Old Photograph Strathaven Castle Scotland

Old photograph of Strathaven Castle, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The origins of this Scottish castle are obscure, but it is thought to have been built around 1350 by the Bairds, on a bend of the Powmillon Burn. Later the castle passed to the Sinclairs and then to the Earls of Douglas. After the suppression of the Earls of Douglas by James II in 1455, the castle was sacked and slighted. Little or nothing of the early castle remains. In 1457 Strathaven was granted to Sir Andrew Stewart, an illegitimate grandson of Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany. Stewart, who later became Lord Avondale, either rebuilt the earlier castle, or built a new castle on the same site. In 1534 it passed to Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, who expanded the buildings. A letter of 1559 mentions that it was here, at 'Straverin', that Master Patrick Buchanan, brother of George Buchanan, taught the children of Regent Arran.

It changed hands one last time in 1611, when the castle was sold to James, Marquis of Hamilton. The last occupant was Anne, Duchess of Hamilton (1632-1716), whose main residence was Hamilton Palace. The castle was abandoned in 1717.

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July 10 Photograph Weather Scotland

July 10 photograph of the weather today in Perthshire, Scotland. Very heavy rain for most of the day.

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Photograph T in the Park Music Festival Scotland

Photograph of T in the Park Music Festival, Balado, Perthshire, Scotland. T in the Park is a major music festival that has been held annually in Scotland since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, near Kinross, Scotland.

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Small group tours of Scotland. Ancestry tours of Scotland. Tour Scotland. Tour Aberdeen, Tour Dundee, Tour Edinburgh, Tour Glasgow, Tour Isle of Skye. Tour Glencoe, Tour Loch Lomond. Tour Loch Ness.

Old Photograph Pearl Fisher Scotland

Old photograph of a Pearl Fisher in Perthshire, Scotland. There has been pearl fishing in Scotland for centuries. First mentions of British pearls come from the time of Julius Caesar. Tacitus noted that the pearls from Britain were dusky or brownish. In 1355 Scottish pearls were being exported to Paris, France, as there is a statue from that time of the Parisian Goldsmiths saying that gold and silver smiths were not to set Scottish pearls alongside Oriental ones. The only exception being for large projects such as for churches, where it probably was not possible to acquire sufficient Oriental pearls without an item becoming too expensive.



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Tour Scotland Photograph Joyce Cairns Painting Perth

Tour Scotland photograph of a painting by Joyce Cairns in the Art Gallery in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. An oil painting title the " Deadly Wars. " Joyce Cairns has lived in Aberdeen for the past 30 years. Born in Edinburgh in 1947, Cairns was brought up in North East Scotland, where her father was a school master. In 1966, she went to Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen where she studied until 1970. She then took a Master of Art at the Royal College of Art in London, England, from 1971 to 1974. This was followed by a fellowship at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design in Cheltenham. She went on to undertake a further period of study at Goldsmith’s College before returning to Aberdeen in 1976 to take up a teaching post at Gray’s School of Art. On returning to Aberdeen, she moved into the small fishing village of Footdee at the mouth of the harbour in Aberdeen.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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