Old Travel Blog Photograph Dr Gray's Hospital Elgin Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin, a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. The hospital was founded as a result of a bequest by Dr Alexander Gray, died 1807, who was born in Elgin but worked as a surgeon for the East India Company. His will was contested by his family, but eventually his bequest of £20,000 for the establishment of a hospital in the town of Elgin for the sick and poor of the county of Moray was proven in the Court of Chancery, and work on building the hospital at the western end of the town's High Street took place between 1815 and 1818. The hospital was designed by James Gillespie Graham, born 1815, featuring a large classical block with giant Doric columns that supported a portico and was topped with drum tower and dome. The hospital opened on 1 January 1819, providing 30 beds that could be used for any parishioner of Moray who could produce a note of recommendation from their local minister of the established church. Often those of the Episcopalian or Catholic faith were turned away, causing conflict with the Burgh council on a number of occasions. Some patients who required urgent assistance were sent home critically ill lacking the paperwork from the Kirk minister, ultimately causing their death. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Walking Path To Kemnay Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the walking path to Kemnay by the River Don in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. James Burnett, the next younger brother of Sir Thomas Burnett, 1st Baronet, married Elizabeth Burnett. Their second son, Thomas Burnett of Kemnay was the first laird of Kemnay. Thomas was a writer in Edinburgh and married Margaret Pearson, daughter of John Pearson, a merchant in Edinburgh. He purchased Kemnay House from Sir George Nicolson, Lord Kemnay, a Lord of Session. The older residence that the newer mansion replaced, was built by Sir Thomas Crombie, had been owned previously by the Auchinlecks and the Douglases of Glenbervie.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Deanshaugh Bridge River Lossie Elgin Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the Deanshaugh Bridge over the River Lossie by Elgin, a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. This bridge carries a footpath across the River Lossie between Cooper Park and Bishopmill. The river here forms the boundary between the parishes of Elgin and Spynie. Elgin town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the floodplain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190 AD. It was created a Royal Burgh in the 12th century by King David I of Scotland. On 19 July 1224, the foundation stone of the new Elgin Cathedral was ceremoniously laid. The cathedral was completed sometime after 1242 but was completely destroyed by fire in 1270. In the 19th century the old medieval town of Elgin was swept away. The first major addition to the town centre was the Assembly Rooms, built in 1821 by the Trinity Lodge of Freemasons, at the corner of High Street and North Street. The Morayshire Railway was officially opened in ceremonies at Elgin and Lossiemouth on 10 August 1852. William Dunbar was born in 1749 in Thunderton House, Elgin. He was the youngest son of Sir Archibald Dunbar and Anne Bayne Dunbar. In 1763 he attended King's College, Aberdeen, and graduated from there in 1767. He emigrated to America arriving in Philadelphia in April 1771. In 1773 he and a Scottish merchant opened a cotton plantation in Florida and in 1792 opened another plantation in Mississippi. Dunbar became surveyor general in the Natchez area in 1798 and making his first meteorological observations in the Mississippi Valley in 1799. President Thomas Jefferson appointed him and fellow Scot Dr George Hunter to explore the Ouachita River region and travel all the way to the source of the Red River. They set out on 16 October 1804, traveling up the Ouachita River and on to the area of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Dunbar became the first man to give a scientific report of the hot springs, and his journal of the exploration was later published in Documents Relating to the Purchase and Exploration of Louisiana. He died in 1887. 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 Travel Blog Photograph West Greenock Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of West Greenock near Glasgow, Scotland. The fishing village of Greenock developed along this bay, and around 1635 Sir John Schaw had a jetty built into the bay which became known as Sir John's Bay. In that year he obtained a Charter raising Greenock to a Burgh of Barony with rights to a weekly market. In 1714 Greenock became a custom house port as a branch of Port Glasgow, and for a period this operated from rooms leased in Greenock. Receipts rose rapidly from the 1770s, and in 1778 the custom house moved to new built premises at the West Quay of the harbour. Greenock suffered badly during the Second World War and its anchorage at the Tail of the Bank became the base for the Home Fleet as well as the main assembly point for Atlantic convoys. 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 Travel Blog Photograph Of Children Outside A Cottage John o' Groats Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of children outside a cottage in John o' Groats, Caithness, Scotland. This Scottish place takes its name from Jan de Groote, a Dutchman who obtained a grant for the ferry from the Scottish mainland to Orkney, recently acquired from Norway, from James IV, King of Scots, in 1496. Jan de Groot ran a ferry to Orkney and charged 2p a trip. The coin for this denomination became known as the " groat ". Jan de Groot is buried in Canisbay churchyard where his tombstone can be seen, now moved to inside the entrance porch for protection against the weather. Over a period of time the name Jan de Groot has subsequently changed to John O’Groats.



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

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