Old Photographs High Street Gatehouse Of Fleet Scotland

Old photograph of houses, people, shops and cottages on the High Street in Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Gatehouse of Fleet is the birthplace of Victorian artist John Faed. The renowned inventor of clockwork mechanisms, Robert Williamson was also known to have set up a workshop in the town in 1778, which burned to the ground, and claimed his life, in 1794. The town takes its name from its location near the mouth of the river called the Water of Fleet which empties into Wigtown Bay at Fleet Bay, and its former role as the location of the toll booth on the late 18th century stagecoach route from Dumfries to Stranraer, now the A75 road. It was a safe haven along this route, and travellers would often stop in the area rather than furthering the journey at night due to the high numbers of bandits and highwaymen at the time. 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 Reid Hall Forfar Scotland

Old photograph of Reid Hall in Forfar, Angus, Scotland. Reid Hall was founded as a community hall in 1869, but was used for religious services by several congregations in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was also a children's church for a time. History Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to travel and 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 Townhouse Crail East Neuk Of Fife Scotland

Old photograph of the Townhouse in Crail, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The historic town house, or tollbooth as it is known, in the large marketplace, has a tower dating from about 1600. A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of three essential features in a Scottish burgh, along with the market cross and the church. The first record of a tolbooth is at Berwick upon Tweed in the later 13th century, and the earliest known grant of land for construction of a tolbooth is at Dundee in 1325, with many more grants recorded through the 14th century. The oldest tolbooths which survive intact are those of Musselburgh and Canongate. The tolbooth of Glasgow has been described as Scotland's " most remarkable civic building of the 17th century ". Other Renaissance style tolbooths were erected at Linlithgow and Kirkcaldy. By the 18th century, the term tolbooth had become closely associated with prison, and the term town house became more common to denote the municipal buildings. Classical architectural styles were introduced, as at Dundee and Sanquhar. In the early 19th century, increasing separation of functions led to purpose-built courthouses and prisons, and the replacement of tolbooths and town houses with modern town halls, serving as council chamber and events venue. The prison functions of tolbooths were overseen by prison boards from 1839, but the jail cell in the Falkirk Steeple remained in use until 1984.



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

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Old Photograph Balephetrish Bay Tiree Scotland

Old photograph of Balephetrish Bay on the Isle of Tiree located South West Of Coll which is West of Isle Of Mull, Scotland. Balephetrish, Gaelic Baile Pheadrais, is located on the north coast of the Isle of Tiree, exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. Balephetrish Bay is located between Ard Mor and Rubh' an Fhaing, 2 miles North of Crossapoll. There are groups of rocks and a fine sandy beach, Traigh Mor, extending over 1¼ miles, giving way to a dune system inland, with associated machair.


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

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Old Photograph Asylum Hartwood Scotland

Old photograph of the Asylum in Hartwood near Shotts, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The remains of Hartwood Hospital, a 19th century psychiatric hospital with imposing twin clock towers, are the main feature of the village. The original hospital was overseen by Dr Archibald Campbell Clark, the medical superintendent, and was involved with the inception of modern psychiatric therapies such as occupational therapy, ECT and industrial involvement. In the hospital style of the time, Hartwood was entirely self-sustaining, with its own farm, gardens, reservoir, graveyard and staff houses. 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.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.