In 1988 the Reverend Alex Fleming, who was then the parish minister of Strathblane Church, commissioned Dr Perry Harrison to write an illustrated pamphlet describing the seven coats of arms that are displayed in the church. Dr Harrison was a senior elder, as well as the long-serving village doctor. Heraldry was one of his hobbies. The coats of arms refer to the lairds of the parish whose arms are displayed on the front of the gallery. The pamphlet was printed by the Heatherbank Press, Milngavie.
In his introduction Dr Harrison wrote:
As he makes clear, Dr Harrison relied entirely for his potted histories of the seven families concerned on John Guthrie Smith’s History of the Parish of Strathblane, published in 1886. In the light of modern scholarship and today’s social attitudes, one might be less uncritical of these families and in particular the sources of the wealth they were able to use to support their local church. For instance, the section on the Smith family of Carbeth Guthrie should be read in the knowledge that Guthrie Smith himself was a member of that family and their wealth was derived largely from slavery in the West Indies and the Demeraras. See Slavery
A fuller history of the Edmonstones of Duntreath, written by Juliet Edmonstone, can be found at Duntreath and the Edmonstones
For a brief history of Strathblane Church, see Parish Church (1216-1982)
1. LENNOX – Earls of Lennox
2. GRAHAM – Dukes of Montrose
3. EDMONSTONE of Duntreath
4. STIRLING of Craigbarnet
5. DOUGLAS of Mains
6. CUNNINGHAME of Ballindalloch
SMITH of Carbeth Guthrie
