Old Photograph Tweeddale Arms Hotel Gifford Scotland

Old photograph of the Tweeddale Arms Hotel in Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland. The village takes its name from Sir Hugo de Giffard of Yester, whose ancient Scoto-Norman family possessed the baronies of Yester, Morham, and Duncanlaw in Haddingtonshire, and Tayling and Poldame in the counties of Perthshire and Forfar. The Mercat Cross was built in 1780 and is still standing in the centre of the village. The present church building in Gifford was built in 1710. James Witherspoon was installed there as minister in 1720. It was his son John who signed the American Declaration of Independence.



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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs

Old Photograph Women Washing Clothes Gallowgate Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of women washing clothes outside the Saracen’s Head Inn in the Gallowgate in Glasgow, Scotland. A worthy town councillor, who was a Gallowgate boy, loved to tell of the Saraeen’s Head Inn in all its glory. On the arrival of the mail by horse and carriage, all the idlers of the city crowded round it, and at the door stood two waiters, who were specially selected for their handsome appearance, with embroidered coats, red plush breeches, and powdered hair, to welcome the passengers to the comforts inside. When the judges, or the sporting Duke of Hamilton, were expected, the waiters got themselves up in a still more ornate style, and even mounted silk stockings; and on these occasions they were looked up to with awe, wonder, and respect, by all the urchins in the area. Here was to be got the only post chaises or gigs which the city could boast of. The departure of a return chaise was a matter of import in those days, and as such publicly announced to the citizens; not by handbills and advertisements, but by sending round the bellman, a public duty which another Glasgow antiquary records as being frequently discharged by Dougal Graham.



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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Photograph Ayr Road Cumnock Scotland

Old photograph of shops, houses, church, children and people on Ayr Road in Cumnock in East Ayrshire, Scotland. This Scottish town housed many miners, and also served as the market town for the other, smaller towns in the district, like Auchinleck, Lugar, Muirkirk, New Cumnock and Ochiltree. The father of the Labour Party, James Keir Hardie, lived in the town for a large part of his life, and a statue to him sits outside the town hall. William Wallace allegedly spent three months in this area in 1296), according to the poem, The Wallace, by Blind Harry. Cumnock is also in the heart of Robert Burns country. 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.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Photograph World War One Soldier From Cathcart Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of a World War One solder from Cathcart, Glasgow, Scotland. Cathcart, Scottish Gaelic: Coille Chart, is an area of Glasgow between Mount Florida, King's Park, Muirend and Newlands. The White Cart Water flows through Cathcart, downstream from Linn Park.



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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Photograph Vicar Wedding Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of a Vicar at a wedding in Glasgow, Scotland. In Anglican churches, a vicar is a type of parish priest. Historically, parish priests in the Church of England were divided into vicars, rectors, and perpetual curates. The parish clergy and church were supported by tithes levied on the personal as well as agricultural output of the parish. Roughly speaking, the distinction was that a rector directly received both the greater and lesser tithes of his parish while a vicar received only the lesser tithes. Today, the roles of a rector and a vicar are essentially the same. Which of the two titles is held by the parish priest is historical. Some parishes have a rector, others a vicar.



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

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.