Old Photograph Kelburn Hotel Fairlie Scotland

Old photograph of the Kelburn Hotel in Fairlie on the eastern shore of the Firth of Clyde, in North Ayrshire, Scotland. King David I of Scotland appointed Sir Richard de Morville, a Norman, to hold land in Scotland. Thus he became High Constable of Scotland and Lord of Cunninghame, Largs and Lauderdale. This piece of land was later sub divided among Richard's relatives and friends, and, in the 13th century, the land of Fairlie was held by the Ross family of Tarbert, the land to the North was held by the Boyle family and to the South by the Sempill family. According to ancient records it would appear that Fairlie developed as a fishing village, as it had a good, sheltered anchorage that was fully used in the 16th century. Weaving also began to help the prosperity of the village as the demand for Paisley shawls increased. It was in the late 18th century that John Fife came from Kilbirnie to set up business as a cartwright in Fairlie. His son William (born in 1785) founded Fife Yachts brought to international fame by William's grandson, also called William. Fife Yachts were built in Fairlie until well into the 20th century.



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Old Photograph Post Office Guardbridge Fife Scotland

Old photograph of the Post Office and houses in Guardbridge, Fife, Scotland. In 1873, William Haig and two of his sons formed the Guardbridge Paper Company to find a more profitable use for their Seggie whisky distillery which had been established there since 1810. The mill went into production in 1874. As the mill developed the village grew around it, with new housing and roads to attract and accommodate workers. Before the First World War the labour force reached over 400, reaching a peak of 620 in the late 1950s. The paper mill was previously the main local industry and was operated by Curtis Fine Papers. On July 24, 2008, the mill went into receivership and 180 workers were made redundant. Many locals were employed elsewhere in Fife, Dundee, Edinburgh or even further afield. The building which played host to the mill is now Eden Brewery.





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Old Photograph Balcomie Golf Course Crail Scotland

Old photograph of Balcomie Golf Course by Crail, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The Crail Golfing Society is a Scottish golf club established in February 1786 in the Golf Hotel, Crail, Fife. The society is the seventh oldest golf club in the world. Its oldest course, Balcomie, was formally laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1894, but competitions were played there since the 1850. The land upon which golf is played straddles the coast of easternmost promontory of Fife, known as Fife Ness. Balcomie has the unusual combination of three par fives, six par threes and nine par fours, producing a tough par of 69.



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Old Photograph Roome Bay Avenue Crail Scotland

Old photograph of cars and cottages on Roome Bay Avenue in Crail, East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. Crail is on the Fife coastal walking route. Access to beach is off Roome Bay Crescent. The beach is about 10 minutes walk from the centre of Crail.



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Old Photograph Dining Room Blairquhan Castle Scotland

Old photograph of the dining room in Blairquhan Castle, Ayrshire, Scotland. This Scottish castle is located near Maybole in South Ayrshire. Four different families have lived at Blairquhan or on its lands. The McWhirters built the first tower house about 1346. The Kennedys then inherited the estate through marriage and built the remainder of the old castle about 1573. In the early 17th century the Whitefords took over, but in 1798, suffering the effects of a bank crash, they sold Blairquhan to Sir David Hunter Blair, 3rd Baronet, the second son of Sir James Hunter Blair, 1st Baronet who had married Jean Blair, the daughter and heiress of John Blair of Dunskey in Wigtownshire in 1770. When Jean Blair inherited her father’s estate in 1777, the family took the additional surname of Blair. In 1820, Sir David commissioned Scottish architect William Burn to design a new house on Blairquhan. The old castle, which had become ruinous due to previous fires and neglect, was torn down for a new the Tudor style castle.



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

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