Ballagan

Ballewan

Ballewan

BALLEWAN Painting of Ballewan House, often known as The Ha', by Connie Simmers BALZEOUN Ballewan is an estate in the Blane Valley that was carved out of the earldom of Lennox. For two centuries it belonged largely to the Craig family, culminating in Milliken Craig...

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Romans and Picts Around Strathblane

Romans and Picts Around Strathblane

By Dr Murray Cook As every patriotic Scot knows, the Romans tried and failed to conquer Scotland…the only nation in Europe to resist the might of the Eagles. Unfortunately, this is not really true. The Romans didn’t really try. They just gave up: the cost of...

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STRATHBLANE WW1 PROJECT: 21 JAMES ROBB

STRATHBLANE WW1 PROJECT: 21 JAMES ROBB

STRATHBLANE FIRST WORLD WAR PROJECT: 21 JAMES ROBB, TROOPER, LIFE GUARDS (HOUSEHOLD BATTALION), AGED 21. Household Battalion “Having gone into this action 498 men strong, the Household Battalion suffered 348 casualties. 13 officers were also hit. The majority of these...

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Water

Water

Local Workmen with the Water BoardLeft to right : Tom McCulloch, Jimmy Baxter, Tommy Miller, David Getty , John Harkins The Glasgow Water Supply The Blane Valley is the final stage of what justifiably can be called one of the greatest civil engineering achievements of...

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World War One

World War One

Silk postcard sent by gardener Sandy Mitchell, fighting on the Western Front, to his wife Georgina, living in staff quarters at Duntreath. Sandy, a Private in the Scottish Rifles, was killed at Arras in April 1917. He is remembered on Strathblane War Memorial. Boer...

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Farming

Farming

Blane Valley from the Cuilt Brae Until the mid-20th century farming was very much an integral part of the life of the parish of Strathblane. The school log contains frequent references to children skipping school to help with the harvest. The Blanefield printworks...

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Ballagan

Ballagan

Ballagan House by Frederick Alsop, 1884, from The Parish of Strathblane by John Guthrie Smith, 1886 Strathblane Valley has a long history and Ballagan has been part of it since early times. When a cairn on the estate was opened, a cist containing ashes and a piece of...

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The Campsies and the Land of Lennox by Iain C Lees

The Campsies and the Land of Lennox by Iain C Lees

Extracts from The Campsies and the Land of Lennox by Iain C Lees, describing walks around Strathblane. (Blackie & Sons, Glasgow, 1933) Secrets of the Campsie Fells The rich valley of the Blane, which can be traced to its junction with Strathendrick, is the finest...

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Revisiting Strathblane (1881) by William T McAuslane

Revisiting Strathblane (1881) by William T McAuslane

This poem was first printed in the Lennox Herald on 10 September 1881 and was “inscribed to AP Coubrough Esq, Blanefield Printworks”. McAuslane was clearly a friend of the Coubroughs, who owned the Printworks. It may be intended to voice the thoughts of Anthony Park...

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The Poems of Thomas Thorpe

The Poems of Thomas Thorpe

The poet Thomas Thorpe was born on 9 March, 1829 in Milton, Dunbartonshire, son of a block printer at the local works. When he was five, he moved with his family to Strathblane. One of his earliest childhood memories was being with his sisters in a wood where wild...

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Gazetteer of Scotland 1803 by F Ray

Gazetteer of Scotland 1803 by F Ray

Containing a particular and concise description of the counties, parishes, islands, cities, etc. With an account of the political constitution. Illustrated with an elegant map. F. Ray for W. Chalmers, 1803....

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