Steven Robb

Half-length portraits of gents in black or red coats; hair a mix of wigs, powdered and unpowdered coiffed natural hair (one bad pageboy cut with curls at the sides). Images are within ovals but the sheets are rectangular.

Five pastel portraits by William Parry (1742-1791), c1770, almost certainly members of Sir William Watkins Wynn's Cycle Club, a late, sentimentalist #Jacobite group that met at Sir William's house in Wales. At Bonhams, London, est. £3,000-5,000 #c18th #c18 #18thc

And the proper stuff is amazing. This great refurb on John Cowan in Stirling really brought this home to me. 2018 vs 2021:

Happy Burns Night

think you are right - Wester Hailes was 70s.

This is exciting news for us. Our new YouTube channel is now live, and we've just posted our talks from the 2024/2025 session. Thanks to all the speakers for their permission to make their talks live for everyone to view. Check the talks out at buff.ly/DOLKg0h
#edinburghhistorytalks #histoystories

Good news from Edinburgh City Council Archives: The Archives search room reopened on 20th January by appointment only, from Tuesday to Thursday, 10am - 4:30 pm. More info on their website buff.ly/mgz7Xl6

#edinburgharchives #edinburghhistory

Doorway into St Helen's Bishopsgate, #London, although the church itself wasn't open to visitors, as it was busy with some kind of meeting or course. This door clearly dates from 1633 ... and is where they stash the bins! #AdoorableThursday #NoContextDoors

This has been such a fun project: Somerset house of c.1780-5, before and after the restoration of its Georgian windows.

I think Edinburgh has the most historic swimming pools of any local authority. That might include The Commie though - which will upset some.

From The Planner magazine. Hawick in Killin, Dublin in Limerick, (London)Derry in Louge Neagh and Barry in Builith Wells !!

Edinburgh has been very lucky to retain five of its six beautiful Victorian public swimming baths in usable condition, so it's very encouraging that there's investment forthcoming to keep Portobello. If they are looked after, they will continue to serve the city for another century

White metal medal (believed unique) of the Prince in profile, c1750, with the motto LOOK LOVE AND FOLLOW (which, by this point, people had largely ceased to do). Reverse blank (not illustrated). Baptismal names as given in Frank McLynn's biography, citing BL Add MSS 30,090; Wikipedia, citing Susan Kybett's biography, gives them as Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir. ODNB follows McLynn - can anyone confirm which is correct? In any event, Louis, Casimir, Silvester, Severino and Maria would not have endeared the young prince to Protestant Britons

Born on this day in 1720, Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Silvester Severino Maria of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Prince of Wales and later King Charles III in the #Jacobite succession #c18th #c18 #18thc #OTD

The sadly redundant St Helen's at Kilnsea, East Yorkshire, designed by the renowned Victorian architect William Burges in 1864.

Vikings in Edinburgh

Inside Cromarty East Church in Cromarty on the Black Isle. The image shows a post-Reformation church interior with a wooden pulpit on the left and galleries above the rows of pews on the far side and the right. The far side gallery is painted light grey while that on the right is finished in wood. There’s a font in the bottom left of the frame.

Inside Cromarty East Church in Cromarty on the Black Isle, painstakingly restored to its original state to serve as a nationally important example of the changes that swept across Scotland's churches after the Reformation of 1560. More pics and info: www.undiscoveredscot...

#Scotland #Cromarty

Check out this 3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove 3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Manor Court Road, Nuneaton, CV11 for £320,000. Marketed by Carters Estate Agents, Nuneaton

Good

Lord

Granton Waterfront – next part of regeneration project to begin with government funding The Granton Waterfront is a brownfield site where the £1.3 billion regeneration project has already started with the restoration of the Gas Holder, the creation of a new park and the renovation of Granton Station. The next part of the regeneration project will begin in 2026 with funding of £42 million from The Scottish Government to support housing on the site.

Granton Waterfront – next part of regeneration project to begin with government funding

The Granton Waterfront is a brownfield site where the £1.3 billion regeneration project has already started with the restoration of the Gas Holder, the creation of a new park and the renovation of Granton…

I found this the other day. The Corstorphine Doocot, all that remains of the Corstorphine Castle estate.
#Edinburgh

YouTube video by Lee G Crime Scotch On The Rocks Phase 1 first 5 mins

Just seen that the first five minutes of the never re-broadcast BBC Scottish Independence thriller 'Scotch on the Rocks' (1973) is on youtube. Great to see my gt-uncle George Robb chairing a SNP meeting ! www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmY3...

The stone tablet reads: In loving memory of Alexander Mackenzie, merchant, Glasgow, died 31st January 1875, aged 62 years Alice Melrose his wife, died 4th January 1900, aged 82 years Four other (presumably) family members are interred and listed, James, Agnes Nelson, Alexander Whitson, and James. Photo credit: Lorraine Murray, 2025

#31DaysOfGraves Day 30 is #Colour
It has to be this fabulous cast iron monument by the Sun Foundry to commemorate the Mackenzie family in the Upsilon compartment of the #Glasgow #Necropolis
It has been restored recently, and I think it looks great!
#Gothic
#DarkTourist
#Cemetery
#Taphophile

Act 1. 2008. A 1960s suburban bungalow in Edinburgh, with a neat garden and well trimmed hedges and bushes. An old couple sit on a bench out front.

Act 2. 2012. The same suburban bungalow in Edinburgh. The garden has been dug up and covered in hardcore, the hedges removed and its wall removed and rebuilt. There are building materials in the front garden and a mini digger.

Act 3. 2019. The same bungalow. It is almost unrecognisable. It has been extended to one side and the attic converted. It has been re-roofed in dark grey tiles, all the windows are new and smaller with dark grey frames. The brick and harling has been replaced with flat white render. The garden is largely a driveway with two black Range Rovers in it. There is a small patch of low-maintenance garden to one side.

The decline and fall of suburbia.
A play in three acts.

The intriguing history of Craigentinny House - Historic Environment Scotland Blog Steven Robb takes a look at the story of Craigentinny House. Could it offer inspiration to today's developers?

From a few years ago - a blog on Craigentinny House in Edinburgh - with a spooky halloween tale crowbarred in....
blog.historicenvironment.scot/2023/10/the-...

Graphic for Presering Our Seaside Art Deco Heritage. An online talk by four expert historians. Dr Kathryn Ferry, Allan Brodie, Karen Averby & Nigel Wilson. Wednesday November 12th. Art Deco Society.

Join us for this special collaborative event with the Seaside Heritage Network, that brings together four speakers with distinctive insights into preservation, design, and place.

Barclays at the Beco Building - Historic Environment Scotland Blog A refurbishment success story with Barclays Bank breathes new life into Glasgow's Beco Building and Kingston House

A bit of history...
blog.historicenvironment.scot/2022/11/barc...

The front cover of November 2025's Who Do You Think You Are magazine showing two children leaning against a tree.

The BBC's "Who Do You Think You Are" Magazine new November 2025 issue's "Gem from the Archive" features the Signet Library's @oldedinburghclub.bsky.social funded project on the records of John Watson's Institution, research undertaken by @kgbaston.bsky.social @johockey.bsky.social

A statue of Robert Fergusson outside Edinburgh’s Canongate Kirkyard. He is not on a plinth, but walking along the street, his coattails blowing and a book in his hand.

A plaque commemorating Robert Fergusson in St Giles Kirk, Edinburgh. He is in profile, looking to his right.

#OTD in 1774, Edinburgh poet Robert Fergusson died in the city’s asylum for pauper lunatics at 24. Despite the tragedy, his works are full of life, laughter and satire. My new edition of his works is out next year, but for now enjoy some treats from Project Fergusson
robert-fergusson.glasgow.ac.uk

Huge news for Cathkin Park!

One of football's most treasured heritage assets has been designated a Scheduled Monument by Historic Environment Scotland.

For a location as iconic as Cathkin Park to be recognised in this way is significant for preserving our football heritage.

The story of the Old Edinburgh Club In 1908, a group of Edinburgh citizens got together to form a society to make the city’s incredible history accessible to all: the Old Edinburgh Club. In our latest collaboration on Our Town Storie…

Read the story of the founding of the Old Edinburgh Club in ' Our Town Stories'.

And today, our new President, Steven Robb, who wrote the article, will welcome members to our first talk of the winter lecture series. #oldedinburghhistory #oldedinburghclubs #oldedinburghsocieties #talesofonecity

Sad to see the recently uncovered ghost sign above The Elephant House on George IV Bridge being painted over.
#ghostsign #Edinburgh