Huntingtower Castle. Living as I do in Perth, my latest historical blog, features a castle just along the road - originally called The Palace of Ruthven, the castle comprised of a single tower house built by Clan Ruthven in the mid 15th century. By the end of that century a second L-Plan tower was [...]
Rob Roy MacGregor, spy, thief, brigand, or poor PR and injustice?
Sir Walter Scott, portrayed Rob Roy as a dashing and chivalrous outlaw. Of course, the truth was a little less glamorous. Robert acquired the name of ‘Roy’ early in life due to his mop of red curly hair. In the early eighteenth century, Rob Roy MacGregor had established a protection racket, charging farmers an [...]
Macleans in Nova Scotia & Carolina
In 1622 and 1628, Sir William Alexander launched four attempts to send colonists to Nova Scotia; all failed for various reasons. A successful occupation of Nova Scotia was finally achieved in 1629. The colony's charter, in law, made Nova Scotia (defined as all land between Newfoundland and New England i.e. The Maritimes) a part [...]
Maclean building brochs again in Scotland
Project 4. Build a broch and tourism centre The reconstruction of a broch would have several benefits - in addition to providing an iconic tourist attraction, it would provide employment from the construction phase through to long after the building has been completed. Drystone dyking workshops would be provided, allowing the public to come [...]
The Battle of Culloden – 16 April 1746
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. 16 April 1746, The Duke of Cumberland’s defeat of Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s Jacobite Army (his only defeat) - the beginning of the end for the clan system in the highlands of Scotland. Date of the Battle of Culloden: 16th [...]
Jacobite tales, brought together by Paul McLean
Our thanks to Jacobite History, catch them on facebook, a huge source of excellent information. This just a wee collection of stories/truths I have found, I hope you read and take it further yourself! Dalrymple authorised the Glencoe massacre - the story of this man: John Dalrymple, the 1st Earl of Stair. The Dalrymples, [...]
The Picts – who were they?
A blog that I have kept as short as possible (a hard job I tell you). The Picts were the people of northern Scotland - defined as a "confederation of tribes brought together to ally against common enemies". They are first named as "Picts" by the Roman writer, Eumenius in 297 AD, who referred [...]
The REAL Macbeth
Macbeth – forget the numpty Shakespeare, this is no Hollywood story The real MacBeth is a far cry from silly Willy’s made up stories, in fact, recently there has been an avenue of thought, that Willy did not even write the plays he supposedly wrote! The truth is a far better read than the [...]
7 July in Scotland should honour a genius – Doyle Day.
I think 7 July in Scotland should honour a genius with Doyle Day. Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle KStJ DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish writer, who created the character Sherlock Holmes. Originally a physician, in 1887 he published A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and [...]