Old Photograph High Street Dalbeattie Scotland

Old photograph of shops, houses and people on the High Street in Dalbeattie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The building of the bridge over the River Urr at Craignair in 1797 and the rapid expansion of the granite industry in Dalbeattie attracted more people to settle in the town. By 1810 work in the quarries was plentiful, and over the next 30 years a lot of tradespeople settled and founded businesses in Dalbeattie. William McMaster Murdoch, was born in Dalbeattie on 28 February 1873, he was a Scottish sailor who was notable as the first officer of the Titanic. Mystery also surrounds his death on 15 April 1912. Born from a family of sailors, he was employed by the White Star Line in 1900 and quickly became an officer. In 1903, his leadership became recognized when he avoided a collision with the Arabic. In April 1912, he served as First Officer aboard the RMS Titanic. He is notable as the officer in charge on the bridge the night when the Titanic collided with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. He was one of the 1,500 people who died in the disaster. Blog post 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 Photographs High Street Hawick Scotland

Old photograph of a horse and cart, cars, shops, people and buildings on the High Street in Hawick, Scotland. Tour Scottish Borders. In the centre of the High Street is the Scots baronial style Town Hall, built in 1886, and the east end has an equestrian statue, known as the Horse, erected in 1914. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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

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Old Photograph Gauze Street Paisley Scotland

Old photograph of shops, buildings, and people on Gauze Street in Paisley by Glasgow, Scotland. Paisley, as with other areas in Renfrewshire, was at one time famous for its weaving and textile industries. As a consequence, the Paisley pattern has long symbolic associations with the town. Until the Jacquard loom was introduced in the 1820s, weaving was a cottage industry. This innovation led to the industrialisation of the process and many larger mills were created in the town. Also as a consequence of greater mechanisation, many weavers lost their livelihoods and left for Canada and Australia. Paisley was for many years a centre for the manufacture of cotton sewing thread. At the heyday of Paisley thread manufacture in the 1930s, there were 28,000 people employed in the huge Anchor and Ferguslie mills of J & P Coats Ltd, said to be the largest of their kind in the world at that time. In the 1950s, the mills diversified into the production of synthetic threads but production diminished rapidly as a result of less expensive imports from overseas and the establishment of mills in India and Brazil by J & P Coats. By the end of the 1993, there was no thread being produced in Paisley. Both industries have left a permanent mark on the town in the form of the many places with textile related names, for example, Dyer's Wynd, Cotton Street, Thread Street, Shuttle Street, Lawn Street, Silk Street, Mill Street, Gauze Street and Incle Street.



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Old Photograph St Meddans Street Troon Scotland

Old photograph of houses, church and people on St Meddans Street in Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland. Troon is famous for its Royal Troon golf course, one of the hosts to the Open Golf Championship. Troon Harbour played a notable part in the development of the town for many years. It was home to the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company. Troon old railway station was one of the first passenger stations in Scotland as part of the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway. The Grey Lady of Troon. The Grey Lady is a tale or fable that has surrounded Troon for years. She was first sighted by Jason Grant, a local farmer, in 1873. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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

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Old Photograph Cameron Highlanders Pipe Band Inverness Scotland

Old photograph of the Cameron Highlanders Pipe Band in Inverness, Scotland. The Regiment was formed during the height of the French Revolutionary Wars, 1792 to 1802, by Sir Alan Cameron of Erracht in 1793. It was named after one of the most powerful Highland Clans at the time as the Cameronian Volunteers, but soon designated as the 79th Regiment of Foot Cameronian Volunteers. The Regiment was then sent to the West Indies and remained at Martinique for 2 years, where it suffered terribly from disease, to such an extent that fit men were allowed to transfer to other Regiments and only 200 men returned to England in 1797.



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

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