Tour Scotland photographs and videos from my tours of Scotland. Photography and videography, both old and new, from beautiful Scotland, Scottish castles, seascapes, rivers, islands, landscapes, standing stones, lochs and glens.
Old photograph of Barrmill in North Ayrshire, Scotland. A village grew up here due to the employment provided by the several limestone quarries that were present at one time. The village that developed had a population of 300 in 1876 and 600 in 1951, when the threadmaking industry had just ceased, although the workers still lived in company houses and were transported daily to the threadmaking factory at Kilbirnie. This mill was founded in the middle of the 19th century to make linen thread, much used at the time for boot and shoe making, and for sailmaking; an offshoot of the much larger linen thread mills at Kilbirnie. The largest of the mill buildings was a three storeyed, flat roofed mill, with a fireproof interior with brick arches on cast iron columns. In 1965 the buildings were being used as a fertiliser factory. The mill buildings have been demolished, but the offices still survive.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video of old photographs of Dreghorn village near Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. John Boyd Dunlop was born at a Dreghorn farm on 5 February 1840. He qualified as a veterinary surgeon at the Dick Vet in Edinburgh and set up practice in Belfast, where he invented a pneumatic tyres for bicycles in October 1887. The principle had been patented by Robert William Thomson in 1847, but it was Dunlop's invention that made a success of the idea. The Church of Scotland parish church dates from from 1780, and has an unusual octagonal plan. At one time, the church was known locally as the Threepenny after the 12 sided Threepence coin. Dreghorn's historical main industries were farming and coal mining. All of the coal mines around Dreghorn were closed by the early 1980s. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.
There are two main theories on the origin of the name Boyd. The first asserts that name is descriptive, deriving from the Gaelic, buidhe, meaning " fair " or " blonde ". The fair man in question is said to have been Robert, nephew of Walter Fitzalan, 1st High Steward of Scotland. The second theory asserts that the original Boyds were vassals of the Norman family, de Morville, from their lands in Largs and Irvine. In Gaelic, " boid " means " from Bute ". The earliest occurrence of the name is found in an Inquisition formed by King David I of Scotland into the lands of the bishopric of Glasgow. The Boyds were vassals of the de Morville family, who received lands from King David. Wars of Scottish Independence Robert de Boyd is listed in the Ragman Rolls offering homage to King Edward I of England, however, the family has a strong connections to the Wars of Scottish Independence. Duncan Boyd was executed for supporting independence in 1306 and Sir Robert Boyd was a commander for Robert Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. For his service and valour during battle he was awarded lands confiscated from the Baliols, including Kilmarnock. The family's fortunes rose and they were raised to the peerage by King James II as Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock in 1454. Lord Boyd was a trusted advisor and following the death of James II he was appointed as one of the Regents to the infant King James III; his brother, Alexander, was made military tutor to the king. Boyd effectively kidnapped the young king and obtained an Act of Parliament appointing him sole governor of the crown and Great Chamberlain. The family also successfully negotiated the king's marriage to Margaret of Denmark, daughter of King Christian I of Denmark in 1469, in the process ending the Norwegian annual fee owed to Denmark for the Western Isles, and receiving Orkney and Shetland theoretically only as a temporary measure to cover Margaret's dowry. Thus Scotland in 1470 reached its greatest ever territorial extent, when James permanently annexed the islands to the crown. The Boyds' influence of the king was considerable but they were rapidly making enemies, including the young king, as they continued to increase their wealth and titles. Lord Boyd's son, Thomas was made Earl of Arran in 1467 and married the king's sister, Mary. James III eventually grew tired of the Boyds and he summoned Lord Boyd, his son Thomas, and his brother Alexander to appear before the court and parliament to answer charges. Lord Boyd, realising that appearing in Edinburgh meant almost certain death, escaped to England. Alexander, who was sick, was brought before the court and found guilty before he, and his family, were executed in 1469. Thomas was abroad when he heard of the plight of his father and uncle. The king summoned his sister back to Scotland, on the pretence that he may pardon her husband. Mary returned but Thomas remained in Europe. Their marriage was declared void in 1473. The family was restored in 1536 by Mary, Queen of Scots and Robert, a descendant of the younger son of the first Lord Boyd, was confirmed as Lord Boyd along with all the estates of the family. Even during her captivity in England, Lord Boyd remained close and visited many times. During the English Civil War the family supported the cause of Charles I of England and received their reward after the Restoration when Lord Boyd was created Earl of Kilmarnock in 1661. During the 1714 Jacobite Rising Lord Boyd supported the British government and commanded a regiment in the service of King George I. His son, Robert Boyd, however, did not share his father's loyalties and fought on the side of Charles Edward Stuart in the 1744 rebellion. He was a member of the Charles's Privy council with the rank of general. He fought, and was captured, at the Battle of Culloden. In August 1745 he was beheaded at Tower Hill and the titles of the Boyd family were forfeit. Boyd's second son, however, retained the lands and succeeded as Earl of Erroll in 1758 through his mother and assumed the name of Hay. The eighteenth Earl of Erroll was created Baron of Kilmarnock in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1831. In 1941 the twenty-second Earl died in Kenya leaving a daughter who, although entitled to the Scottish earldom of Erroll and the chiefship of the Clan Hay, was unable to succeed the barony of Kilmarnock which, as a United Kingdom title, could only pass to male heirs. Therefore the brother of the twenty second Earl resumed the name Boyd and succeeded to the barony.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
Tour Scotland video of old photographs of Kilbirnie a small town situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is located around 20 miles south west of Glasgow and approximately 10 miles from Paisley and Irvine respectively. Historically, the town built up around the flax and weaving industries before iron and steelmaking took over in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1740 there were only three houses; the population grew to 959 people by 1801. In 1851 Kilbirnie contained 5,484 people, due to the Industrial Revolution, hastened by the locality of the Ayr and Glasgow railways. During this time the town was a hub of industrial activity with 2 flax spinning mills, linen thread mills, wincey factories, 5 fishing net factories, 2 rope works, engineering works, mines and ironworks. The steelworks opened in 1841 and quickly became the main industry in the area causing an inpouring of people and during the early to mid 20th Century the town grew to its height of around 10,000 people. However, the industry entered a decline and was eventually closed. The Decoy Bride a film starring David Tennant and Kelly Macdonald was partially filmed in Kilbirnie. The suburb of Kilbirnie in the New Zealand capital of Wellington is named after the town. 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.
Tour Scotland video of old photographs of Kinbuck village located four miles North of Dunblane, Scotland. It is located by the Allan Water and the Stirling to Perth, Perthshire, Railway line, four miles north of Dunblane. Kinbuck was the location of the retreat of the Jacobite troops under the Earl of Mar following the Battle of Sheriffmuir on 13 November 1715. Cromlix House is a Victorian mansion by Kinbuck, Perthshire. A house was built on the site in 1874 as a family residence in the time of Captain Arthur Drummond Hay, but was destroyed by fire in 1878. It was replaced in 1880. In February 2013, it was confirmed that tennis player Andy Murray had bought the property for £1.8 million, and opened the house as a 15 room five star hotel in April 2014. Kinbuck Railway station on the Stirling to Perth portion of the Glasgow to Kinnaber Junction Strathmore line of the former Caledonian Railway was opened by the Scottish Central Railway on 22 May 1848. It closed to regular passenger traffic on 11 June 1956, the line itself remaining in use. 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.
Tour Scotland video of old photographs of Newmains village and former mining community on the eastern edge of Wishaw, Scotland. A large Scottish town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, Newmains is located on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south east of Glasgow. The story of all the villages in the area surrounding Newmains and Wishaw is essentially the story of one of the most successful ventures into heavy industry in Scotland. Three iron works, the Omoa Ironworks, the Coltness Iron Company and the Shotts Iron Company comprise the earliest and perhaps the most important concentration of iron and steel manufacture in Scotland. 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.
