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.
The parish of Strathblane, some twenty square miles in size, lies in the south-west corner of Stirlingshire. It was at one time part of the county of Dunbarton and as an ecclesiastical parish is still part of Dunbarton Presbytery. It is a very beautiful district. The...
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....
The main source of early historical information about the area is John Guthrie Smith's book "The Parish of Strathblane and its Inhabitants from Early Times". This weighty tome was published in 1886 and contains vast amounts of information and is available to refer to...
StAS.2.8.71.P.Stirling.StrathblaneDownload https://stataccscot.ed.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/parish/Stirling/Strathblane
Ray's Gazetteer, published in 1803, describes the parish of Strathblane in pre-industrial times, stressing the beauty of the Blane Valley with its spectacular views towards the Trossachs. Several errors are worth noting: it is not bounded by the Grampians and the...
In order to raise extra tax revenue to finance the cost of fighting the French Revolutionary Wars of the 1790s, the British government imposed a number of taxes, including Farm Horse Tax. The Scottish farm horse tax rolls (National Records of Scotland, E326/10) list...
StAS.1.18.563.P.Stirling.StrathblaneDownload https://stataccscot.ed.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/parish/Stirling/Strathblane
In 1690 the Parliament of Scotland granted a tax of 14 shillings on every hearth, payable by both landowners and tenants, to raise money for the army. Only hospitals and paupers living on parish charity were exempt. Because hearths were a proxy for wealth, hearth...