Old Photograph Doonfoot Ayr Scotland

Old photograph of Doonfoot a suburb in the south west of Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland. Doonfoot extends westwards from the River Doon to the ruin of Greenan Castle, overlooking the coast. The island of Arran is clearly visible across the Firth of Clyde from many points throughout Doonfoot. The beach at Doonfoot is popular in summer. The area known as Doonfoot was incorporated as part of the town of Ayr when the former Burgh of Ayr's boundaries were expanded in 1935 to take in the former villages of Alloway and Whitletts.



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Old Photograph Citadel Ayr Scotland

Old photograph of the tower in the Citadel in Ayr, Scotland. Tour Ayr and Kilmarnock. Under Oliver Cromwell five citadels were built in Scotland to control the Scots, such as at Leith in Edinburgh, Perth in Perthshire, Inverlochy, Ayr and Inverness in the Highlands, with Ayr being the largest. The Ayr Citadel, built in 1653, was designed by the Dutch architect named Hans Ewald Tessin. After 1660 the citadel had been partly dismantled to prevent its use by persons hostile to King Charles II. The tower was used by Cromwell's soldiers as a look out tower as well as an armoury and chapel.



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Old Photograph Hume Castle Scotland

Old photograph of Hume Castle located between Greenlaw and Kelso, two miles north of the village of Stichill, in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. First mentioned in the twelfth century, the castle was the seat of the powerful Home family. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the English besieged the castle no less than four times. During the first of these sieges, it was Lady Home who was required to defend her home and it only fell when the attackers began to hang her young son within her view. The castle was reportedly destroyed in 1651, after it fell to Cromwell's troops. Though rebuilt as a folly in the eighteenth century, the castle resumed a military role during the Napoleonic wars, when it became the site of a signalling beacon. A nation wide panic almost ensued when an accidental fire in Northumberland was spotted and misinterpreted. In World War II, an observation post was also located here.



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Old Photograph Parish Church Maxton Scotland

Old photograph of the Parish Church in Maxton located just South of St Boswells in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. On St Cuthbert’s Way and dedicated to St Cuthbert. Reputed to have been a place of worship on this site for almost 1000 years. Originally oblong, thatched until 1790. North aisle added 1866, vestry 1962. Wyvern organ. Stained glass by J H Corham gifted 1914, Hebrew and Latin inscriptions, Maxton War Memorial within church. Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, made a charter to John St.Clair, his valet, of the lands of Maxton, Roxburghshire, around 1326, one of the witnesses being Robert de Lauder, Justiciar of Lothian.



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Old Photograph Kildrummie Railway Station Methven Perthshire Scotland

Old photograph of Kildrummie Railway Station in Methven, Perthshire, Scotland. Kildrummie was the fictional name given to Methven Railway station by the one time minister of the Free Church of Scotland, The Reverend John Watson, who wrote under the pseudonym of Ian MacLaren. He was for a number of years Minister at Logiealmond. Kildrummie along with other fictional names was used by MacLaren in his book, Beside the Bonnie Briar Bush. The Battle of Methven took place in 1306 between Scottish forces led by King Robert the Bruce and the forces from England led by Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and resulted in a resounding win for the English. This was part of the Scottish Wars of Independence.





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

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