Old Photograph Pier Rousay Orkney Islands Scotland

Old photograph of cottages by the pier on Rousay, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Most people on this small, hilly island about one mile North of mainland Orkney have always earned their living from farming and fishing. In the 19th century, records show there were also tradespeople supplying the needs of a rural community: blacksmiths and joiners, shoemakers and shopkeepers, with women doing dressmaking and straw plaiting. Throughout the century, Rousay's landlords demanded high rents from crofters, many of whom were made homeless in a series of clearances along the western coast, ordered by landowner George William Traill in the 1820s and 1830s. Rousay's population in the mid 19th century was over 900, but emigration following land clearances reduced that to 627 by 1900, and half a century later it had fallen to 342. Depopulation accelerated, and in the next twenty years the number fell to 181, its lowest ever. From the 1970s onward new families started to settle on Rousay: most came from the south, especially from England.



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Old Photograph Post Office Maryburgh Scotland

Old photograph of people outside the Post Office in Maryburgh located two miles South of Dingwall, Scotland. Maryburgh, Scottish Gaelic: Baile Màiri, is a village in the Highlands. located 2 miles South of Dingwall. It is situated on the northern bank of the River Conon. The village of Conon Bridge is on the other side of the river.



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Old Photograph Crichton Royal Hospital Dumfries Scotland

Old photograph of Crichton Royal Hospital in Dumfries, Scotland. This hospital was established in 1839 at the direction of Elizabeth Crichton, widow of Dr James Crichton, with money which had been made mainly by trading in India and China.



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Old Photograph Steam Train Derailment Greenock Scotland

Old photograph of a steam train derailment in Greenock by Glasgow, Scotland. The fishing village of Greenock developed along this bay, and around 1635 Sir John Schaw had a jetty built into the bay which became known as Sir John's Bay. In that year he obtained a Charter raising Greenock to a Burgh of Barony with rights to a weekly market. In 1714 Greenock became a custom house port as a branch of Port Glasgow, and for a period this operated from rooms leased in Greenock. Receipts rose rapidly from the 1770s, and in 1778 the custom house moved to new built premises at the West Quay of the harbour. Greenock suffered badly during the Second World War and its anchorage at the Tail of the Bank became the base for the Home Fleet as well as the main assembly point for Atlantic convoys. 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 Photograph Wallace and Fraser's Shop Tain Scotland

Old photograph of the Wallace and Fraser's shop in Tain, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. This shop on the High Street was engulfed in flames in 1957. Tain was granted its first royal charter in 1066, making it Scotland's oldest Royal Burgh. The charter, granted by King Malcolm III, confirmed Tain as a sanctuary, where people could claim the protection of the church, and an immunity, in which resident merchants and traders were exempt from certain taxes. These led to the development of the town. The early Duthac Chapel was the center of a sanctuary. Fugitives were by tradition given sanctuary in several square miles marked by boundary stones. During the First War of Scottish Independence, Robert the Bruce sent his wife and daughter to the sanctuary for safety. The sanctuary was violated and they were captured by forces loyal to John Balliol. The women were taken to England and kept prisoner for several years. John Ross, born 29 January 1726, Tain, died March 1800, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a merchant during the American Revolution. He early relocated to Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, and entered into mercantile pursuits, but in 1763 he went to Philadelphia, where he became a shipping merchant. He was on familiar terms with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Morris, and several entries in General Washington's diary, during the sittings of the convention to frame the United States Constitution, tell of engagements to dine with Mr. Ross at his country place, Grange Farm or the Grange, named after the home of Lafayette. 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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