John Cowane is one of the best-known figures from Stirling's past, as founder of the Hospital or Alms House which bears his name. Less well known is that his house survives as a stabilised ruin St Mary's Wynd.

Sadly, this house, one of the oldest surviving in Stirling, is rarely accessible to the public. There are presently efforts to undertake some restoration work - particularly in the garden area to the rear.

Volunteers are working on the last Thursday each month. There is a series of talks about the site's potential (the next one is by Buglife on 9th October at 5pm to 6.30 pm.

You can find out more at the project website, www.transitionstirling.org.uk.

News arrives of a Conference on this most crucial of Scots battles and with a good array of diverse speakers.
DO NOTE THAT BOOKINGS ARE VIA THE CONTACT BELOW, NOT THROUGH SLHS

The Battle of Bannockburn, 1314  
A University of Stirling conference, 25-26 June 2014 (at Forth Valley College, Stirling, 10am-4.30pm) £55 waged, £35 unwaged (including lunches)  
The battle Bruce meant to fight (David Caldwell) ]
The dynamics of recruitment in England (Andrew Ayton)
The heraldry of the English army (David Simpkin)
The archaeology of Bannockburn (Tony Pollard)
The breaking of the aristocratic nexus (Michael Brown)
Barbour and Bannockburn (Sarah Tolmie)
Recreating the Bannockburn environment (Alasdair Ross)
The terrain: Scientific and Archival Approaches (Richard Tipping)
Sir William Allan, Bannockburn and Scottish History (John Morrison)
Bannockburn in modern Scottish literature (Ted Cowan)
Re-presenting Bannockburn as heritage (Scott McMaster)
Bannockburn and memorialisation (Michael Penman)  
For registration or further details contact Dr Michael Penman, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, 01786 467575, m.a.penman@stir.ac.uk

Facebook users may already know of the site at https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldstirling/?fref=ts but others might also like to take a look.

There are a lot of photos of the town and the area with some comment by people who recall the scenes and the people.

Do remember, if you have unusual old photos, that Stirling Council Archives and the Smith Museum both have substantial collections of photos of the area's past and might be interested in having copies to ensure that they are preserved for the long term.

Do contact is if you need further information.

Some time ago we published an enquiry from Dr Claus Cartellieri about the visit of  Theodore Fontane and his companion to Scotland in 1858.

Fontane was a writer who later became very well-known. He published a book about this trip to Scotland, which is now also available in English.

Dr Cartellieri has now completed his researches and a very handsome booklet, with full references and illustrations, has been published about the visit. It includes Stirling, Edinburgh, Inverness and many other places. Dr Cartllieri has been able to locate many of the hotels where Fontane stayed and has gleaned a wealth of other information not available from Fontane's own book.


Stirling Local History Society is delighted to have been able to help with the research - not just with information about Stirling in 1858 but pointing out other sources of information and potential lines of enquiry - very graciously acknowledged in the booklet.

The booklet is, of course, in German. It costs EUR5 and postage to the UK would be another EUR 3.45 and I am told this comes to around £7.14. If you are interested in getting a copy, you can contact Dr Cartellieri (in English if you wish) at
cartellieri@t-online.te
He will then pass on your enquiry.


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A Conference with this title will be held in the Smith Art Gallery and Museum on Saturday 31 August.

This is a FREE EVENT though there will be a collection towards the cost of the venue; OWN LUNCH but the Smith has an excellent cafe.

Speakers will include SLHS members John Harrison and Stephen Digney.

The event is hosted by the King's Park History Group, an independent group of specialists recognised by Historic Scotland. ALL WELCOME.

The conference  comes  at a critical time, when the future ownership and management of these major landscapes is under discussion. it provides the first ever opportunity to look at the landscapes in their wider, historical contextt.

The local importance of these landscapes is obvious; for leisure, for tourism, for views, for wildlife. Culturally, they are important at a European level, rare survivors of the royal past.

So, whatever your interests, come along, listen and contribute.

You can download  the flyer here. For fuller details, including speakers and times,  click here.

Carnegie Publishing in Lancaster are holding an author talk/book launch at the New Lanark Mill Hotel to celebrate the publication of Dr Barrie Trinder's new book, Britain's Industrial Revolution.

It is one of a series of events across the county, and the one at the hotel is on 17 June from 7–9pm.

The flyer for the event can be seen here - you do need to book and it costs £5 though this will be discounted against a copy of the book if you purchase one! Or anybody wishing to buy a ticket can contact them on 01524 840111.

Forth Naturalist and Historian who will be hosting a public lecture by Dr Iain Banks from the Glasgow University Centre for Battlefield Studies about local battlefields on Wednesday 5th June at the Raploch Community Campus at 7pm. This is the second of these annual lectures and is of immediate interest as Iain is amongst those presently investigating potential sites of the Battle of Bannockburn, as we prepare to mark the 700th anniversary next year.

There will be a short AGM at the beginning of the meeting and a chance for questions and discussion afterwards. Last year's lecture, about the Blairdrummond gold hoard, was a great success and this year's promises to be every bit as exciting.


You can download the poster here.

Last week's excellent talk by Roanna Mourad of Stirling Council Libraries highlighted some of the many new on-line resources which have recently become available - and there aren't that many "good news" stories around these days!

SCRAN has been up and running for several years, with images and information provided by museums, colleges, universities and national institutions. But, hitherto, you could only access thumbnails and parts of the site, unless you subscribed or had institutional rights. Now, anyone who lives locally can access it FOR FREE using their Stirling Libraries card. So, I thought this was one to share.

You need to go via the Stirling Libraries site, click on the Online Resources tab and then the hyperlink to SCRAN in the text paragraph [not the SCRAN logo]. That takes you to the 'sign on' page. Pull down Stirling Council on the drop-down menu. Put in your library card number. And Hey Presto!

There are over 3000 hits for Stirling and they include lots of goodies. We had an enquiry, recently, about the Cyclsts Touring Club sign on the former hotel in King Street. I soon came across a view of King St taken in the early 1930s. At that time the hotel in question was Gill's Temperance Hotel; there are lots of contemporary cars and it all looks very different from today!

So, lots of fun and lots of interest here. If you don't have a library card, you can get one at any library.

We will highlight some of the other features available

The Seven Incorporated Trades of Stirling were key organisations for many centuries. They, and particularly the Hammermen, were the subject of our last month's excellent talk by Stephen Bowman.

Meanwhile, we have been aware of efforts, by Stuart Campbell and others, to inject new purpose and life into these organisations.

Stuart has sent a short document with some details and preliminary or outline proposals.

This has