Old Photograph Newark Castle Port Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of Newark Castle in Port Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland. This Scottish castle was built in 1478 by George Maxwell when he inherited the Barony of Finlanstone or Finlaystone in the parish of Kilmacolm. The original castle had a tower house within a walled enclosure or barmkin entered through a large gatehouse. All that remains of the outer defensive wall is from one of the original corner towers. In the late 16th century the castle was inherited by Sir Patrick Maxwell, a powerful friend of king James VI of Scotland who was notorious for murdering two members of a rival family and beating his wife who left him after having 16 children. In 1597 Sir Patrick expanded the building, constructing a new north range replacing the earlier hall in the form of a three storey Renaissance mansion. In 1668 the Glasgow authorities purchased 18 acres of land around Newark Castle from Sir George Maxwell who was then the laird, and developed the harbour into what they called " Port Glasgow ". The last Maxwell died in 1694 and the castle had a series of non-resident owners. An early tenant was a rope maker called John Orr who also dealt in wild animals such as big cats and bears which he obtained from ships visiting the Clyde and often housed in the castle cellars.



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Old Photograph Edinample Castle Scotland

Old photograph of Edinample Castle near Balquhidder and Lochearnhead, Scotland This is a late 16th century Scottish castle on the southern shores of Loch Earn. The castle takes the form of a Z-plan tower house, originally built by Black Duncan Campbell, Donnchadh Dubh, of Glenorchy. It is built on land acquired by the Campbells after their campaign for proscription, and subsequent demise of the MacGregors. It is said that Black Duncan pushed the castle's builder off the roof, in part to avoid paying him, but also because he omitted to construct the ramparts that had been requested. It is also said that the ghost of the builder has been seen walking on the roof.





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

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Tour Scotland Video Linn Of Dee River Dee Near Braemar Aberdeenshire Scottish Highlands

Tour Scotland video of Linn Of Dee on the River Dee near Braemar on ancestry visit to Aberdeenshire, Scotland. At Linn of Dee the river passes east through a 300 metre natural rock gorge. The River Dee rises at approximately 4,000 feet in elevation on the plateau of Braeriach in the Cairngorm Mountains, the highest source of any major river in the British Isles. Emerging in a number of pools called the Wells of Dee the young Dee then flows across the plateau to the cliff edge from where the Falls of Dee plunge into An Garbh Choire. The river is then joined by a tributary coming from the Pools of Dee in the Lairig Ghru and then flows south down the Lairig Ghru between Ben Macdui and Cairn Toul, tumbling over falls in the Chest of Dee on its way to White Bridge and the confluence with the Geldie Burn. At Linn of Dee the river passes east through a 300 metre natural rock gorge. Between there and Braemar, Lui Water, formed by Luibeg and Derry burns, and Quoich Water join the growing River Dee. The River Clunie enters the Dee at Braemar. The Dee is a popular salmon fishing river, having a succession of varied pools, intersected by sharp rapids.

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

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Old Photograph Deanston Mill Scotland

Old photograph of Deanston Cotton Mill on the south bank of the River Teith by Doune, Scotland. This Scottish Mill was built by the Buchanan brothers of Carston, Killearn near Glasgow. in 1785, and utilised the River Teith to power the mill. In 1808 James Finlay and Company bought the mill and developed it into the industrial leader of its time, which included the construction of a 1500 yard long Lade. James Smith, a manager of the mill, was a successful entrepreneur and inventor. He built unusually designed accommodation over four levels for his workforce, called the divisions, which was new in its day. At its peak, the mill had over 1000 workers and had the largest waterwheel in Europe, Hercules. The cotton mill closed in 1965. On the site, the Deanston Whisky Distillery opened in 1966.



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

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Old Photograph Polmood Scotland

Old photograph of cottages in Polmood near Tweedsmuir in the Borders, Scotland. Polmood was for many centuries the centre of the Hunter family in the lowlands and the earliest record was a charter dated 1057 to Norman Hunter of Polmood. It was once a Peel tower, part of a chain of beacons running down the Tweed Valley. Polmood is commemorated in The Piper of Polmood a piece based on old Scottish folk tunes by Victor Babin.



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

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