Old Photograph Witch Stone Dornoch Scotland

Old photograph of the Witch Stone outside a cottage in Littletown in Dornoch, Scotland. This stone commemorates the last person to be burnt as a witch in Scotland. Janet Horne and her daughter were arrested in Dornoch in Scotland and imprisoned on the accusations of her neighbours. Horne was showing signs of senility, and her daughter had a deformity of her hands and feet. The neighbours accused Horne of having used her daughter as a pony to ride to the Devil, where she had her shod by him. The trial was conducted very quickly; the sheriff had both of them judged guilty and sentenced to be burned at the stake. The daughter managed to escape, but Janet was stripped, smeared with tar, paraded through the town on a barrel and burned alive in 1727.



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Old Photograph Katie Wearie's Tree Linlithgow Scotland

Old photograph of Katie Wearie's tree in Linlithgow, Scotland. According to local folklore, Katie used to herd cattle, probably sometime in the early 19th Century. Legend has it that she would rest beneath the willow tree at the West Port on a warm day and was heard to say “ Katie’s Weary. ” Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Photograph Shawlands Cross Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of Shawlands Cross, Glasgow, Scotland. Shawlands is a district of Glasgow, located less than 2 miles south of the River Clyde. Neighbouring districts include the areas of Crossmyloof, Langside and Pollokshaws with Shawlands itself overlapping the Glasgow City. Within walking distance of Shawlands is Queens Park, acquired in 1857 and designed by the world renowned Sir Joseph Paxton, also responsible for noted public parks in London, Liverpool, Birkenhead and the grounds of the Spa Buildings at Scarborough, England. The park was dedicated to the memory of Mary, Queen of Scots and not Queen Victoria.



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Old Photograph Finnieston Cross Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of shops, people and Tram at Finnieston Cross, Glasgow, Scotland. The village of Finnieston was established in 1768 on the lands of Stobcross by Matthew Orr, the owner of Stobcross House. Orr named the new village " Finnieston " in honour of the Reverend John Finnie, who had been his tutor.

Orr is a surname common throughout the English speaking world, but especially in Scotland, Ulster, the United States, Canada, and northern England. The name is considered to have numerous origins: such as being derived from an Old Norse byname; a Gaelic nickname; and an Old English topographical name, or similar place-name. In Scotland, the name is first known to have been recorded in Renfrewshire. A tradition of some of the Orrs in Northern Ireland has it that they were descended from outlawed brothers whose original family name was McLean; they crossed this river and then made their way by boat to Donaghadee in County Down in the early 17th century. Having escaped persecution, they took river's name as their surname and settled in Newtownards.



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Old Photograph Ury House Scotland

Old photograph of Ury House by Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This Scottish mansion house was built in the Elizabethan style in 1885 by Alexander Baird. Originally the estate belonged to the Frasers, then the Hays starting in 1413, but eventually became the property of the Earl Marischal. Over the years Ury has been rebuilt three times. In early times the property was known as Urie. In the 17th century Ury was established as the North East Scotland headquarters of the Quaker organisation by David Barclay. Bronze Age cists have been found at the site of the Ury House. Roman legions marched from Raedykes to Normandykes Roman Camp nearby as they used higher ground evading the bogs of Red Moss and low lying mosses associated with the Burn of Muchalls. That march used the Elsick Mounth, one of the ancient tracks crossing the Mounth of the Grampian Mountains, lying west of Netherley.



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

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