Illustrated talks on Scottish and Edinburgh history

Learn more about the fascinating history of Scotland and its capital at these illustrated talks.

This year for the first time the Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides are joining together with Museums & Galleries Edinburgh to bring you a series of 4 illustrated talks which will complement our highly-praised Royal Mile tours.   They are given by expert speakers and will take place throughout the summer months.

VENUE AND BOOKING:

These new lectures will all take place at Lauriston Castle, Davidson's Mains, Edinburgh.  They will start at 10.30am and will last approximately 1 hour.  All the lecture mornings include a friendly lecture where you can meet our guest speaker, have a coffee and a sweet treat and also get a special tour of Lauriston Castle.

To book your place, please click on the link below the description of each talk and this will take you through to the Museums & Galleries Edinburgh webpage.

OR you can book directly by calling Lauriston Castle on 0131 336 2060.

OUR SUMMER 2023 TALKS:

  1. Tuesday, 27th June 2023:      The Fresh Air of the Summer Morning - The Story of Duncan Napier
  2. Monday, 10th July 2023:       Mary, Queen of Scots
  3. Tuesday 18th July 2023:        'The Cold Hand of Charity' - Tales from the Edinburgh Poorhouse
  4. Tuesday 22nd August 2023:   Stars, Time and Mountains - The Legacy of the Amazing Charles Piazzi Smyth

1.       Duncan Napier - Tuesday 27th June at 10.30am

Join us for the tale of Duncan Napier who founded the well-known herbalist shop in Edinburgh in 1860.  Near the end of his long and remarkable life, Duncan Napier (1831-1921) dictated some of his early memories to his sons Andrew and Duncan Jnr.  These were recorded in two journals which are now in the possession of his great grand-daughter Lynda Melvin.

Duncan's story is one of real courage in adversity.  His journals describe a very tough childhood.  A chance encounter with an Edinburgh lawyer, the philanthropist John Hope, rescued him from a life of toil, poverty and despair.  Thanks to John Hope, Duncan received an education; was introduced to Christianity and was persuaded to give up alcohol.  Another stroke of luck introduced Duncan to herbalism and it is John Hope who helped him open his first shop.  This illustrated talk will recount Duncan's struggles against the odds to succeed and in doing so, give a rare authentic working-class description of life in the overcrowded Old Town of Edinburgh.  Renowned Edinburgh historian, Eric Melvin, is our speaker.  Eric is a retired local Headteacher.  In addition to teaching History at school, Eric has for many years taken Community Education Classes for the City of Edinburgh in both Scottish History and the History of Edinburgh and has had several books published on the subject of Scottish and Edinburgh History.  He is also an active member of the Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides.

Book on the link below or by calling Lauriston Castle on 0131 336 2060.

https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/fresh-air-summer-morning-story-duncan-napier

2.       Mary, Queen of Scots - Monday 10th July at 10.30am

On 10th July 1559, Henry II King of France died as the result of a terrible wound to his eye suffered whilst jousting.  Standing by his bedside were his son the Dauphin Francis and his young bride Mary, Queen of Scots.  So at the age of just 15 Francis became King of France, while Mary aged 16 became Queen Consort.  It looked as though the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France would become even stronger.  But tragedy struck again when in December 1560, the sickly Francis died.  Mary took the fateful decision to return to Scotland - a country that she had not seen since she was sent to France for her own safety in 1548.

Little did she know the challenges that lay ahead of her as she set sail for Scotland in August 1561.   Awaiting her was a greedy, feuding nobility, which included her ambitious half-brother James Stewart.  In her absence there had also been a religious revolution which had seen the Catholic Church overthrown and replaced by a Presbyterian Church of Scotland led by the determined John Knox. 

This illustrated talk will chart the events that were to lead to her execution at Fotheringhay Castle in February 1587.  Renowned Edinburgh historian, Eric Melvin, is our speaker.  Eric is a retired local Headteacher.  In addition to teaching History at school, Eric has for many years taken Community Education Classes for the City of Edinburgh in both Scottish History and the History of Edinburgh and has had several books published on the subject of Scottish and Edinburgh History.  He is also an active member of the Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides.

Book on the link below or by calling Lauriston Castle on 0131 336 2060

https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/whats-on-mary-queen-scots

  3.      'The Cold Hand of Charity' - Tales from the Edinburgh Poorhouse - Tuesday 18th July at 10.30am

"To render the Poorhouse unattractive to the lazy and the vicious, and to keep them under proper restraint when they are inmates, a harsher treatment and sterner discipline are necessary than if the good and industrious resided within these walls.

Join us for this talk by Alastair MacDonald to hear about the story of the Edinburgh Poorhouse.  Taken entirely from contemporary accounts, this is the extraordinary story of the Edinburgh City Poorhouse at Craiglockhart, which opened in 1870 as a model institution to replace the old insanitary and overcrowded Poorhouse at Greyfriars.  Often in the words of the officials and inmates themselves, the tales can be both moving and shocking, as well as highly amusing.  It is surprising how many issues in caring for the poor in Victorian times still resonate today.  Alastair MacDonald is a former senior official in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).  He is now a writer and a historian and a volunteer with Scotland's oldest purpose-built library, the Leighton Library in Dublane (founded 1687).

Book on the link below or by calling Lauriston Castle on 0131 336 2060.

http://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/cold-hand-charity-tales-edinburgh-poorhouse

4.       Stars, Time and Mountains - The Legacy of the Amazing Charles Piazzi Smyth - Tuesday 22nd August at 10.30am 

Charles Piazzi Smyth was the second Astronomer Royal for Scotland, one of the great Victorian polymaths, and a colourful and controversial character.  He created the idea of astronomy from mountain tops; started the Edinburgh Time Ball and One O'Clock Gun; painted and sketched wherever he went on his travels around the world; was a pioneer of photography and especially stereo imaging; and surveyed the pyramids, proposing strange theories about their mystical importance.  Professor Lawrence's talk will survey his life and legacy, and will include many unique images from the archives of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh.

Andy Lawrence is the Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.  His research work is on quasars and black holes, and surveying the sky at many wavelengths, but he also has a strong interest in the history of astronomy.  He is also a campaigner for space environmentalism, and is the author of the popular book "Losing the Sky".

Book on the link below or by calling Lauriston Castle on 0131 3365 2060

https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/stars-time-and-mountains-legacy-amazing-charles-piazzi-smyth

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