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Stirling's Early-Modern Gardens

17/11/2013

Saturday 16th Nov was the annual Forth Naturalist and Historian Conference. This year, with the focus on wildlife, it drew the biggest audience for several years. But the focus was also on change, particularly over the last 40 years or so, since the journal Forth Naturalist and Historian, began to appear. And, in that sense, all the papers were historical. I found it fascinating to see detailed examples of how human activities impact in such different ways on a wide variety of taxa and species.

The event also saw the launch of Volume 36 of Forth Naturalist and Historian which includes a paper I have intended to write for years on Stirling's early-modern gardeners and their gardens.

It starts by discussing what gardens (very valuable assets in the 17th and 18th centuries) can reveal about the development of the town plan. But most of the paper is devoted to the produce - fruit and vegetables, salads, herbs and such important incidentals as honey and wax from bees; and there were also flowers so that, though most gardens were utilitarian, there was also an element of delight.

Perhaps surprisingly, many of the best-documented gardens were commercial enterprises run by 'market gardeners' who probably managed several gardens at the same time.

Of course, the journal includes many other papers, including Digney and Jones on the recent survey work at the King's Knot. the history of botanical discoveries at Ben Lawers and an interesting item on prehistoric pottery found in the King's Park earlier this year; there are also some intriguing looking wildlife papers.

It usually takes a week or two for copies of the journal (£10) to be distributed to the University bookshop and the Smith Museum. For details see the website; http://www.fnh.stir.ac.uk/journal/index.php

Gravestone of John Simpson, gardener, one of those discussed in the paper.

New tenements paper published

11/11/2013

It's always (well, almost always) a relief to finally see a long-term project come to fruition in print. And this week it was a real pleasure to get the final version of my latest paper.
'Houses in Early Modern Stirling: Some Documentary Evidence', published Review of Scottish Culture, volume 25 (2013) p. 42-59, really is the fruit if 'years of work'.
It is astonishing how much detail about the structure and internal arrangements of early modern tenements and town houses survives in the archives. It was when I was asked to speak at the English Vernacular Architecture Group some years ago, that I realised how little systematic information was in print. So I decided to do some extra work to supplement my old notes. And this paper is the outcome.

There are few surviving upstanding examples of 16th to early 18th century tenements, archaeology has often been destroyed and is not really applicable above ground level and photographs of facades tell is little about the internal spaces, where the people actually lived. That is why the information from the archives is so helpful. And I hope that this paper will be a useful supplement to earlier work. To some extent, indeed, it gets us off the ground and behind the facades, looking at the real spaces that real people occupied (halls, chambers, kitchens, lofts, wardrobes, vaults and all).

Vernacular Buildings - Conference

17/9/2013

The Annual Conference and AGM of the Scottish Vernacular Buildings Group will be held at the premises of the Royal Commission in Edinburgh on 3rd October. You can find further details here where you can also download the booking form.

I have been a member of this group for 'longer than I care to recall'. And will be giving a talk about Archives and the Vanished Vernacular.

It's obvious that most buildings from the past have vanished beyond any physical recall - even archaeological remains have been obliterated. There may be no documentation for those which do survive.

But documents which relate to some types of buildings and to some geographical areas can be found, in surprising abundance. My talk will concentrate on a survey of the buildings of the Bannockburn estate in 1716 and on the evolution of tenement buildings between the late 16th and early 18th centuries.

By taking two such contrasting themes (one rural and one urban) I hope to show that documents can give broad, general insights which even the best-preserved buildings cannot do.

If you are interested in Scotland's older building traditions, then this is a group for you.

King's Park, Stirling's Overlooked Jewel - Report

1/9/2013

I had grave fears about this day - particularly that we would end up with an audience of one or- at the other extreme - that we would be turning angry people away at the door. 'But I've traveled 40 miles to be here... '.

Perhaps such worries were inevitable given the impracticality of taking bookings and the uncertain relationship between enquiries and actual turnout on the day - and at least two people who said they would be there, were not recognisable amongst the audience!

Anyway, an audience which had reached 65 when we kicked off and gained a few more - albeit a few filtered away at lunch time as expected - was a very respectable crowd. And a pretty varied one, too, with locals and visitors, academics and postgrads and an age range which must have approached 60 years. I tried to chat to as many as possible but did not manage all of you.

Everyone seemed to enjoy it - there were even pleas for another next year. Quite a lot stayed on for the walks round the immediate landscape -for which the threatened rain did not materialise though it wasn't far away. The presentations were very well received - and, to my relief, the technology worked apart from the failure of the remote mouse part way through the final talk (Sorry about that, Douglas, but I did press the buttons on the laptop very beautifully, I thought).

Perhaps there will be some sort of 'publication' - format as yet uncertain. Watch this space! And feel my unmitigated relief that it worked and is over and done with so life can return to its usual hectic whirl.

King's Park; Stirling's Overlooked Jewel

30/7/2013

This important conference will he held in the Smith Art Gallery and Museum on Saturday 31st August. Get an outline flyer here or full details here; this is a FREE EVENT but you need to make your own arrangements for lunch.

It is an honour to be speaking at this conference, the first attempt at an overview of the history of the park and its changing role. It is held at a critical time, when the future ownership and management of these major landscapes is under discussion.

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.

Bannockburn - the battle and the evidence

1/5/2013

As the heat builds towards the 700th anniversary there is a lot going on about Bannockburn. I have been working on aspects of the landscapes for the past several months - and there is lots of interesting stuff coming out - watch this space!

Meanwhile, on Wednesday 5th June, Forth Naturalist and Historian host a talk at the Raploch Community Campus on Drip Road, Stirling. The speaker will be Dr Iaiin Banks of Glasgow University Archaeology Department talking about aspects of the archaeology of the battle fleld and the current work in the area.

There is a super poster attached which highlights not only the first image of the battle but also the first image of any Scottish town - which is (of course) Stirling seen as the background to the battle itself.

Historic Rural Settlement Group

29/1/2013

I blogged about the revival of this group some time ago.

Today there was another meeting and (slowly, slowly) it seems to be coming back to life.
Today we agreed that one of the future functions of the group would be to act as in information exchange and link between the great diversity of other groups now involved in this field.

The new web pages are now up and running and gradually the old material will be concentrated here and new material posted.

If you want to know what is happening in the wake of the Scotland's Rural Past project or are just interested in the whole area of historic rural settlement in Scotland, why not get in touch?

Menstrie Glen Tree Planting update

3/12/2012

Further to the earlier post about this, there is to be a public meeting about the proposals in Menstrie's Dumyat Centre on Tuesday 18th December from 16.00 to 18.30h.

There are further details about the proposals (slightly modified) on the Menstrie Community Council website

I notice some significant distortions here. For example, Tillhill are claiming that they have the 'acceptance' of the district archaeologist. This implies that he has 'approved' them and that the mitigation measures to avoid the archaeological sites are, therefore, adequate.

In fact, of course, with no statutory protection, the archaeologist cannot object to even the most ourtageous proposals but lack of a formal 'objection' is not the same as 'approval', in my book!

There is no doubt whatever that the proposals will effectively destroy the archaeological aspects of this side of the glen. In any case, the proposals recognise only the sites within Menstrie Glen, not those over the watershed which have not been surveyed.

So, it is rather rich of Tilhill to now claim the 'rich archaeological history' of Menstie Glen as somehow an argument in favour of the plans!

Central Scotland Green Network - talk on 6th Nov

24/10/2012

The excellent Friends of the Ochils are having their AGM at 7pm on Tuesday 6th November in The Alloa Town Hall, Tommy Downs Room. The AGM will be followed, after a short break for refreshments at around 7.30pm, by a presentation on the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) by Its Chief Executive, Keith Geddes, who will be accompanied by Simon Rennie, Head of the CSGN Support Unit. The CSGN aims to "change the face of Central Scotland, by restoring and transforming the landscape of an area stretching from Ayrshire and Inverclyde in the west, to Fife and the Lothian’s in the east". Its work could have a particularly significant impact on the Ochils and the Surrounding countryside and the Friends of the Ochils Committee would like to invite representatives of other like-minded organisations to the Presentation. We feel that it is important that we hear not just what the CSGN proposes for the Ochil’s and adjacent countryside but that we also give other organisations with which we work the opportunity to hear about the CSGN. If you intend to attend the meeting or if you need further information, please contact the secretary of Friends of the Ochils: David Scott, on 01786 832248 or email at dcbscott@tiscali.co.uk

Botanical Survey of Kings Park

20/10/2012

During this last summer I spent part of a pleasant morning with a group of volunteers organised by Friends of the Kings Park, intent on a survey of the park's flora.

Here are some notes, outlining what I said about the park that day.

Roy Sexton will be talking about the outcomes of the survey and comparing them with those from a century ago at a meeting of the Friends in the Smith Museum, Stirling at 7pm on 7th Nov.

Details of the meeting are attached

Much of the change, I am sure, will be down to changes in management; the replacement of pasturing livestock by mechanical mowing, much more intense draiinage of the golf course and its surroundings, use of sprays and fertilisers and so on.

But the particular changes will be sometimes surprising and interesting. Roy is a botanist using historical data - I am a historian but interested in the interaction of people with habitats. It's by breaking down old formal boundaries that we will make new progress.

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