Blog Archives

A Peacemaker Between Warring Classes: Pennant Lloyd of Pentrehobyn Pennant Lloyd shuttled between the British elite and the resentful majority in Wales, serving as a diplomat amid class conflict. He was the younger son of an English landowner who owned […]

Lieutenant Alexander Kinloch: The Scapegoat of Reform English soldiers stumbled over boulders as they made their slow and bloody ascent up a steep slope in South Africa. Above them, Boer soldiers protected themselves behind the crest of the ridge and […]

In the 18th century, amidst the Enlightenment, the Irish Hell-Fire Club stood as a symbol of hedonism and rebellion against societal norms. These aristocratic libertines, known as rakes, indulged in debauchery and scorned conventional morality, embodying the pursuit of pleasure without restraint. Their nightly escapades, shielded by the era’s darkness, were notorious, merging political power with scandalous behavior. The club’s most infamous member, Richard Parsons, Earl of Rose, exemplified their disdain for piety and religion, maintaining his irreverence even in death. Though enveloped in mystery and rumors of profane rituals, the Hell-Fire Clubs were essentially 18th-century fraternities, challenging the period’s religious and social conventions through their extravagant revelries.

Explore the rich history of Dundee’s jute industry and the Cox family’s pivotal role from the 1840s. Discover Dungarthill House, built for Albert Edward Cox, and delve into the Cox Brothers’ innovative approach to jute manufacturing at Camperdown Works. Learn about the societal impact, including the rise of “Women’s Town,” labor struggles, and the transformation of Dundee’s economy. This comprehensive overview sheds light on the Cox family’s legacy, the industrial and social dynamics of Victorian Dundee, and the city’s evolution amidst the rise and fall of the jute trade.

Irene and Hugh Dewhusrt bought Dungarthill from the Cox family in 1947. The purchase inaugurated a new period of peace for the young couple and their family after the tumult of World War II. Hugh had served in the army, while Irene had taken her two young children to live with their grandparents in Wales. Buying Dungarthill was also a homecoming for Irene: In nearby Perth, her father and uncle had built the whiskey empire that brought her family from its crofting roots to the nobility. 

Justice and Vengeance at Orlagh House, 1816 A father and two of his sons stood on a gallows in an open field on the banks of the River Dodder. Ropes rested on their necks. Peter, Joe, and Billy Kearney were […]

Traces of a Roman Past at Gilmerton House When Ian Kinloch tapped his metal detector over a field just south-east of Gilmerton House, he discovered an unexpected trove of artifacts from Scotland’s ancient entanglements with the Roman empire. He uncovered […]