Tour Scotland photographs and videos from my tours of Scotland. Photography and videography, both old and new, from beautiful Scotland, Scottish castles, seascapes, rivers, islands, landscapes, standing stones, lochs and glens.
Tour Scotland photograph of Christ's Church on the Green in Leslie, Fife, Scotland. This Gothic revival church was constructed in 1819 by builder Thomas Barclay, Alexander Leslie was the Inspector of Works and possibly the designer. In 1868 the church was extended to the South by James Maitland Wardrop; subsequently it was doubled in size. This church is on the village green in Leslie, with a surviving graveyard cemetery to the north. The building was converted into residential use in 1994. Originally there was a medieval T-plan church on this site; it was demolished to make way for the new church building in 1819.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of Leslie House, Fife, Scotland. In 1283, Norman de Leslie, was granted lands from Alexander III known as Fettykill or Fythkill. The Leslie family, had been descendents of Bartolf or Bartholowmew, a Hungarian nobleman who arrived in Scotland on the reign of Edgar the Aetheing. Finding favour with Malcolm III, Bartolf became the governor of Edinburgh Castle and was both knighted and granted with lands in Aberdeenshire. This is where the name of Leslie which meant 'pleasant field or pasture' was adopted by Bartolf. A settlement known as Fettykill grew around these lands. Burgh of barony status was awarded by James II to the settlement which was renamed Leslie after Sir George Leslie who became 1st Earl of Rothes in 1458. During this time, the family started to become prominent in Scottish affairs. John Leslie, the then Earl of Rothes, was awarded the title of Lord High Chancellor to Charles II in 1667 and then became known as the Duke of Rothes in 1680. During this time, Leslie House was built for the Duke of Rothes between 1667 and 1674 and this became the seat of the Rothes family. The house which was dubbed Villa De Rothes was the centre of life in the village and once rivalled Holyrood Palace for both size and glamour. When a fire destroyed the building in 1743, the north, east and south wings were demolished. Only the west wing was retained and this was reconstructed between 1745 and 1747. More recently a fire has devastated the historic Leslie building, leaving nothing more than an empty shell.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the William Livingston gravestone in the old graveyard cemetery in Leslie, Fife, Scotland. Livingston is a surname with several different origins. The name itself originates in Scotland as a habitational name derived from Livingston in Lothian which was originally named in Middle English Levingston. This place name was originally named after a man named Levin who appears in several 12th century charters. In Ireland, and in some cases Scotland, the name was adopted by people bearing the Gaelic surnames Ó Duinnshléibhe and Mac Duinnshléibhe. Livingston can also be an Americanized form of Lowenstein, a Jewish surname.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the Euphemia McLaren gravestone in the old graveyard cemetery in Leslie, Fife, Scotland. MacLaren or Maclaren is a surname of Scottish and northern Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Labhrainn meaning "son of Labhrann". The Gaelic personal name Labhrann is a Gaelicised form of Lawrence.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland photograph of the old graveyard cemetery in Leslie, Fife, Scotland. Little is known about the history of Leslie before 1300. The village which bears the name of the Leslie family area descended from Bartolf or Bartholomew who was a Hungarian or maybe Flemish tradesman, who according to legend arrived in Scotland with Queen Margaret, the sister of Edgar the Ætheling in 1057. Finding favour with Queen Margaret's husband, King Malcolm III, Bartolf became the governor of Edinburgh Castle and was knighted and granted with lands in the Garioch in Aberdeenshire, making his residence at Leslie.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
