Old Photograph Boys And Girls At School In Dundee Scotland

Old photograph of boys and girls at School in Dundee, Scotland. Scotland has long enjoyed an international reputation as historically one of the best-educated societies in the world. The foundation for this reputation was laid in the 17th century and was the result of Calvinist emphasis on reading the Bible. Putting men and women in touch with the word of God was seen by the Scottish authorities and clergy as of paramount importance. To achieve this goal schools paid for by the Church of Scotland and local landowners were established in all rural parishes and burghs by an Act of Parliament in 1696. These educational establishments were run by the Church and were open to all boys and girls regardless of social status. The democratic nature of the Scottish system so impressed the 18th century writer Daniel Defoe that he remarked that while England was a land " full of ignorance ", in Scotland the " poorest people have their children taught and instructed ". The openness of the Scottish system ran all the way from the schoolroom to the university. A talented working class boy the " lad o'pairts " through intelligence and hard work and by utilising a generous system of bursaries was able to gain a university education, something largely unthinkable in England in the 18th century.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Lassies Dunbar Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph lassies in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. Lass is Scots for a girl or young woman, especially one who is unmarried. Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the south east coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is the birthplace of the explorer, naturalist and influential conservationist John Muir. The house in which Muir was born is located on the High Street, and has been converted into a museum. There is also a commemorative statue beside the town clock, and John Muir Country Park is located to the north-west of the town. The eastern section of the John Muir Way coastal path starts from the harbour. I hope these might be of interest to folks with Scottish Ancestry or Roots in Scotland.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph High Street Burntisland Fife Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of shops on the High Street in Burntisland, Fife, Scotland. Burntisland's High Street was historically the town's wide, central thoroughfare and remained largely in its medieval layout until the 19th century, when the arrival of railways and ferries spurred expansion and Victorian development. The earliest historical record of the town was in the 12th century, when the monks of Dunfermline Abbey owned the harbour and neighbouring lands. The settlement was known as Wester Kinghorn and developed as a fishing hamlet to provide food for the inhabitants of Rossend Castle. The harbour was then sold to James V by the abbots of Dunfermline Abbey in exchange for a parcel of land. The land was granted royal burgh status by King James V in 1541. When the status was confirmed in 1586, the settlement gained independence from the barony of Kinghorn and was renamed Burntisland, possibly a nickname from the burning of fishermens' huts on an islet now incorporated into the docks.



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Old Travel Blog Photograph Main Street Bowmore Islay Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of houses and people on Main Street in Bowmore, Islay, Scotland. The Reverend Dr. Donald Currie Caskie, the son of a crofter, was born in Bowmore on Islay in 1902. He was educated at Bowmore School and then Dunoon Grammar School before studying arts and divinity at the University of Edinburgh. His first charge was at Gretna, before becoming the minister of the Scots Kirk in Paris in 1938. He is best known for his exploits in France during World War II, during which he helped an estimated 2,000 Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen to escape from occupied France, mainly through Spain.



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

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Old Travel Blog Photograph Boating Pond Johnstone Scotland

Old travel Blog photograph of the boating pond in Johnstone located three miles West of Paisley, Scotland. Johnstone was largely a planned community which grew up around the house of Easter Cochrane, later known as Johnstone Castle, seat of the Houston or Houstoun family who gained their name from the nearby village of Houston. In 1782, the Laird, George Houstoun, commissioned designs for a series of regular residential streets and square which now form the town centre. At this early stage of development, the town’s population including the local estate and rural hinterland was around 1,500.



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

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