Strathblane Heritage organises six events every winter, on the third Monday of September, October, November, January, February and March, all at 7.30pm in our lovely Village Club at 20-22 Glasgow Road Blanefield – https://villageclub1911.org/
All are welcome: membership costs just £15 a year entitling you to free access to all events. To join Strathblane Heritage, just come along to one of our events or contact us using the contact form on this website. Guests are equally welcome upon payment of a £4 admission fee. Please note that the club’s seated capacity is limited and it’s advisable to arrive in good time to be sure of a seat.
The normal format is for a speaker or speakers to make a presentation of an hour, followed by Q&A and then tea and biscuits. Our topics vary considerably, as you can see from this list of future and past event presentations – but they must all have in common that they shed a light on meaningful events in our parish, and are entertainingly presented.
News
Discovering John Dillon
When Strathblane War Memorial was unveiled in 1921, it had 25 names inscribed across three panels, with nine on each of the first two panels and seven on the third. Later two more names were added, filling up the third panel: Philip Binnie, a lieutenant in the Scottish Rifles and John Dillon, a private in…
Strathblane Primary School Printmaking Project
As part of the launch of the Strathblane Heritage Trail in May, children in the primary school have created their own printed artworks. The project included all eight classes in the school working with Blanefield resident Jane Parfitt on a range of printmaking techniques. Some of the work from the project was on display at…
Daniel Davidson: his name liveth for evermore
Like many other war memorials, the one in Strathblane carries the quotation from the Book of Ecclesiastes: “Their name liveth for evermore”. But in 2025, when members of Strathblane Heritage decided to research the lives of the local men who died in the Second World War, there was a problem. The memorial is inscribed with…
Strathblane Heritage Trail: A Community Steps Back in Time
A Celtic saint, a royal mistress, an American heiress and eight-year-olds working twelve hours a day for two shillings a week. All feature in the new Strathblane Heritage Trail, launched on 17 May. The two-mile trail has been created by Strathblane Heritage Society. Seven interpretation boards, beginning at the parish church, draw on material from…
Edmonstone Hall Centenary Celebrations
Strathblane residents turned out in force to celebrate the centenary of a venerable local institution: the Edmonstone Hall. In 1926 the Stirling Observer described its opening as “a red-letter day in the Blane Valley” and remarked on the large crowd that assembled to witness Gwendolyn Edmonstone (“the pretty young mistress of the mansion”) perform the…
Edmonstone Hall: Gwendolyn’s Gift
As the Edmonstone Hall marks its centenary in 2026, here is a short piece about the young heiress who came up with the idea of donating a community hall to Strathblane, which had lost so many of its young men in the First World War, including her husband’s 19-year old brother. Gwendolyn was the granddaughter…
Strathblane Heritage Trail Walkabout
On Friday 17 October 2025, Strathblane Heritage committee members, Keith Vass and Anne and Alastair Balfour, plus drone photographer Jamie Ballantine met with Kenny French of Kenwil Ltd, the Kirkintilloch-based company awarded the contract to produce the boards for our Strathblane Heritage Trail. We walked around the two-mile circuit, starting and ending at Strathblane Parish…
