Discovering Scotland's Past

29/08/2026

20/08/2026

When the police finally came to clear the township of Sollas in the summer of 1849, the men of the village stepped back. The women did not, and that is the reason we know the story at all. 🌾

Sollas sits on the north coast of North Uist, on the machair, that strip of shell sand grassland that is some of the most fertile ground in the Hebrides. The potato blight had come through and roughly seven hundred people there were destitute. In May 1849 their landlord, Lord Macdonald, served notices of removal. The tenants petitioned for a delay. They asked to be allowed to lift the harvest that was already in the ground before they were put off it. The answer was no.

The first attempt at eviction in July collapsed when the landlord's men were driven off with stones. Police were then brought in from Inverness and from Glasgow, and the confrontation that followed on 2 August is remembered as the Battle of Sollas. As the officers advanced, the accounts agree that the men of the township held back and the women went forward, and it was the women who met the police with stones and with their bodies. Some were beaten. The clearance went ahead. More than six hundred people were put out.

Four men were later charged with deforcement, the crime of obstructing officers of the law. They were tried, and they were convicted, and the jury attached a recommendation for mercy so strong that it functioned as a verdict on the landlord rather than on them. The court understood perfectly well what it was looking at.

The people of Sollas were scattered. Many ended up in Canada. The machair is still there, and it is still green, and there is almost nothing standing on it. 🦢

We talk about the Clearances as something that happened to Highlanders. It is worth saying plainly that in a great many townships the last line of resistance was a row of women in shawls with nothing in their hands.

If your line runs back into Uist and stops, this is very often where it stops. 💙

11/08/2026

On this day in 1757: Thomas Telford was born in Eskdale. The civil engineer was dubbed the 'Colossus of Roads' as he project managed over 1,100 miles of new roads and over a thousand bridges in Scotland, including this stunning Sligachan Old Bridge in Skye.

He was also responsible for the Caledonian Canal, Edinburgh's Dean Bridge and the Old Craigellachie Bridge. Further afield, he designed the Menai Suspension Bridge between Anglesey and Wales. In total, Telford planned, built or advised on several thousand masonry bridges throughout his lifetime.

10/08/2026

Students Michael and Rebecca join Dr Lucy Dean from the UHI Centre ...

04/08/2026

The National Humanities Center invites applications for academic-year or semester-long residential fellowships. Fellows enjoy private studies, in-house dining, and the exceptional service of NHC librarians to access and acquire all types of research materials while in residence. Our independent endowment ensures that Fellows have the time and freedom to work on what they choose.

Mid-career, senior, and emerging scholars with a strong record of peer-reviewed work from all areas of the humanities are encouraged to apply. To qualify, applicants must have received a PhD or equivalent scholarly credentials five years prior to applying. Scholars from all parts of the globe are welcome; stipends and travel expenses are provided.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET, October 1, 2026.

Learn more and apply through the AFS Career Center: https://jobs.afsnet.org/job/national-humanities-center-fellow/85301479/

31/07/2026

RESEARCH GRANTS

Submit your funding application for the next round of Society Research Grants, which are available to anyone wishing to undertake high-quality research relating to Scotland’s past, including visits to museums, collections or archives: https://www.socantscot.org/grants-prizes/grants/

30/07/2026

Find online unlimited courses from leading universities in a large range of subjects and levels.

27/07/2026

Please note that the AK Bell Library will be closed from Monday 24 August until Monday 14 September, while essential maintenance works are carried out within

05/07/2026

"A name that carries slavery, freedom, migration, education, football, and the Caribbean's place in the wider world."

The story of how Dutch World Cup star Denzel Dumfries shares his name with a Scottish town.

➡️ bbc.in/3T18gE2

04/07/2026

On 4 July 1796, Robert Burns took up residence at the Brow Inn, Dumfriesshire, to seek a cure for his rheumatic fever. Brow was regarded as a "poor man's spa" and the "cure" comprised drinking the chalybeate waters of the Brow Well and bathing in the Solway Firth. It clearly did Burns no good as he died just over two weeks later on 21 July in Dumfries, aged 37.