Past Programme
2013-2014
Healing Herbs and Traditional Remedies
Cornelia Hughes
A History of Highland Hospitals
Jim Leslie
'Murder at the Fort' and 'A Horrid Murder in Resolis'
Neiliann McIntyre and Chris Rendell
The Ross (Mountain) Battery in defence of The British Empire. Dave Rendell
Churchill and the Man from Fortrose
Iain Maclean
Hugh Miller's Visit to Olney Dr Lindsay Hemy
The Sutherland Clearances
Dr Malcolm Bangor-Jones
The latest results from Ness Gap, Fortrose Jurgen van Wessel, Headland Archaeology Evidence of some of the earliest inhabitants of Fortrose
2014-2015
Local Heroes of World War 1 Chris Rendell
My Ancestor was a War Hero
Neiliann McIntyre
The Herring Gutters
Anne Coombs
Women's Suffrrage in the Highlands
Dr Susan Kruse
An Aerial Tour of the Black Isle
Gary Williamson
Donald MacDonell, Fighter Pilot, Diplomat and Clan Chief
Lois MacDonell
Rosemarkie People
Freda Bassindale
Ellen Fowler, a Highland Sewing Mistress
Dave Rendell
The Black Isle Railway
Jack Kernahan
2015-2016
Planned Estate Villages in the Highlands Chris Rendell
Maps of The Black Isle Dr Graham Clark
Axe Men in the Woods: Canadians and Newfies in The Black Isle Woods Alasdair Cameron
The Davidsons of Tulloch and The Black Isle
Nick Hide
The North Atlantic Front
Jim Miller
Avoch's Fishing Heritage Sandy Patience
2016-2017
The Work of the Highland Archive Centre Fiona MacLeod, Senior Archivist
The Lordship of the Isles Dr Ian MacDonald
Sheilings: their place in Highland Agriculture Anne Coombs
Distilling in the Black Isle and surrounding area in the 18th century Meryl Marshall
The Black Isle Combination Workhouse Chris Rendell
Exploring Groam House Museum Alastair Moreton
Rosehaugh, A work of its Time Kathleen McLeman
'The April Visit' Mulchaich and The Ferintosh Whisky Distillery
2017-2018
Slavery and Inverness Duncan MacDonald
A Scottish Camino, Modern Pilgrimage Locations in the Highlands Chris Rendell
Tarradale Through Time: community engagement with archaeology in The Highlands Dr Eric Grant
Traditional Highland Stories Lizzie McDougall
Fortrose Cathedral, secret stories of the ancient Chanonry of Ross Verity Walker
Medieval Medicine Kay Whittall
April Visit: ‘Tain Through Time’
Inverness, the shaping of the city. An urban biography. Dave Rendell
2018-2019
Hector, The Hero Of The North Ewan McVicar
The Fearn Peninsular: A Potted History Douglas Gordon
Aspects Of The Impact Of The First World War on Fortrose, Rosemarkie And Avoch Robin Witheridge and Richard Jenner
Oats and Rice. A lighthearted look at food culture, comparing traditional Highland fare with that of Central Vietnam Chris Rendell
Walking With Cattle. In Search Of The last Drovers Of Uist Terry J Williams
Pictwork, Poems and Pieces Ewan McVicar
The Finest Road In The World. The Story of Travel and Transport In The Highlands James Miller
April Outing Dingwall and Dingwall Mart
A Long Way From Home, The Battle of Dunbar (1650) and its aftermath Dave Rendell
2019-2020
Stories from a lifetime in Bookselling David Duguid
The 1715 Jacobite Uprising Anne Fraser
The Canals and Reservoirs of Scotland Andrew Ross
200 Years of Black Isle Farmers Alasdair Cameron
The Highland Diary of a Victorian Lady Jonathon McColl
Power of Water 'Killearnan's water mills?' Graham Clark
The Civilisation of Moray Dr John Barrett
2020-2021
Coronavirus Update
The Coronavirus situation meant that we have to put the safety of our members and speakers first and to this end, in line with Government advice, we cancelled our programme of 'live'meetings and in the meantime a programme of 'Zoomed' talks was put in place.
AGM and an introduction to the 1950's project through the Newsletter.
Getting to grips with Zoom
Anne MacInnes, The Conan Stone.
Norman Newton, Culloden House.
Ken Wilson, The Kessock and Cromarty Bridges.
Anne Fraser, The Mystery of The Lion Tamer of Inverness.
Dr Jim Mackay, The HLI Route March across Ross and Cromarty, 1908.
Nick Hide, More Davidson Connections with The Black Isle and surrounding districts.
Chris Rendell, A Virtual Visit to Edwardian Rosemarkie.
2021-2022
Groam House Museum and the New Pictish Trail. Doug MacLean
The Textile Industry, from flax to linen, sailcloth and twine. Richard Sims
Tarradale, Mills and Stills. Dr Eric Grant
Old Leanach Cottage: a relic of the Battle of Culloden? Andrew Wright
The Place-names of The Aird and Strathglass. Ronald Maclean
'They Might as Well Die by Being Shot as by Starvation'. Professor James Hunter CBE
Annual Visit; Culloden Battlefield and Old Leanach Cottage.
2022-2023
Fortrose, The French Connection Michael Gallon
Remote and Rural Remedies Dr Daisy Cunyngham
Fortrose Trade Directories and Change in a small rural community David Rendell
Monkstadt House Glen MacDonald
Old Scottish Gravestones and Their Symbols Mark Hatton
The Death of Young Glengarry Glen MacDonald
John Ross, Missionary Jacqui Aitkin
2023-2024
'Highland Connections and the Scottish Crown'
Jacquie Aitken 'Rebuilding Brora’s Salt Making Heritage' Jacquie Aitken, of Brora Salt Pans Research Group and Timespan, gave a presentation providing an overview of the archaeology, history, and rebuilding of a salt pan.
Brora was one of the nation’s leading and most northern salt producers produced using coal mined from a small pocket of Jurassic rock. The Brora Salt Pans project built a replica 18th-century salt pan on the grounds of Brora Heritage Centre and trained volunteers to revive Brora’s lost salt-making heritage and again produce Brora Sea Salt.
Richard Littlewood, ‘Tain’s Architectural History’ Tain originally gained fame as a centre of medieval pilgrimage, attracting worhippers from across Scotland and beyond.To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Tain Civic Trust Richard has created a virtual tour of the town's unique collection of historic buildings, highlighting the three Grade A Listed Buildings (the Collegiate Church, the Sheriff Court and the Tolbooth) and the work of the Highland Architects Alexander Stronach, Andrew Maitland, James Smith and Alexander Ross.
Roger Young, 'General Sir Richard O'Connor of Rosemarkie ' General O'Connor had a distinguished military career spanning both World Wars and the interwar years.
Richard O'Connor lived in Rosemarkie after WW2 and during that time was appointed Lord Lieutenant for Ross and Cromarty and Lord High Commissioner of the Church of Scotland. Tonight's talk focuses on O'Connor's overwhelming success against a much larger Italian Army in North Africa in 1940-41, his accidental capture by the Germans close to the beginning of Rommel's campaign in 1941, his escape from imprisonment in Italy on his third attempt and his contributions to the gruelling British campaign against the Germans in Normandy and beyond in 1944.
Roland Spencer Jones, 'The Wood in Vernacular Buildings in the Highlands' Wood has supported the roofs and sides of buildings in the Highlands for millennia. However, the way that it has been used has varied during that time. In this talk we will explore the structural support that wood gave to the vernacular buildings of the Highlands over the last three centuries, from posts to crucks to rafters.
Philip Paris, 'The last Witch of Scotland' The historical fiction, 'The Last Witch of Scotland', was inspired by the extraordinary story of Janet Horne, the last person in Britain to be executed for witchcraft (Dornoch, 1727).
The witchcraft trials are the result of a vast, complex and fascinating period of social history and during his talk Philip Paris will discuss what was driving these persecutions in Scotland, a country where you were five times more likely (per head of population) to be accused of witchcraft than in the rest of Europe.
Shona Maclean, 'Fictionalising The Past' Historical novelist S.G. MacLean (Shona) will talk about the research methods behind her books, and look in particular at her Jacobite Thriller, ‘The Bookseller of Inverness’.
Jonathan McColl, 'The Early National Censuses of Dingwall' The early censuses of Dingwall make up an unusual set of survivors but are they of much use? Jonathan will attempt to pull out some of the information behind the data.
John McGregor, 'The Highland Railway besieged' Formed by amalgamation of the early Inverness companies, the Highland Railway was unchallenged into the 1880s. Thereafter the Company faced repeated attack but preserved a precarious independence until gathered into the inter-War London, Midland & Scottish Group (1923). Had their regional monopoly been breached, would the Highlands and Islands have benefitted? On that question historians remain divided.
