INDEX
Hearth Tax Records for Strathblane, 1691-1695
The First Statistical Account: Strathblane by Rev Gavin Gibb (1796).
Farm Horse Tax Rolls for Strathblane, 1797-1798
Gazetteer of Scotland 1803 by F Ray
The Second Statistical Account: Strathblane, by Rev Hamilton Buchanan (1841).
Groome’s Gazetteer, 1884
The Parish of Strathblane and its Inhabitants from Early Times (1886) by John Guthrie Smith
Strathblane Record of Applications for Parochial Relief 1888-1917
Hearth Tax Records for Strathblane, 1691-1695
This tax roll lists landowners and tenants liable for a 14 shilling tax on each hearth in their property, as well as six parish paupers who were exempt
The First Statistical Account: Strathblane by Rev Gavin Gibb (1796).
The first Statistical Account (or OSA) was initiated by Sir John Sinclair and published by William Creech of Edinburgh. It took several years to obtain all the reports and, rather than waiting until he had the complete set in his possession, Sinclair issued volumes as and when there was sufficient content: this means that the…
Farm Horse Tax Rolls for Strathblane, 1797-1798
A tax on farm horses was imposed in Scotland in 1797 to raise money to support the army and navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. In Strathblane inspectors counted 92 horses, of which 66 were eligible for the tax.
The Second Statistical Account: Strathblane, by Rev Hamilton Buchanan (1841).
The second Statistical Account (or NSA) was initiated by the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy in 1832 and published by Blackwoods and Sons. The first edition, which took the form of 52 quarterly parts, was published between March 1834 and October 1845. A re-issue in 33 county volumes was published between 1841 and 1845.…
Rambles Round Glasgow by Hugh MacDonald (1854)
Hugh MacDonald was a Scottish journalist, poet and author from Glasgow. He wrote for the newspaper the Glasgow Citizen for many years under the pen name ‘Caleb’. He is best known for his book Rambles Round Glasgow, published in 1854 by Thomas Murray and Son.
Groome’s Gazetteer, 1884
Groome’s Gazetteer of Scotland offers a snapshot of Strathblane in 1884 at which point the valley contained “an ex-quisite assemblage of mansions, lakes, woods, and luxuriant corn fields”, according to the author. The huge printworks, employing hundreds of men, women and children, living in cramped tenements and cottages, receives only a passing mention.
Strathblane Record of Applications for Parochial Relief 1888-1917
The applications for poor relief often survive as a separate series. Between 1845 and 1865 the information they contain is not much less than that in the registers of poor, but they are considerably less detailed than the general registers of poor introduced in 1865. For example, the application forms will not include the religious…
Summer Knickers – A Scottish Wartime Childhood by Sarah Paton Wiseman (edited extracts), with an addendum by Margie Mitchell
A delightful memoir of a small girl’s life in Strathblane in the 1940s & 50s
Home to Strathblane (1993) and Strathblane & Away (1996), Argyll Publishing by Helen Lillie
Helen Lillie produced historical novels, Home to Strathblane in 1993 and Strathblane & Away in 1996.
World War One
Boer War Of 1899-1902 One of the famous battles of this war was the Relief of Mafeking, which was marked by a bonfire in a field near Napier Lodge. The school children were also given a half-day’s holiday to commemorate the Peace of Pretoria and an exceptional holiday on the 2nd June 1902 to celebrate…
Free Church
John Guthrie Smith records that the neat little church and manse belonging to the Free Church stands on the site of the old village of Netherton and the first ordained minister was the Rev George Rennie. Early records indicate that by 1864 there was a sufficient number of members and adherents to merit discussion of…
Parish Church (1216-1982)
“The church is a beautiful building of modern Gothic, reared in 1803.” Rev Hamilton Buchanan, Second Statistical Account of the Parish of Strathblane, 1841. Early History The parish of Strathblane is more than 800 years old. The “parochia de Strathblachane” is first mentioned in a document defining the boundaries of the parish of Campsie. Though…
Blanefield Printworks
Block printing is the printing of patterns on fabrics using a carved block, usually made from wood. It originated in India around the 5th century BC but did not arrive in Scotland until the late 17th century. It later developed into a technique using rollers or cylinders, opening the possibility of printing several colours simultaneously.…
Netherton/Blanefield
“Nothing is now left of Old Netherton save the smithy and the school-house, and its very name seems likely to perish, for the factory originally called Blane Printfield has expanded to such ample proportions, and covered its environs with so many workers’ houses that the whole of Netherton and neighbourhood with its post-office and railway…
STRATHBLANE WW1 PROJECT: 6 GEORGE DON
STRATHBLANE FIRST WORLD WAR PROJECT: 6 GEORGE DON, GUNNER ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY, AGED 35. “It was George’s wretched luck that married men under 41 were conscripted into the British Army on May 25 1916, less than three weeks after the birth of his daughter Martha in Blanefield. He can barely have seen her before the…
Auld Wives Lifts – feature in Stirling Observer
An all-woman climbing club have re-enacted a photograph taken around 100 years ago at a Strathblane geological curiosity. The Stirling Observer 07-07-2023
