Category:

Forth Naturalist and Historian Annual Conference 16th Nov

26/6/2013

This year being the Year of Natural Scotland, this annual event (formerly known as the Man and the Landscape Symposium) will concentrate on wildllife issues.
This will not mean that history is overlooked, however, as the emphasis is on how our local environment and wildlife has changed over the last 40 years or so and on how that is reflected in the pages of Forth Naturalist and Historian. So, with a range from fish to birds, from raptors to mammals, and with general overviews as well, there will be plenty to ponder.

As usual the event will he held at Stirling University and you can get further details and the booking form here.

Landscapes of Conflict - Free conference on 7th and 8th June

29/5/2013

A free conference - now that's something you don't hear of every day!
This event will take place at Stirling University on the afternoon of 7th June and through the day on 8th.
There is a wide range of speakers with the general themes 'Heritage, Identity and Place' on Friday 7th and of 'Access and Resources' on Saturday 8th.
The organisers hope that local people will 'pop in' for items of particular interest - though you are welcome to attend the whole event.
Items of particular local interest are;

On Friday 7th at 16.00 Richard Tipping (Stirling Uni) on 'Bannockburn, 1314: An environmental Reconstruction' (20 minutes)

On Saturday 8th at 14.00, AndrewTyler on 'Contaminated Land from War-time Activities in the Forth Valley: The Radium Legacy' (45 minutes).

You can get the whole programme, locations etc by clicking here.

Raploch Skating Pond

4/2/2013

Sports and popular pastimes are amongst the most fascinating of historical studies. And how they have changed - the fashions and crazes - tells us a good deal.
A new 'On this Day' entry marks the opening of the Raploch Skating Pond on 9th Feb 1901 and an article on the Stirling's History Pages takes the story forward to the 1930s and the eventual demise of the outdoor pond.
There is lots of fascinating information there, gleaned from the local press and the council minutes. So, take a look.
And, if you are interested in some other sport or have anything to add, why not work up an article for either slot?

Ordnance Survey Books of Reference and Ordnance Survey Name Books

20/1/2013

Cairt, the ever-useful news sheet from the Map Room of the National Library of Scotland has arrived. It carries the announcment that the OS Books of Reference for the 25 inch OS maps of the 19th century are now available online.

You can seach for any parish and I just looked up Stirling; You need to use this information in conjunction with the ,maps themselves but those, too, are available online via the NLS itself.

Each plot of land, house, garden and so on, is summarily described - even saying that some land is arable, other pasture and so on.

Perhaps even more useful, the Ordnance Survey Name Books are going on line. They are not yet complete but Stirlingshire is there! These are uniquely useful for a thousand things and, whilst they have been available in specialist libraries and archives in the past, this is a great deal more convenient.

SLHS New Season Approaches

11/10/2012

The former Royal Infimrary on Spitttal Street a few years ago - it is presently a construction site.

Our new season is approaching, and launches with a talk on October 25th 2012 by
Craig Mair who will be talking about 'Stirling Royal Infirmary - the First Fifty Years'.

Craig, former teacher at Wallace High School, is justly well-known and the author of the recently-published book about the history of the infirmary, now replaced by the Forth Valley Royal at Larbert.

The meeting will be at the Smith Museum and starts at 7.30pm. All are welcome. Membership is only £10 (free for students and people under 18); we ask none members for a small contribution.

Find the rest of the programme on the front page of the site.

Inner Forth Heritage Project

1/10/2012

Dorothy Wilson writes:
“The Inner Forth Valley Landscape Initiative are interested in obtaining proposals/projects from individuals and groups related to the heritage and history of the Inner Forth. I am interested in the history of steamship travel, transport and tourism on the Firth of Forth between Leith, Newhaven, Granton and Stirling, Alloa, Grangemouth, Boness etc during the 19thc and early 20thc. and wondered if any other members of SLHS would have an interest in this area of research and like to participate in a local history project on Dorothy has suggested this to the project organisers and hopes for support, if funds become available. If others are interested in participating, you can contact us via
[email protected]

For initial information about this newly-funded project see http://www.centralscotlandgreennetwork.org/Latest-News/inner-forth-landscape-initiative-receives-heritage-lottery-funding.html

Scottish Church History Society in Stirling on 24th Oct

24/9/2012

This society's conference, 'Lessons from the past, lessons for the future' will be held in the Baptist Church, Stirling on 24 Oct 9.30am to 4pm. They keynote speaker is Professor Tom Devine discussing 'The Puzzle of Sectarianism in Modern Scottish Society'.

There is a wide range of other topics, one which I thought particularly intriguing being

Nikki Macdonald (Edinburgh University) ‘A certain poisoned sweetness’: deviant speech and rituals of reconciliation in Early Modern Scotland, 1560-1610'

You can download the details and booking form, either as a word document or as a PDF.

Note that it's only £10 for the day.

Turning a collapsed wall at the Haining into an opportunity

15/12/2011

From Stirling's Butt Well, the path winds steeply up the hill in a series of short zig-zags. I had climbed it many times without thinking about the retaining walls which define the path. But, some time ago, knowning that this area had been the Great Garden created by James IV around 1493, it dawned on me that they form terraces. And that they (or parts of them) could be survivors from that famous landcape.
The chance collapse of a section of one of the walls obviously provided a research opportinity and it was very good news indeed that Stirling Council's new archaeologist Murray Cook was as keen as SLHS to seize the occasion. He was able to get AOC Archaeology to carry out a survey using GPS; SLHS member and archaeologist Stephen Digney is peparing to survey the collapsed area in more detail as reinstatement proceeds. And it looks increasingly likely that we can use all this as a springboard for further research on the historic landscapes around Stirling Castle. The Haining, after all, lies between the Castle and the King's Knot, where we carried out research during the summer (see the Projects and Development pages).
And research provides knowledge - the knowledge which can help preserve the landscapes and interpret them for future generations.
Stirling Castle is now rightly presented as a royal residence. But that residence could not have worked without the surrounding landscapes, the gardens, the stables, the laundry facilties and so on.
It is worth remembering that history is key to tourism, one of Scotland's most important industries. Without research, we just keep telling the same old stories. And, after a while, those begin to look very tired indeed. Research is an investment not an indulgence.
Today we issued a press release and you can see reports eg at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-16195566
We hope that shortly we will be announcing new initiatives to take this research further.

Stirling Local History Society Website - new pages on cemeteries

11/12/2011

Today we have put up some new pages on the website about an important aspect of Stirling's history - the burial grounds. A couple of years ago, a major restoration of the Valley Cemetery recreated a splendid space at the Top of the Town and gave the cemetery a real buzz. Fiind out more (and how to find out even more) by going to the Stiring's' History pages and following the links to the various cemeteries.
And if you want more information about this - or any other part of Stirling's past, just let us know by posting a comment and we will see what we can do.

New online newspaper archive available

29/11/2011

I see from today's news that the British Library has now launched a new online collection of scanned pages of 18th and 19th century newpapers. Access is free though there is a charge for downloading individual pages. The scanning process is still ongoing and more pages will be added. http ://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk /

This could be a useful addition to the many newspapers already available through the National Library of Scotland Digital Resources (free access to a huge range of useful data for anyone with an address in Scotland) (http://www.nls.uk/) [from the NLS homepage click Licensed Ditital Collections, reg