History talks and events 21-27 November 2017

Upcoming family history talks and events in Scotland, 20 - 27 November 2017

Note that there may be a small charge for some of these events, and some may be for members only. We will be publishing lists of upcoming talks and events regularly - if you are organising a talk or event relating to Scottish genealogy or history, please let us know and we will be happy to add your events to our list.

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Monday, November 20 2017, 1 pm - 1.30 pm

Reformation Dramas

Donald Smith and Sandy Andrew Carr

Venue: Scottish Storytelling Centre, Netherbow Theatre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Previously Scotland's History Festival

From Robin Hood to Mystery Plays and The Satire of the Three Estates. Part of the FREEDOM AND FAITH 1517-2017 series. In the 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 controversial arguments to the church door, Protestantism has had a huge influence on Scotland. This series looks at some of the turning points and conflicts, and then checks our contemporary pulse. Led by storyteller and author, Donald Smith, with Theatre Designer and Museum Interpreter, Sandy Andrew Carr, whose theatre models are on display in John Knox House.
Ticket price : £5.00 (includes access to John Knox's House)

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Monday, November 20 2017, 2 pm - 3 pm

All Mary's Men

Venue: Scottish Storytelling Centre, Netherbow Theatre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Previously Scotland's History Festival

To lose one husband might be careless or unfortunate but to lose three and almost net a fourth seems extravagant. Who were Mary's men, and what went wrong? Part of the FREEDOM AND FAITH 1517-2017 series.
In the 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 controversial arguments to the church door, Protestantism has had a huge influence on Scotland. This series looks at some of the turning points and conflicts, and then checks our contemporary pulse. Led by storyteller and author, Donald Smith, with Theatre Designer and Museum Interpreter, Sandy Andrew Carr, whose theatre models are on display in John Knox House.
Ticket price : £5.00 (includes access to John Knox's House)

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Monday, November 20 2017, 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm

Coffee, Tea and a PhD : Mark Huggins : A Thousand Years Of Easter

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX, UK

Previously Scotland's History Festival

A chance to join some of our brightest young researchers as they bring the freshest research to us. Why not grab a coffee and some delicious cake to hear Mark Huggins.
The development of the celebration of Easter is uncovered by Mark Huggins in this fascinating talk. Mark has studied manuscripts in ancient libraries from Georgia, to Jerusalem, to the Vatican to uncover and record the Easter celebrations in Eastern Christianity over an entire millennium.
FREE

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Monday, November 20 2017, 6 pm - 7 pm

Tartan Rebels

Caroline Young

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX, UK

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Tartan. The favourite of fashionistas as diverse as Queen Victoria, Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier. A badge of rebellion for Jacobites in '45 and Punk Rockers in '76. Scotland gave this iconic fabric to the world - but what is the truth behind the plaid? Caroline Young, co-author of 'Tartan + Tweed' explores the chequered history of tartan from its origins in the Scottish Highlands to its reinvention in contemporary fashion design, music, art and film.
Ticket price : £3.00

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Monday, November 20 2017, 6.30 pm - 7.30 pm

The Course of History

Struan Stevenson

Venue: The Canon's Gait, 232 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Many decisions which have had enormous historical consequences have been made over the dinner table, and have been accompanied (and perhaps influenced) by copious amounts of food and wine.
Struan Stevenson brings to life ten such moments, exploring the personalities, the issues and of course, talks about the food which helped shape the course of history.
Struan Stevenson MEP represented Scotland in the European Parliament since 1999. He retired at the Euro elections in May 2014, and is well known in Europe and Scotland for his in-depth knowledge and understanding of Scottish affairs.
Ticket price : £3.00

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Monday, November 20 2017, 7 pm for 7.30 pm

Scottish Italians - Immigrant Families in the 20th Century

Venue: Augustine Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh

Scottish Genealogy Society

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Monday, November 20 2017, 7.30 pm - 8.30 pm

St Peter's, Cardross: Birth, Death and Renewal

Diane Watters

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX, UK

Previously Scotland's History Festival

It has been called both Scotland's best and worst twentieth century building. In 1992, it was listed category A. One of its architects suggested the idea of 'everything being stripped away except the concrete itself - a purely romantic conception of the buildingas beautiful ruin'.And now in 2016, St Peter's is renewed as a cultural space through the work of the arts organisation NVA.
In this landmark book, Diane Watters looks at the history of a structure that emerged out of an innovative phase of post-war Catholic churchbuilding. She traces the story of an architectural failure which morphed into a tragic modernist myth: unappreciated architects betrayed by an unloving client, and abandoned by an uncaring society. This is a historian's account of the real story of St Peter's College: an exploration of how one of Scotland's most singular buildings became one of its most troubled - and most celebrated.
Ticket price : £3.00

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Monday, November 20 2017, 8 pm - 9 pm

Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas : Scotland and Empire

Dr Stephen Mullen (University of Glasgow)

Venue: The Canon's Gait, 232 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Doctor Stephen Mullen (University of Glasgow) argues that from an economic perspective, the British Empire was actually a 'good thing' for many Scots and Scotland overall. The nation became great post-1707 due to the Union, access to the British Empire and the historical connections with New world slavery. Doctor Stephen Mullen lays out an Atlantic world economic argument: connections with the transatlantic slave trade, connections with cotton, sugar and tobacco trades, Scottish involvement in the Caribbean.
How far did Scotland develope due to this relationship with Empire and slavery?
Lets be clear, colonialism and slavery were evils, but Scotland would be a very different country today without those historical connections.
How should this relationship be acknowledged today?
Ticket price : £3.00

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 1 pm - 1.30 pm

Kings, Demons and Witches

Donald Smith and Sandy Andrew Carr

Venue: Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1SR, UK

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Why did witchcraft in Scotland become a focus for fear and persecution?
Part of the FREEDOM AND FAITH 1517-2017 series
In the 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 controversial arguments to the church door, Protestantism has had a huge influence on Scotland. This series looks at some of the turning points and conflicts, and then checks our contemporary pulse. Led by storyteller and author, Donald Smith, with Theatre Designer and Museum Interpreter, Sandy Andrew Carr, whose theatre models are on display in John Knox House.
Ticket price : £5.00 (includes access to John Knox House). Tickets available from The Scottish Storytelling Centre

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 1.30 pm - 2.30 pm

Coffee, tea and a PhD : Iida Saarinen : Making Priests in the 19th century

Iida Saarinen

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Iida's PhD research has taken her to explore the lives of priests-to-be, or seminarians, in the nineteenth century. She argues that Scottish Catholic priests, like their counterparts elsewhere, were 'made' rather than simply trained.
She will explain how the Scottish Catholic Mission selected and encouraged suitable boys as young as eight, and trained them to become men of God by the time they were twenty-four.
This training took place in seminaries, boys-only boarding schools, which were either dedicated for the training of priests or offered a similar quality of elite-level education. The training took place in Scotland and abroad and thoroughly transformed these boys.
They were transformed from children into adult priests, but also into manly Christian men, genteel scholars, disciplined subjects of their bishops and the Pope and approachable 'Fathers' to their parishioners. Iida will share her research on how this transformation took place and explore some priestly life stories along the way.
FREE

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 1.30 pm - 3 pm

Guided Tour of Dean Village

Venue: The House on Dean Bridge, Randolph Cliff, Edinburgh EH3 7TZ

Previously Scotland's History Festival

A stroll around the historic milling village, which once fed the City of Edinburgh, where many old buildings still survive. The tour will also describe the changing nature of the Village through the centuries and tell the tales of some of the personalities who once lived here.
Ticket price: £5, Free for children under 12. Outdoors, please dress appropriately.
Pay on arrival. Booking essential. To book your place(s) please email: [email protected]

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 2 pm - 3 pm

Wars of Religion

Donald Smith and Sandy Andrew Carr

Venue: Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1SR, UK

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Despite his personal motto, 'Blessed are the Peacemakers', James VI and I set the scene for a century of bloody conflict. Why was 17th century Scotland so tragically divided and what is the legacy?
Part of the FREEDOM AND FAITH 1517-2017 series.
In the 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 controversial arguments to the church door, Protestantism has had a huge influence on Scotland. This series looks at some of the turning points and conflicts, and then checks our contemporary pulse. Led by storyteller and author, Donald Smith, with Theatre Designer and Museum Interpreter, Sandy Andrew Carr, whose theatre models are on display in John Knox House.
Ticket price : £5:00 (includes access to John Knox House)
Tickets available from Scottish Storytelling Centre

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm

Charles Mackie

Pat Clark

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX

Previously Scotland's History Festival

In her wonderful biography 'People, Places And Piazzas: The Life And Art Of Charles Mackie', Pat Clark wrote of Mackie, "His epitaph would reside in the obituaries, memorial exhibition and plaudits in the years immediately following his death. Then he would be largely forgotten, subsumed within a Scottish pantheon dominated by the Glasgow Boys and the Colourists.”
A lost giant of Scottish art, Mackie was an artist who is notoriously hard to categorise. He travelled to France for his honeymoon in 1892, where he famously befriended Sereusier and Gauguin, friendships which had a drastic effect on the rest of Mackie's career, most notably in his use of colour and technique.
Join Pat Clark as she brings this unjustly neglected artist back to life.
Ticket price : £3.00

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 3.30 pm - 4.30 pm

Ways of Seeing : representations of disabled people in visual culture

Sasha Callaghan

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Sasha Callaghan of Disability History Scotland explores how the world of visual culture has represented the disabled from the art of William Hogarth to the films of James Bond. What does it mean to be human? How is the body used and represented in visual culture and what is being signaled by artists and film-makers when disabled people are routinely used as ciphers for malign misdeeds and pariah status?
Ticket price : £3.00

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 6.30 pm

'Child Murder by a Nurse Girl’ - The True Story of Agnes Norman in the Press

Venue: The Canon's Gait, 232 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ

Previously Scotland's History Festival

On Monday the 17th of April, 1871, a court in London convened to hear an inquest to the death of 14-month-old Jessie Jane Beer while in the care of Agnes Norman, a 15-year-old servant girl. As more details were uncovered by the sensationalist press, it appeared that Agnes had a suspicious track record of being around when tragedy struck. In other families she’d worked for, three children, three dogs, one cat, a dozen exotic birds, a parrot, and a number of goldfish had died. Hardly more than a child herself, the case shocked the nation and was widely reported. But who was the real Agnes?
Join us in exploring Agnes’ alleged crimes, the way they were reported in nineteenth-century press, and the fifteen-year-old girl at the centre of it. The story is followed by a brief Q&A session, exploring the themes behind the case. Original research by Dr Iida Saarinen Storytelling by Linda Perttula
Ticket price : £3.00

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 6.30 pm - 7.30 pm

The Myth of British Tuition of the CIA

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX

Previously Scotland's History Festival

According to the official historiography of the CIA, American foreign intelligence did not exist before the 1940s. It portrayed that as a terrible crime, but held that a ‘miracle’ came to the rescue in World War II in the shape of tuition from Ian Fleming and other agents of the legendary British intelligence services.
The result was the creation of the CIA in 1947. This creation mythology was fiction with a purpose, a justification for peacetime intelligence expansion. The expansion ultimately spilled over into counterproductive covert operations, and into domestic surveillance. Now, however, there arose an anti-statist counter mythology, a mythology that held that government was creating a surveillance society – in truth, our surveillance society is more private in origin. The lecture will be, then, critique of both the CIA and its critics.
Ticket price : £3.00

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 7 pm - 8 pm

Alfred The Great

Max Adams

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX

Previously Scotland's History Festival

At Easter 878AD Alfred, king of the West Saxons, could claim lordship over no more than a few square miles of Somerset marsh.
The kingdoms of Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia, and now the whole south of England had been invaded and brought to submission by the ‘Great Host’ of the Danish Vikings. By the time Alfred’s grandson Athelstan died two generations later, all England south of the Humber was united in one kingdom, and the whole of the islands of Britain recognised his overlordship.
England is Alfred’s legacy. His military and administrative triumphs stand alone in British history, and they are all the more remarkable for the circumstances in which he achieved them. Like Charlemagne before him and perhaps only Napoleon afterwards, he had the vision to build the foundations for a political and social entity whose fruits could only possibly be reaped long after his own death.
Ticket price : £3.00

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Tuesday, November 21 2017, 8.30 pm - 9.30 pm

Ye Jacobites By Name

Sarah Fraser and Murray Pittock

Venue: The Canon's Gait, 232 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ

Previously Scotland's History Festival

The word Jacobite has come down to us as short-hand for a romantic, doomed cause. But who were the real Jacobites? What did they stand for? Why does the story of the Bonnie Prince still hold the entire world enthralled, much to the delight of the Visit Scotland? Murray Pittock and Sarah Fraser are your guides to the reality behind the romantic image of the people who stood beside Charles Edward Stuart.
Sarah Fraser won the 2012 Saltire First Scottish Book of the Year for her acclaimed debut The Last Highlander, which in 2016 also became a New York Times ebook bestseller. Her latest work, 'The Prince Who Would Be King', is a moving biography of Prince Henry, son of James VI and I, the boy who would have been the first King of Great Britain. A writer and regular contributor on TV and radio, she has a PhD in obscene Gaelic poetry and lives in the Scottish Highlands. She has four children. She is also a fabulous speaker, massively entertaining and all round terrific woman.
Murray Pittock is Bradley Professor and pro Vice-Principal at the University of Glasgow. He grew up in Aberdeen, attended Aberdeen Grammar School, and studied at University of Glasgow aged 16. As a toddler, he noted: “It’s the blasted drizzle puts the fever in my bones”. His work covers English, History, Irish Studies, Theology and Politics, and he is best-known for writing on Scotland. In 2013 he authored and presented the Radio 4 series 'The Roots of Scottish Nationalism' and in 2016 his study of Culloden was chosen as one of the ten best history books of the year by History Today. Murray has been shortlisted for or won a number of literary prizes. He also serves as an adviser for many bodies, including the National Trust for Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery. That fever in his bones means he basically make the rest of us look like slackers.
Ticket price : £5.00

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 1 pm - 1.30 pm

Unionists and Jacobites

Donald Smith and Sandy Andrew Carr

Venue: Scottish Storytelling Centre, Netherbow Theatre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Explore the Old Town haunts of heroes, spies, sangsters and rebels.
Part of the FREEDOM AND FAITH 1517-2017 series
In the 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 controversial arguments to the church door, Protestantism has had a huge influence on Scotland. This series looks at some of the turning points and conflicts, and then checks our contemporary pulse. Led by storyteller and author, Donald Smith, with Theatre Designer and Museum Interpreter, Sandy Andrew Carr, whose theatre models are on display in John Knox House.
Ticket price : £5.00 (includes access to John Knox House). Tickets available from Scottish Storytelling Centre

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 10 am - 11 am

Standing Stones of Stenness Walk

Venue: Stones of Stenness Circle and Henge

Historic Environment Scotland

Join the Orkney Ranger Service for a free guided tour of our oldest stone circle, and explore the fascinating links with the nearby Neolithic village of Barnhouse.

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 2 pm - 3 pm

Protestant Union, Jacobite Cause

Venue: Scottish Storytelling Centre, Netherbow Theatre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Why did the 1707 Union of Parliaments not settle Scotland's conflicts? What drove the Jacobite Risings?
Part of the FREEDOM AND FAITH 1517-2017 series.
In the 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 controversial arguments to the church door, Protestantism has had a huge influence on Scotland. This series looks at some of the turning points and conflicts, and then checks our contemporary pulse. Led by storyteller and author, Donald Smith, with Theatre Designer and Museum Interpreter, Sandy Andrew Carr, whose theatre models are on display in John Knox House.
Ticket price : £5.00 (includes access to John Knox House). Tickets available from Scottish Storytelling Centre

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 3 pm - 4 pm

Growing up in Scotland: A century of childhood

Rachel Bell

Venue: City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX

Previously Scotland's History Festival

Childhood has changed tremendously in the last hundred years. Today most children in Scotland are protected, cosseted and well fed: just over a hundred years ago many of them still worked in factories. Partly based on BBC Scotland's recent series, producer Rachel Bell uses archive film, interview clips and original research to tell the story of some of the big changes in children's lives, and debate whether things have really all improved for the better.
Tickets : £3.00

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 7 pm

The Lords of The Isles

Venue: Bannockburn, FK7 0LJ

National Trust for Scotland

The Lords of the Isles c1300 - 1500c Encounter the medieval Western Isles and the men who ruled over them. This fascinating new talk is delivered by one of Scotland's leading historians. Discover how this maritime medieval world was politically and culturally different from the rest of Scotland. Be quick, this event will sell out. For tickets please call: 01786 812664 or email: [email protected]

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 7.30 pm

Sculpting the Past: Exploring the art and history of George Sutherland and Sons, sculptors, Galashiels

Alison Martin

Venue: Volunteer Hall, Galashiels

Old Gala Club

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 7.30 pm - 8.30 pm

Edinburgh in the Shadows

Venue: The Banshee Labyrinth, 29-35 Niddry St, Edinburgh EH1 1LG

Previously Scotland's History Festival

What the tourist guides never reveal - stories, tales and poems of drugs, murder, witchcraft, executions and hatchet jobs that reveal the truth behind Edinburgh’s lesser-known miscreants, unfortunates and flawed geniuses. Including Doctor Death, the medical hatchet man with a penchant for poisons and punctures; Jessie King – baby butcher or drunken dupe; George Meikle Kemp, the subject of Scotland’s original and most controversial cold case; and the re-enactment of a 1616 witchcraft trial where the audience decides the veracity of allegations such as a satanic pact and fateful curses, and the truth or guilt of the accused.
Tickets: £4.00

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 7.30pm

Land Legacies: the enduring impact of the First World War on Highland land issues

Dr Iain Robertson

Venue: Highland Archive Centre, Bught Park, Inverness

Highland Family History Society

Non-members will be charged £2

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Wednesday, November 22 2017, 8 pm - 9 pm

Tom Devine in conversation with Kevin McKenna

Venue: The Canon's Gait, 232 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ

Previously Scotland's History Festival

In a no-holds barred conversation, Kevin McKenna probes Scotland's knighted historian to find out what he thinks of Scotland, her institutions and her education system. There may be some shredded reputations and a few shaken establishment pillars. Come and join two men with big brains and big opinions over a glass of something refreshing as Devine faces McKenna.
Ticket price : £3.00

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Thursday, November 23 2017, 5.15 pm for 5.30 pm

‘Toleration and State Formation in Scotland, 1702-1712’

Ben Rogers (University of Edinburgh)

Venue: Room 1.434 (Teaching Room 7), Doorway 3, Old Medical School

University of Edinburgh

Scottish history research seminar. See here for more details.

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Thursday, November 23 2017, 5.30 pm

‘Disability, charity and the boundaries of Reformed discipline in early-modern Scotland’

Dr Chris Langley (Newman University, Birmingham)

Venue: New Seminar Room, St John’s House, 71 South Street, St Andrews

Institute of Scottish Historical Research

See here for more details.

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Thursday, November 23 2017, 7.30 pm

People and Water at the Heart of Neolithic Orkney

Caroline Wickham-Jones, University of Aberdeen

Venue: Blue Room, Town Hall, Ayr

Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society

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Saturday, November 25 2017, 10:30am-12:00pm

Alford Genealogy Group

Venue: Alford Community Campus Library, Alford Academy, Greystone Road, Alford, AB33 8TY

Aberdeenshire Libraries

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