History Scotland

Explore centuries of Scottish history and archaeology with fascinating features on topics from all branches and periods of Scottish history and archaeology, written by leading historians, archaeologists and museum curators. With news on the latest research, opinion, expert reviews and spotlights on the country's most significant historical archives, this lavishly-illustrated magazine has everything you need to explore Scotland's rich past.

Welcome...

WRITING IN THIS ISSUE

New research shows intensity of battle of Culloden

Mary, queen of Scots restored casket goes on tour

Drawbridge discovery at Brodick Castle

NEWS IN BRIEF

In search of the MANTLE WALLS • Investigating the remains of a former Bishop’s Palace in Ancrum

STIRLING’S FORGOTTEN GATE and the Jacobite Siege of 1746

MAPPING THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS: LOCHIEL, 1772 • The British government had grand ambitions to ‘improve’ the annexed estates, those lands confiscated from erstwhile Jaocbites after the ’45 and administered by the crown until 1784. Producing detailed maps was the first step in this process. Focusing on the annexed estate of Lochiel, Dr Juliette Desportes explore the nature and consequences of this state-sponsored mapping.

...KENNETH MACALPIN • History Scotland’s consultant editor, Dr Allan Kennedy, looks at the mysterious figure of Cináed mac Alpín, more familiarly known as Kenneth MacAlpin or Kenneth I, whose accustomed reputation as the ‘founder’ of the Scottish kingdom might not be entirely deserved.

The Gentle Shepherd comes to Palnackie: ALLAN RAMSAY’S LEGACY IN LATE 19TH CENTURY KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE • Using a rare photograph discovered among family papers as his starting point, John D. Halliday explores an amateur performance of Allan Ramsay’s The Gentle Shepherd, and what this can tell us about amateur dramatics in the late 1800s

The Elizabeth of Hartlepool an East Lothian shipwreck • Steven Robb tells the melancholy tale of the Elizabeth, an English coal-transport vessel that sank off the coast of East Lothian in March 1865, drowning all hands and provoking an outpouring of sympathy from the local community.

The arduous life of an island schoolmaster • Robert Hay charts the teaching career of James Wilson, schoolmaster on the island Lismore for more than 35 years, during a time of great educational and social change

DR BLAIR and the ELEPHANT PART 2 • In the concluding part of their study of the Dundee elephant of 1706, Andy Drummond and Dr Michiel Roscam Abbing explore what happened to the gigantic corpse, focusing in particular on how it was used by local apothecary Dr Patrick Blair to establish his scientific reputation.

Republication of The Life of a Showman • Out of print for 150 years, this book and its additional essay shines new light on a respected showman of the 19th century

Gleanings from the Waring of Lennel papers • In the first half of a two-part study, George MacKenzie delves into the fascinating but littleknown paper s of the Warings of Lennel, revealing a poignant story of doomed romance against the backdrop of the Boer War.

‘FAIRLIE’ EXCEPTIONAL • Veronica Schreuder discovers the remarkable journey of Professor Margaret Fairlie, a medical professional whose legacy continues to impact healthcare today

The British Honduran Forestry Unit in Duns • Brought to wartime Britain to help maintain the supply of domestic timber, the British Honduran Forestly Unit developed an uneasy, often racially-charged relationship with the local communities hosting them. Dr David M. Smale explains how all this played out in the rural county of Berwickshire.

DIARY DATES

HARVESTING HISTORY UNEARTHING ANCESTRAL ROOTS IN AGRICULTURE • Ken Nisbet delves into the agricultural world, where ancestors toiled as...