The Thomas Graham Community Library
The first port of call for anyone visiting this site and looking for further local information. The community owned and funded library, opened in 2023, has an extensive section documenting many different aspects of local history, all meticulously filed and indexed by local volunteer, Charles Kerr. Files include a large collection of old photographs and postcards, maps, newspaper and magazine cuttings as well as information about local clubs and activities. There are sections on local churches, industry, the Blane Valley Railway, places of interest, the First and Second World Wars and much besides. Librarians Lynne James and Beth Crossan are mines of information and always do their best to help.
NLS Maps
The NLS has a world-renowned maps section, including most of the historical maps used on this website, going back to Bleau’s map of 1654. The library’s easy-to-use website enables the user to zoom in on places of interest, morph between different maps or view two maps side-by-side. There are simple instructions on how to download and reproduce maps not covered by copyright. You can access and view over a quarter of a million maps as high-resolution, colour, zoomable images.
Stirling Archive
Because of the large quantity of material held by Strathblane Heritage and the Thomas Graham Community Library, there is less material of interest regarding Strathblane in the county archive than one might expect. However, the Stirling archive holds the Strathblane School Log, most valuation rolls dating from 1855, the Registers of Sasines from 1781 to 1980 and various planning documents as well as a local newspaper archive. The archive also holds some documents relating to both Strathblane Parish Church and Strathblane Free Church (later known as the United Free Church), prior to its reunion with the Church of Scotland in 1934. The former include the Poor’s Fund Minutes and Accounts between 1776 and 1853. There is a link on this website to the archive’s Record of Applications for Parochial Relief, 1888-1917. Note that it is essential to book before visiting the archive, as seats are limited.
Scran
This archive, a charity serving Historic Environment Scotland, contains a small number of old photographs relating to Strathblane, Blanefield and Mugdock, including a number of interesting interiors of Duntreath Castle, taken by photographer Harry Bedford Lemere in 1898.
Guthrie Smith book
The Parish of Strathblane and Its Inhabitants from Early Times
A Chapter in Lennox History
By John Guthrie Smith · 1886
Scotlands People
You can use ScotlandsPeople to access a wide range of records kept by the Scottish Government, churches and courts of law. Seven categories of records are indexed by personal name: civil registers, church registers, census returns, valuation rolls, legal records, prison registers and poor relief and migration records.
In its Virtual Volumes section are some Strathblane kirk session records from between 1655 and 1852 as well as Poor’s Fund minutes and accounts from 1776-1809. In the Maps & Plans section are several 18th and 19th century plans relating to roads and estates in the parish of Strathblane.
Scotlands Places
This under-resourced and under-recognised site is currently under threat. However, it is a free site that lets you explore thousands of records about Scotland simply by searching for a place name, clicking on a map or typing in your postcode. In the case of Strathblane, it has records of various taxes including Land Tax Rolls (1645-1831), Hearth Tax Records (1691-1695) and Farm Horse Tax Rolls (1797-1798). See also the 1891 Report from the Medical Officer of Health for Stirlingshire. Note: Strathblane Parish is missing from the Ordnance Survey Name Books.
Canmore
The online catalogue to Scotland’s archaeology, buildings, industrial and maritime heritage. This site includes a number of photographs relating to the parish of Strathblane, including a large number of both the exterior and interior of Strathblane Parish Church.