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Online publication covering Scottish history, heritage and archaeology. Featuring articles, reviews, historic attractions, places to visit, and events. mail@scottishhistory.org
News
New Perth Museum opens with Stone of Destiny as centrepiece
The new Perth Museum will open its doors on Saturday 30 March 2024 following a £27 million redevelopment. It will highlight the fascinating objects and stories that put Perth and Kinross at the centre...
On this day in Scottish History
27 March
27 March 1746: A detachment of 500 Hessian troops commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel de la Primaudaye arrived at Wade's Taybridge, Aberfeldy where they established a defensible bridgehead on the far side to guard against any...
On this day in Scottish History
26 March
26 March 1296: The First War of Scottish Independence began with a Scottish attack on Carlisle. John 'The Red' Comyn, Lord of Badenoch led the Scottish army and attempted to seize Carlisle Castle which...
On this day in Scottish History
25 March
25 March 1306: Six weeks after the murder of his main rival, John Comyn Lord of Badenoch, Robert the Bruce seized the vacant Scottish throne and was crowned king of Scots at Scone by...
On this day in Scottish History
24 March
24 March 1603: The death of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Two days later the news would reach the 36-year-old James VI that he was now James I of England. The crowns of Scotland...
On this day in Scottish History
23 March
23 March 1708: A French fleet carrying James Francis Edward Stuart arrived in the Firth of Forth intending to land an invasion force of French troops in Fife and begin a Jacobite rising against...
On this day in Scottish History
18 March
18 March 1689: The Earl of Leven's Regiment of Foot (later the King's Own Scottish Borderers) was raised by Act of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Within 4 hours around 780 men were enlisted...
News
Old Military Road in Glen Croe to be improved
Transport Scotland has announced that work to improve the Old Military Road through Glen Croe, which was once part of Major William Caulfeild's Dumbarton to Inveraray military road, would go ahead.
A contract has been...
On this day in Scottish History
17 March
17 March 1746: A Jacobite force under the command of Lord George Murray began the siege of Blair Castle in Perthshire. Blair Castle was the seat of Lord George’s pro-Hanoverian brother, James Murray, 2nd...
News
Rothesay Castle re-opens following conservation work
Rothesay Castle, which is managed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), has fully reopened to visitors following temporary access restrictions due to a high-level masonry programme. The programme examined the impact of climate change on...
News
Lost village on Isle of Skye discovered during forestry work
During an environmental check before harvesting in Glen Brittle Forest on the Isle of Skye, the low stone walls and earthen banks of a post-medieval township were discovered.
The township is believed to date...
On this day in Scottish History
13 February
13 February 1692: Scottish government soldiers under the command of Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon fell upon their hosts, the Macdonalds of Glencoe. In a cold-blooded breach of highland hospitality, 38 Macdonalds were killed...
News
Medieval Fearn Abbey in possible community buyout
Fearn Amenities has received a £20,000 grant to explore the potential purchase of Fearn Abbey in Easter Ross as a community asset.
Highland Council approved the funding for a feasibility study and business plan for...
News
Medieval carvings on Isle of Luing at risk of weather damage
13th-century carvings at Kilchattan Old Parish Church on the Argyll island of Luing are at risk of being weathered away and Luing History Group are concerned they might be lost forever before they have...
Scottish History Blog
Tartan was not banned after Culloden
The Dress Act 1746, also known as the Disclothing Act, was a part of the Act of Proscription which was introduced by the government after the defeat of the 1745 Jacobite Rising at Culloden....
Resources
Dress Act 1746
The Dress Act 1746, also known as the Disclothing Act, was a part of the Act of Proscription which came into effect on 1 August 1746, following the Jacobite Rising of 1745.
It made...
On this day in Scottish History
27 October
27 October 1327: Elizabeth de Burgh died at Cullen Castle, Banffshire. Elizabeth was the second wife of Robert the Bruce and was queen consort of Scotland 1306-1327. Elizabeth was born c.1284 in County Down, Ulster, and...
On this day in Scottish History
Birth of James II
On 16 October 1430, King James II was born. James ascended to the throne at the tender age of six. Despite enduring a distressing childhood under the manipulation of various conniving nobles and regents,...
On this day in Scottish History
27 July
27 July 1689: Scottish government forces under the command of Major-General Hugh Mackay of Scourie were defeated by a Jacobite army loyal to the deposed King James commanded by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount...
Scottish History Blog
The Scottish Highland Clans: Origins, Decline and Transformation
The Highland, Gaelic-speaking clans are a vital part of Scotland’s history. They also shape how the world imagines Scotland today.
This course uses the expertise of University of Glasgow academics to explain the structure, economy...
News
Declaration of Arbroath to go on display for first time in 18 years
The Declaration of Arbroath, one of Scotland's most important historical documents, will be on public display for the first time in 18 years at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The display will...
News
Culloden battlefield virtual tours
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite Rising of 1745-46. The battle took place on April 16, 1746, on Drumossie Moor near Inverness, and resulted in a decisive victory for...
Resources
Highland Services Act 1715 (Disarming Act)
The Disarming Act was an 18th-century Act of Parliament of Great Britain that was enacted to curtail Jacobitism among Scottish clans in the Scottish Highlands after the Jacobite rising of 1715. The new law came...
Scottish History Books
The Fabulous Flotilla
A captivating story about the rivers of Burma, featuring some of the largest paddle steamers in the world
Reveals the little-known connection with Burma - Scotland's 'lost colony'
Liberally illustrated with many evocative photographs, maps and...
News
Virtual tours of Culloden battlefield to launch January 2023
The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has announced that virtual tours of the Culloden battlefield are to be launched at the end of this month, allowing people from all over the world to tour...
Scottish History Blog
Recommended books on the Wars of Scottish Independence
With numerous books covering the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296-1357) here is a list of the most essential reading for those interested in the period.
Bannockburn: The Scottish War and the British Isles, 1307-1323 by...
Resources
Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Act 1707
Our sovereign lady and the estates of parliament, considering that by the late act of parliament for a treaty with England for a union of both kingdoms it is provided that the commissioners for...
Scottish History Blog
Recommended books on the Jacobites
There are many books covering the Jacobite period and this list shares the most essential reading for those interested in the period from the Revolution of 1688 to the battle of Culloden and beyond.
Fight...
Scottish History Blog
Early Modern Scottish Palaeography: Reading Scotland’s Records
Explore Scottish history and learn more about using historical sources
Palaeography is the study of ancient handwriting and a vital skill in the historian’s toolkit. It is essential when conducting research on early modern Scotland...
Resources
Field Marshal George Wade
George Wade was born in 1673 in Killavalley, Westmeath, Ireland, and is best remembered as the father of the military road-building programme that he oversaw and directed during his tenure as commander-in-chief Scotland (1724-1740).
Wade...
Resources
Lord Lovat’s memorial to King George I
THE Highlands of Scotland, being a country very mountainous, and almost inaccessible to any but the inhabitants thereof, whose language and dress are entirely different from those of the Low - country, do remain...
Resources
Hugh Mackay of Scourie
Hugh Mackay of Scourie was born c.1640 and is best remembered for commanding Scottish government forces at the battle of Killiecrankie in 1689.
Resources
General Wade’s Report on the Highlands
IN Obedience to Your Majesty’s Commands and Instructions under your Royal Sign Manual bearing date the 3rd day of July 1724, Commanding me to go into the Highlands of Scotland, and narrowly to inspect...
Resources
Act of Proscription 1746
An Act for the more effectual disarming the Highlands in Scotland and for more effectually securing the Peace of the said Highlands; and for restraining the Use of the Highland Dress, and for further...
Resources
Robert Campbell of Glenlyon
Robert Campbell, 5th Laird of Glenlyon, was born in 1632 and is best remembered for commanding the Scottish government forces that carried out the Massacre of Glencoe.
The Campbells of Glenlyon were a cadet branch of...
Scottish History Books
The Sea Kings
The archipelagic kingdoms of Man and the Isles that flourished from the last quarter of the eleventh century down to the middle of the thirteenth century represent two forgotten kingdoms of the medieval British...
On this day in Scottish History
Quintinshill rail disaster
On 22 May 1915, 227 people are killed and 246 more are injured in a rail crash at Quintinshill, near Gretna Green.
The accident happened when a troop train carrying almost 500 soldiers of...
On this day in Scottish History
Marquis of Montrose is executed
On 21 May 1650, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, the chief Royalist military commander in Scotland, was executed in Edinburgh.
Montrose had initially been one of the nobles to draw up the National Covenant in...
On this day in Scottish History
Mary, Queen of Scots is defeated at Langside
On 13 May 1568, at the Battle of Langside, Mary, Queen of Scots is defeated in her attempt to regain the throne from her son, James VI, and his supporters, led by Mary's half-brother,...
On this day in Scottish History
St Columba lands on Iona
On 12 May 563, Saint Columba and twelve companions land on the island of Iona, where they would establish a monastery. The island of Iona is said to have been granted to Columba by...