Showing 42 results

Names
P0273 · Person · 1710 - 1783

Archibald Stirling of Keir and Cawder was born at Keir, 04 Sep 1710 to James Stirling (b. 1679) and Marione Stirling, née Stuart (b. 1680). He had 20 siblings including William, Alexander, Robert, and John Stirling. Archibald is an ancestor of the current Laird of Keir, Archibald Hugh Stirling (b. 1941).

Archibald was a merchant in Jamaica, where he acquired a moderate fortune before he returned to Scotland in 1748. He succeeded his brother, John, in Keir ten years afterwards, and by Deed of Entail, dated 05 November, 1771, he entailed the estates of Keir and Cawder. In 1751, Archibald married Margaret Stirling, née Erskine (b. 1732), of Torrie, Fife, who was daughter of Colonel William Erskine of Torrie. He later married Dame Ann Stirling, née Hay (1727 - 1807), of Drumelzier, Peebleshire, in 1762, who was the daughter of Alexander Hay of Drummelzier, and relict of Sir Patrick Hepburn Murray ofBlackcastle and Balmanno, Baronet.

In 1762 - 1763, Archibald was involved in a court case against John Christie regarding Nethertown of Inverallan.

Archibald died at Keir on 03 November 1783, aged 73, without issue. He was succeeded by his brother William (b. 1725), who was concerned in the Rebellion of 1745, along with his father and brother, Hugh.

P0238 · Person · 1818 - 1903

Sir James Campbell was born in Edinburgh in 1818 into the Campbell of Aberuchill and Kilbryde family. His parents were Sir Alexander Campbell of Kilbryde (1757 - 1824) and Margaret Coldstream, who named Campbell after his paternal grandfather Sir James Campbell 4th Baronet of Aberuchill (1723 - 1812). Campbell became the 5th Baronet of Kilbryde in December 1824. He married Caroline Bromley (d. 1900) in 1840 and died in 1903 aged 84 years in North Wales. Following his death he was succeeded by his son, Sir Alexander Campbell (1841 - 1914) who then became the 6th Baronet of Kilbryde.

Cromlix House
C0477 · Corporate body · 1874 -

Cromlix House is a Victorian mansion near Kinbuck, a hamlet in Stirling. A house was built on the site in 1874 as a family residence in the time of Captain Arthur Drummond Hay, but was destroyed by fire in 1878. It was replaced in 1880 by the house which forms the nucleus of the present building, and was subsequently operated as a hotel. The hotel closed in 2011 and in early 2013 it was bought by Dunblane-born tennis player Andy Murray (b. 1987). The hotel re-opened in April 2014 under the name Cromlix, managed by Inverlochy Castle Management International (ICMI).

There is little known about the Lords of Cromlix before the 15th century. Evidence of an earlier population has been found, including some stone coffins near the 'Big House'. The name Cromlix possibly derives from the 'cram lech' standing stone or 'Crom Leac', meaning the curve of sloping slab of a hillside. In 1593, the family name Cromlixes is recorded and in 1750, Cromlec is recoded. In 1723 the castle of Cromlix was recorded as Cromligs. Unfortunately the castle no longer remains, but the site is still slightly visible outside of the estate now at Cambushinnie.

However, there are records of Cromlix from the 1500s when the Bishop of Dunblane sold the lands of Cromlix to his brother, Robert Chisholm. The current house was built for Arthur Hay-Drummond, son of the Earl of Kinnoul. The house remained a family home for the Hay-Drummonds until the death of Evelyn Hay-Drummond in 1971, who had married Terence Eden, the 8th Lord Auckland. The Drummond name arose by marriage in the late 16th century and became Hay-Drummond in 1739.

Cromlix House was converted in May 1981 from what was the Eden family home, and retained much of the original furniture designed for the house as well as the original family portraits. It also contains Cromlix Chapel, a consecrated Episcopalian Church in the diocese of Dunblane dating from 1874, which was opened by Charles Wordsworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane (1806 - 1892). The house sits in part of a 2,000 acres estate and occupies approximately 34 acres of parkland, forestry and four fishing lochs, as well as two mineral springs.

The house was converted from a private residence to a luxury country house hotel in 1981 and between the 1980s and its closure on 16 Feb 2012 due to financial difficulties, it was run as a four-star country house hotel, with 14 bedrooms including eight suites. In 2006, Cromlix House, including the game larder, ancillary building, gatepiers and garden boundary walls, was designated as a Category C listed building, while an obelisk sundial in the garden was designated as a Category A listed.

In Oct 2010, the hotel served as the wedding venue for Scottish tennis player Jamie Murray (b. 1986) and Colombian MBA student Alejandra Murray (née Gutierrez); his brother and fellow tennis player Andy was the best man, who purchased the hotel in Feb 2013 for £1.8 million. It opened as a 15-room five-star hotel in Apr 2014 and served as the venue for the wedding reception of Andy Murray and his wife Kim (née Sears).

F0003 · Family · 1810 - 1835

William Dawson (d. 1834), was in Auchinleck in 1810, but later moved to Ashentree, Doune where he farmed. He married Agnes Towers and they had many children including James (b. 1810) who became a clerk and salesman in Glasgow, and Colin who died in 1835.

P0221 · Person · d. 1834

William Dawson (d. 1834), was in Auchinteck, Kilbryde estate, in 1810, but later moved to Ashentree in Doune, Stirling where he farmed. He married Agnes Towers and they had many children including James (b. 1810) who became a clerk and salesman in Glasgow and Colin who died in 1835.

Diocesan Synod of Dunblane
C0272 · Corporate body · 1662 - 1688

By the Act of Rescissory in 1661 all acts passed after 1633 were annulled. One of the consequences of this was that the Presbyterian form of Church government was abolished and the Episcopalian system revived. This was confirmed by an Act for the Restitution and Re-establishment of the ancient Government of the Church by Archbishops and Bishops. Bishops were reinstated and in Dunblane Bishop Leighton invited the ministers of several parishes within his bounds to attend a Diocesan Synod. The Synod differed little from the Provincial Synods that had met under the Presbyterian system. The first Synod met in 1662 and the last meeting was in 1688 (?) before the abolition of the Episcopacy in 1689.

Doune Railway Station
C0485 · Corporate body · c. 1900 - c. 1968

Doune was a railway station located in Doune, Stirling, Scotland. The station was rebuilt in the typical Caledonian Railway style in the early 1900s after the completion of the Callander and Oban Railway in 1880.

Its development was a part of the Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway operation. The Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway was opened in 1858 in order to connect Callander and Doune with the Scottish railway network. When promoters wished to make a connection to Oban, Callander was an obvious place to start, and from 1880 Callander was on the main line to Oban. The railway network was reduced in the 1960s and the line closed permanently in 1965; Oban is now served by a different route.

The townspeople of these rural areas greatly benefited from a railway connection as it greatly reduced the cost of commodities such as coal and lime as well as for the delivery of manufactured products. The Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway station lines were worked by the Scottish Central Railway and then the Caledonian Railway and also became a goods depot. The Caledonian Railway became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923, and became part of British Railways in 1948.

Lack of profits and eventual cuts led to Doune Station being closed permanently on 01 Nov 1965, it was later demolished in c. 1968. The site was used by a timber merchant for many years before, in the late 1990s, a private housing estate was built on the site. Although little or no trace of the station remains, the station house still stands at the entrance to the housing development. Part of the trackbed south of Doune and another south of Callander have been converted into a footpath and cyclepath for the local people.

C0570 · Corporate body · 1898 - 1919

The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict., c.62) created school boards in Scotland with a statutory duty to provide education for all children between the ages of 5 and 13. The boards had an elected membership made up of owners and occupiers of property of the value of £4 or over. They were responsible for the building and maintenance of schools, staffing and attendance of pupils. They were overseen by the Scotch Board of Education. The Education (Scotland) Act 1901 (64 Vict. and 1 Edw. VII, c.9) raised the school leaving age to 14. School boards were abolished by the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. V, c.48) and replaced by education authorities and school management committees.

C0141 · Corporate body · 1804 - 1945

The Strathallan Farmer Society, Dunblane, was formed in 1804 so that farmers could meet and discuss topics with a view to improving agriculture in the area. As well as meetings and dinners, the society organised agricultural shows and competitions. By the 1820's, it was known as the Dunblane Farmers' Society and later the Dunblane Agricultural Society. In 1945, the society merged with the Doune Agricultural Society to form the Doune and Dunblane Agricultural Society. The society has held the Doune and Dunblane show since 1947 at Keir Mains

C0290 · Corporate body · 1765 – 1820

In the 18th century, Reverend Ebenezer Erskine, the ‘famous champion of dissent’ was said to have frequently visited Dunblane and addressed members of the community on the slopes of Holmehill. In 1740, the first official meeting was held in a house on Millrow and Dunblane Leighton began as a Secession Church of the Associate Synod (Burgher). In 1758, the first Burgher church was built for the congregation of Seceders However, in the same year the congregation decided to join with Bridge of Teith in Doune, Perth and did not disjoin and regain their own session until 1765, at which point the congregation had grown significantly. The first minister of the church, Reverend Michael Gilfillan was ordained in 1768 and received a stipend of £55. Under Reverend Gilfillan, meetings took place at what is now the Haining. Remarkably, the congregation only had three ministers over the span of 132 years, Reverend Michael Gilfillan from 1768-1816; Reverend James Anderson from 1818-1854; and Reverend William Blair took up the post in 1856 after the church lacked a settled minister for two years (at which point the church was then United Presbyterian). Reverend William Blair received his degree of D.D from St Andrews University in 1879 and by 1858 was Moderator of the Church. After he retired from active ministerial work in 1900, he was succeeded by his nephew, Reverend George Blair