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.

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Historic children’s home archive opens with donation from former resident • A new archive making more than a century’s worth of records from Aberlour Children’s Charity accessible for the first time has been officially opened by a former resident

One million newspaper pages free to access from British Newspaper Archive and British Library • The British Newspaper Archive in partnership with the British Library has made a further one million historical newspaper pages available completely free to the public, reaching a total of two million free to explore pages

Call for coastal heritage survey volunteers • Over the summer of 2022, SCAPE volunteers have walked parts of the Moray Firth and Aberdeenshire coastlines to update records of heritage sites on the coast and intertidal zone

Demolished Victorian jute mill to serve a new purpose • Reclaimed stone from a historic Dundee jute mill is to find a new purpose at the University of Dundee

Key George IV Edinburgh visit item discovered on eve of visit anniversary • Curators at Museums & Galleries Edinburgh have rediscovered a key object relating to the visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822

Winter archaeologies • Summer past, and in anticipation of the first frosts of autumn, this short piece by Gavin MacGregor, director of Archaeology Scotland, explores different aspects of winter archaeology

SPOTLIGHT ON… Uist Community Archaeology Group • Simon Davies introduces an archaeology group whose location in the Outer Hebrides gives members unique opportunities in terms of archaeological finds and interaction with archaeologists across the UK and further afield

THE ISLE OF LISMORE LIGHTHOUSE AND ITS 19TH-CENTURY KEEPERS • Dr Robert Hay explores the census and archive records to discover what life was like for lighthouse keepers on the Isle of Lismore; men who kept watch during the hours of darkness and carried out a myriad of tasks during the day

THE BANDIT KING • The 17th century was the heyday of banditry in Scotland, and among the most notorious of all the century’s brigands was Patrick MacGregor, better known by his nickname, ‘Gilderoy’. Dr Allan Kennedy explores his exploits, downfall and afterlife

THE LOGARITHMIC (EQUIAN GULAR) SPIRAL

Coal country: Deindustrialisation and the making of contemporary Scotland • The contraction of the industrial sector has been one of the most prominent trends in recent Scottish history, with huge consequences not just for the economy, but for politics and society as well. Drawing on his recent book, Dr Ewan Gibbs explores the process and meaning of this deindustrialisation with reference to Scotland’s coalfields

SELKIRK, SCOTLAND AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC: THE BUCCANEER BEHIND CRUSOE • Well known as the real-life inspiration behind Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk was more than merely the source of a novelist’s inspiration – he was a fascinating, complex character who encapsulated the rapid changes taking place in Scottish society during the early 18th century. Will Barber-Taylor reflects on Selkirk’s remarkable story

MEMORIALISING MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS • Why does Mary Queen of Scots have such an enduring place in Scotland’s collective memory? A research team at the University of Glasgow have spent the past seven years examining this...