History Scotland Magazine

Vol.4 No.5 September/October 2004

Contents

Antiquarian Collectors: A Tale of two Wigtownshire Doctors.
Jane Murray

The latter decades of the nineteenth century was the period during which the greater bulk of museum collections accrued Jane Murray, describes her encounter with a very characteristic collection of stone artefacts gathered chiefly between 1890 and 1914, raising questions over the motivations of collectors, and the reasons why some presented their material to museums, while others preferred to curate it themselves. The collection was acquired by Dr Robert Bird Selby and his son, Dr William McDowall Selby, medical practitioners in the Machars of Wigtownshire between 1868 and 1932.

Margaret - Saint & Politician?
Bridget Paterson

Queen Margaret was a virtuous woman and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in faith and works, wrote Turgot, the prior of Durham and, for a while, bishop of Saint Andrews, Margarets confessor and friend, about ten years after her death. Most of what we know about Margaret and her impact on Scotland come from this Life, or more correctly hagiography.

The author asserts perhaps it is time to ask questions about Margaret which have long been swept under the carpet? Some of the questions are speculative kite-flying, designed to be provocative, but others are grounded in harder fact. Margaret was canonised in 1249-50 and, whilst she was to some extent a pious woman, that cannot be the whole story. The author uses Turgots Life as a basis to unpeel some of the layers and present a more complex picture of Margaret and Malcolm Canmore and their joint impact upon the legacy of Scotland.

McLellan - the Man & the Galleries
Jane Anderson

Archibald McLellan (1797 -1854) provided his native city with the nucleus of its art collection. He is remembered as a prominent Glasgow citizen in other respects: as a successful coachbuilder and a rather less successful property developer; for outstanding and valuable work in his own Trade Guild and on the Town Council; as a prime mover in the rehabilitation of Glasgow Cathedral; for energetic involvement in all aspects of culture; for his large collections of art works, especially paintings, and books; and as a sociable and hospitable friend. He died of heart disease in his 58th year.

Partying in the Museum
Geoff Swinney

The Main Hall of the stunning building designed by Francis Fowke and Robert Matheson, which forms the core of what is now the Royal Museum in Edinburgh (part of the National Museums of Scotland), is described in The Buildings of Scotland as a huge elegant bird-cage of glass and iron. Geoff Swinney charts the use of the venue for conversaziones, a fashionable form of entertainment in Victorian times, from the time the foundation stone was laid for the first phase of the Museum building up until the present day.

America & Scotland: Forever Tartan?
Michael Newton

In early April every year, the contradictions surrounding Scottish influence in North America raise their heads in an unseemly manner. As preparations for Tartan Day get underway, there is both celebration of the many generations of Scots who came to America, and a bewildered embarrassment at the way in which this historical connection is celebrated. Despite the considerable influence that Scots have had in developing the educational institutions in North America, Michael Newton, in a strongly argued essay, describes the historical factors which have resulted in the neglect of Scottish culture and history, especially in the very institutions that Scots themselves helped to create. Although Scottish (and Gaelic) studies in Canada eventually achieved some attention in the twentieth century, in the much larger and wealthier United States, however, virtually nothing has been done to the present day.

From the Victory to the Gallows
Fred Sinfield

The story of the life of Dr. Edward William Pritchard, MRCS, LSA, who was found guilty of poisoning his wife and mother-in-law in Glasgow in 1865. His subsequent execution for this crime was the last public hanging in Scotland.

Archaeology news

Postcards from the past
Use of virtual reality and games technology to create virtual landscapes such as a reconstruction of the Kilmartin Valley in Argyll 15,000 years ago.

Iron Age Cliff-top Refuge - Carghidown

Mysterious rock art found near Scottish Borders

Exploratory dig confirms existence of Brodgar Neolithic village in Orkney

News
Glenesk Folk Museum, Angus
Handwriting website
Glasgow Digital Library