse narrative of the Scottish people. Follow Kathleen Jamie as she searches for the traces of our first family hearths in the Cairngorms and makes a midsummer journey to Shetland to meet the unlikely new inhabitants of an Iron Age broch. Tour the wondrous and macabre Surgeons’ Hall with Alexander McCall Smith, or walk with him over sacred ground to Iona’s ancient Abbey. Join Alistair Moffat as he discovers a lost whisky village in the wilds of Strathconon, and climbs up through the vertiginous layers of history in Edinburgh Castle. Accompany James Robertson as he goes from the standing stones of Callanish to the humble cottage of Hugh MacDiarmid – via the engineering colossus of the Forth Rail Bridge. And journey with James Crawford from a packed crowd in Hampden Park, to an off-the-grid eco-bothy on the Isle of Eigg. Who Built Scotland is a landmark exploration of Scotland’s social, political and cultural histories. Moving from Neolithic families, exiled hermits and ambitious royal dynasties to highland shieling girls, peasant poets, Enlightenment philosophers and iconoclastic artists, it places our people, our ideas and our passions at the heart of our architecture and archaeology. This is the remarkable story how we have shaped our buildings and how our buildings, in turn, have shaped us.

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Dominating the surrounding landscape from its volcanic outcrop, Stirling Castle is an enduring symbol of an epic past. The castle's history is inextricably bound with that of the Scottish nation. It has been touched by every drama and conflict, from the campaigns of the Wars of Independence, through the Jacobite threat, to conflicts of the twentieth century, when it served until the 1960s as home to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Almost every Scottish monarch has left a mark on the castle, which has over the centuries served as both castle and palace: a strategic stronghold and a secure residence for the Stewart monarchs and their children. Archaeological investigation began at Stirling Castle in 1921, when the Grand Battery was excavated to reveal the great kitchens, but it is only in the later twentieth century that concerted archaeological research, conservation and presentation has sought to provide a coherent picture of the development of the monument. This volume brings together the evidence from the archaeological excavations, surveys, historical research and investigations of the standing buildings which have taken place during the conservation and re-presentation of Stirling Castle.

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As the glaciers of the last Ice Age receded, humans ventured into the far north, exploring a wild, fertile territory. Nomadic hunter-gatherers at first, they made the decision to stay for good - to farm and to build. The landscapes they lived on were remarkable in their diversity. Vast forests of pine and birch ran through one of the world's oldest mountain ranges - once as high as the Himalayas but over millennia scoured and compressed by sheets of ice a mile thick. On hundreds of islands around a saw-edged coastline, communities flourished, linked to each other and the wider world by the sea, the transport superhighway of ancient times. It was a place of challenges and opportunity. A place we know today as Scotland. Over the past 10,000 years, every inch of Scotland - whether remote hilltop, fertile floodplain, or storm-lashed coastline - has been shaped, changed and moulded by its people. No part of the land is without its human story. From Orkney's immaculately preserved Neolithic villages to Highland glens stripped of nineteenth century settlements, from a Skye peninsula converted to an ingenious Viking shipyard, to a sheer Hebridean clifftop used as the site of a spectacular lighthouse, Scotland's history is written into its landscapes in vivid detail. Scotland's Landscapes tells the enduring story of this interaction between man and his environment. Stunning new imagery from the National Collection of Aerial Photography comes together to build up a picture of a dramatic terrain forged by thousands of years of incredible change. These are Scotland's landscapes as you have never seen or understood them before.

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In 1527 Hector Boece, the first Principal of King's College Aberdeen, wrote in his extensive History of the Scottish People of an island of rocky crags and prehistoric sheep, which could only be reached through extreme danger to life. It was, he explained, 'the last and outmaist Ile' of Scotland. It was St Kilda. St Kilda breaks the waters of the Atlantic Ocean some 100 miles west of the mainland, and 40 miles west of the Outer Hebridean island of North Uist. On clear days it appears as a dark silhouette on a distant horizon. Approach it, and it resolves into seven shapes - the four islands of Hirta, Boreray, Soay and Dun, and three towering sea stacks. It is an enigmatic and awe-inspiring landscape, a starkly beautiful vision of 'life on the edge' which has fascinated everyone from travellers, antiquarians and conservationists to writers, film crews and tourists. And, perhaps as a result, it is one of the most mythologised and misunderstood places on earth. Archaeologists Angela Gannon and George Geddes have spent over nine months living and working on St Kilda, and have been part of a team which has been researching its complex and remarkable history for more than a decade. In this new book they turn the popular perception of the archipelago on its head. St Kilda, they argue, has never existed in total isolation, but has always been linked to a network of communities scattered across the north western seaboard and the Highlands of Scotland. The Last and Outmost Isle pulls St Kilda back from the 'end of the world' to tell a compelling story of triumph over geographical adversity. What makes these islands so special is not their distance from 'civilisation', but rather their enduring capacity to remain a living, connected part of Scotland over the course of some three thousand years.

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The Honours of Scotland tells the turbulent story of the Honours – Scotland’s crown jewels – and the equally dramatic tale of the Stone of Destiny. Over the centuries, Scotland’s monarchy experienced relentless conflict and shifts in power. But throughout all of the struggles, there remained one stalwart reminder of the authority of the monarchy: the Honours of Scotland. For centuries, these priceless objects were entangled in the intrigues of Scottish noble and royal families. Hidden, stolen, mended, remade – and now taking pride of place on display in Edinburgh Castle – their survival depended on the brave actions of many Scots. Existing at the crossroads of myth and tradition, ceremony and legitimacy, the Honours and the Stone of Destiny transcended the sway of individual kings and queens to become proud symbols of Scottish identity and power.

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Dominating the city from its volcanic rock, Edinburgh Castle is one of the oldest fortified places in Europe. This natural stronghold has been occupied for thousands of years, shifting its shape as it was adapted for new uses and against new threats. The castle has long been a royal residence and a focus for national pride – a place of strength where kings and queens could enjoy relative safety in turbulent times, and national treasures could be securely stored. It has been at the heart of Scotland’s major events, fought over, held and recaptured time after time. In fact, it is the most besieged place in Great Britain, and remained in military use well into the past century. Over the years Edinburgh Castle has attracted countless visitors with an interest in Scotland’s dramatic history. This book invites visitors to explore the castle and learn about its extraordinary history and discover some of its fascinating secrets.

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Historic Scotland is part of Historic Environment Scotland,the lead public body established to investigate, care for and promote Scotland's historic environment.

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Historic Scotland is part of Historic Environment Scotland, the lead public body established to investigate, care for and promote Scotland's historic environment.

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'There have always been lighthouses in my life. There has been a closeness and steadiness to our relationship, as if they have kept pace and in close contact with me.' Lighthouses punctuate Scotland’s coastline – a stoic presence on the edge of the landscape. Since the earliest of these hardy structures were raised, they have been a lifeline for seafarers at the mercy of treacherous weather and uncertain navigation. Today over 100 of Scotland's lighthouses are listed buildings. The lighthouse is now one of many maritime resources which act ‘for the safety of all’. But we are still drawn to the solitary life of the keeper, the beauty of the lens of the lamp and the calm reassurance of a flashing light on a distant shore. Donald S Murray explores Scotland’s lighthouses through history, storytelling and the voices of the lightkeepers. From ancient beacons to the work of the Stevensons and the Northern Lighthouse Board, and from wartime strife to automation and preservation, the lighthouses stand as a testament to the nation’s innate connection to the sea. Published in partnership between Historic Environment Scotland and the Northern Lighthouse Board.

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For hundreds of years it was the custom in Lewis for man and beast to be housed together under one roof. The blackhouse at no. 42 Arnol is a unique and precious relic – the residence of a Hebridean crofting family, and their animals, preserved almost as the family left it when they moved out in 1966. When no. 42 Arnol was no longer occupied, the property was entrusted into State care. At that time there were a good number of Hebridean blackhouses still in use as homes; today there are none. When the last blackhouse was vacated, a way of life reaching far back into the past came to an end. The Arnol Blackhouse is now the last tangible link with that tradition. In this guide, Professor Alexander Fenton, an ethnologist who greatly expanded knowledge of Scotland’s rural heritage, evokes a form of living and working on Lewis that now lies beyond the memory of individuals.

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On 18 July 1754, William Crichton Dalrymple, the 5th Earl of Dumfries, laid the foundation stone of Dumfries House. It was the first country house built by Robert, John and James Adam - the brothers whose architectural practice was to become the most famous in Britain.Dumfries House lies within its historic landscape in rolling farmland to the west of Cumnock. Completed in 1760, the house was adapted and altered over the years - most significantly and sympathetically by Robert Weir Schultz, a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. Dumfries House is not only significant architecturally, it also contains one of the most spectacular collections of eighteenth century furniture in Britain, with works by Thomas Chippendale, and pieces by three renowned Edinburgh furniture-makers, Francis Brodie, Alexander Peter and William Mathie. In June 2007, HRH The Prince of Wales headed a consortium of charities and heritage bodies to buy the house, its contents and its estate, with the express aim of preserving it in its entirety and making it more accessible to the public. In this landmark book, author Simon Green draws on previously unpublished documents from the extensive archives of the Bute family, who lived in the house from the early nineteenth century until the death of Lady Bute in 1993, along with a wealth of photographs, plans and drawings from the National Trust for Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Exploring the people and the ideas behind a unique building, Dumfries House is the story of the survival of a treasured eighteenth century family residence - at once the 'homliest' of homes and 'a great undertaking, more bold than wise'.

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It is easy to overlook how much of our history is preserved all around us the way the narrative of bygone days has been inscribed in fields, forests, hills and mountains, roads, railways, canals, lochs, buildings and settlements. Indeed, footprints of the past are to be found almost everywhere. The shapes of fields may reveal the brief presence of the Romans or the labours of medieval peasants; while great heaps of abandoned spoil or the remains of gargantuan holes in the ground mark the rapid decline of heavy industry in the recent past.These evocative spaces provide unique evidence for the way this land and its wealth of resources has been lived in, worked on, ruined, abandoned, restored and celebrated offering valuable clues that bring the past to life far more effectively than any written history.A History of Scotland's Landscapesexplores the many ways that we have used, adapted and altered our environment over thousands of years. Full of maps, photographs and drawings, it offers

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The heart of Scotland is its landscape. Follow in the footsteps of countless generations to experience the drama, romance and mystery of this ancient country.Aerial photography has the power to capture the lasting impression left on the land across the centuries. From castles, lochs and cities to rivers, mountains and beaches, the view from above provides a unique picture of Scotland.Packed with wonderful contemporary and archive imagery complemented by an illuminating introductory essay and captions, Above Scotland reveals the true variety of Scotland.

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John R Hume is Scotland’s foremost expert on industrial heritage. John’s greatest passion was – and is – industry. Over the course of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, he took over 25,000 photographs of late-industrial and post-industrial Scotland. His collection is a remarkable portrait of a way of life that has now all but vanished. His drive to act as a witness to Scotland’s industrial empire, and its steady disintegration, took him to every corner of the country. John’s photography produces an exhaustive and objective record. Yet it also reveals remarkable and poignant glimpses of domestic life – children playing in factory ruins, high-rises emerging on the city skylines, working men and women dwarfed by the incredible scale of an already crumbling industrial infrastructure. In A Life of Industry, author Daniel Gray tells John’s story, and the story of what has been lost – and preserved.

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Edinburgh is a city renowned for critical thinking, cutting edge breakthroughs and unique creativity. At the heart of these enlightened ideals lies the University of Edinburgh, which has influenced life in the capital since it was founded in the late sixteenth century. Building Knowledge: An Architectural History of the University of Edinburgh reveals how the structural fabric of the University has often reflected the changing priorities of Edinburgh scholars. Buildings which emerged from the initial mishmash of the Old Town were to become iconic Scottish landmarks - from the classical magnificence of Robert Adams' purpose-built Old College, to Modernist developments, like Basil Spence's monumental central library. Combining beautiful new photography with rare archive material, Building Knowledge explores the evolution of the University through its celebrated architecture. Many leading figures have graced the University's halls, laboratories and lecture theatres, from David Hume and Emeritus Professor Higgs, to Robert Louis Stevenson and Dolly the Sheep. Its buildings will continue to inspire the education of students for generations to come.

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On 2 August 1908, Alexander Ormiston Curle, a 41-year-old solicitor and antiquarian, set off by bicycle from the Borders fishing village of St Abbs on a mission to inspect ''all the ancient monuments of Scotland''. Three months later, he announced that his first survey, of the County of Berwickshire, was complete. ''I have inspected over 200 objects'' he wrote ''and written up notes on them. My bicycle has carried me almost 300 miles; five times only have I hired a trap and twice a motor car. The number of miles I have tramped by moorland and meadow I have no reckoning of but they are many. It has never been anything but the most intense pleasure to me''.Curle was the first Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland: tasked by letters patent of Edward VII with making an ''inventory'' of sites and constructions ''connected with or illustrative of the culture of the people of Scotland from earliest times''. At the Commission''s very first meetin

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Discover awesome Scottish castles in this sticker and activity book bursting with colouring, doodling, puzzles and more than 100 stickers!Have fun...-- Filling Edinburgh Castle with fun stickers-- Colouring an exciting attack on Urquhart Castle-- Doodling unicorns, dragons and other castle creatures-- Dressing up Mary, Queen of Scots at Stirling Castle-- Spotting the difference at the siege of Caerlaverock Castle-- Designing your own Scottish castleCreated in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland, and based on their unrivalled portfolio of castle properties, this bright and lively activity book is packed with fun facts and thrilling historical detail to bring Scotland's most famous castles to life!

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Discover the secrets of the Stone Age and travel back in time to see what life was like for the villagers of Skara Brae on Orkney. This book introduces little explorers to Neolithic life through Scotland's most famous prehistoric village. Moving parts let them catch a fish for dinner, cook over an open fire, travel through tunnels to visit friends, raise a standing stone at Stenness, and even uncover the village thousands of years later!Published in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland, custodians of Skara Brae, the bright and exciting illustrations are packed full of historical detail helping young children to learn as they play.An ideal gift for visitors to Scotland, this large board book is chunky but lightweight with sturdy moving parts that are just the right size for little hands.

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Lay siege to Stirling Castle, spot Nessie hiding at Urquhart Castle, have a feast with Mary Queen of Scots and escape Edinburgh Castle's dungeons! This book introduces little explorers to Scotland's history through its most famous castles. Moving parts let them pull up a portcullis, lower a drawbridge, tunnel out of the dungeons, blow up a tower and set off an amazing firework display.Published in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland, who run some of Scotland's most famous historical tourist attractions, each page is inspired by a real Scottish castle in their portfolio. The bright and exciting illustrations are packed full of historical detail helping young children to learn as they play.An ideal gift for visitors to Scotland, this large board book is chunky but lightweight with sturdy moving parts that are just the right size for little hands.

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Turn back time and introduce little explorers to Scotland's past through some of its most famous historical places. Explore Orkney's Skara Brae with Stone Age villagers, command Urquhart Castle with Robert the Bruce, return to Jarlshof in Shetland after a Viking raid, have a feast at Stirling Castle with King James V, guard the Antonine Wall with Roman soldiers, and try to capture Edinburgh Castle with the Jacobites. With double fold-out sturdy pages, children can discover what key places in Scotland's history look like now, then reveal how they might have looked hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago.Published in partnership with experts at Historic Environment Scotland, each page is inspired by an Historic Scotland site. The bright and exciting illustrations are packed full of historical detail helping young children to learn as they explore. This large board book is chunky but lightweight -- just the right size for little hands -- and a perfect souvenir of adventures in Scotland.

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Explore Scotland's most famous castle -- home to kings and queens, the site of historic battles, and probably the best-known place in Scotland. Published in partnership with history experts at Edinburgh Castle and Historic Environment Scotland, this fun, fact-packed book includes everything you need to know about the castle's 1000-year history: -- Its most famous residents and treasures -- Who attacked the castle, and who tried to defend it -- Its dank dungeons and the prisoners who tried to escape -- The terrible battles and incredible sieges -- The secrets and the mysteriesConveying fascinating facts through simple words and loads of historically accurate illustrations, Edinburgh Castle for Kids will appeal to a wide age range of young visitors from all over the world.Each section includes a fun activity -- mazes, doodling and colouring, spot the difference, untangle, search and find and join the dots.With a mix of brilliant facts and enjoyable activities, Edinburgh Castle for Kids is the ultimate guide for kids to Scotland's most famous landmark -- whether you've visited or not!

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A system for the hierarchical Classification of Lithic Artefacts from the British Late Glacial and Holocene Periods is offered in this book. It is hoped that it may find use as a guide book for archaeology students, museum staff, non-specialist archaeologists, local archaeology groups and lay enthusiasts. To allow the individual categories of lithic objects to be classified and characterised in detail, it was necessary to first define a number of descriptive terms, which forms the first part of this guide. The main part of the book is the lithic classification section, which offers definitions of the individual formal debitage, core and tool types. The basic questions asked are: what defines Object X as a tool and not a piece of debitage or a core; what defines a microlith as a microlith and not a knife or a piercer; and what defines a specific implement as a scalene triangle and not an isosceles one? As shown in the book, there are disagreements within the lithics community as to the specific definition of some types, demonstrating the need for all lithics reports to define which typological framework they are based on. The eBook edition of this publication is available in Open Access, supported by Historic Environment Scotland.

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