Argyll Papers help reveal picture of old Inveraray
There are just a few days left to enjoy an exhibition about the old town at Inveraray Castle.
‘Inveraray – the Old Town and the New' will run in the castle's Clan Room until Wednesday October 31 – and it is well worth a look.
The display stems from a collaborative research project using the Argyll Estates archives, or Argyll Papers, as source material to give an insight into the old town before it was moved across to the present day site in the late 18th century.
The research involved Ronald Black, retired senior lecturer of Celtic Studies at Edinburgh University, and Micky Gibbard, who has submitted a PhD on 18th-century planned rural settlements to the University of Dundee.
The Written in the Landscape project was spearheaded by archivists Jennifer Young and Hannah Baker, and eager volunteers during the project were Eileen Anderson, Arend Goodheir, Agnes Hill and Niall Iain MacLean. Fascinating records relating to the old town, which lay roughly between the current castle and the shore, were uncovered and recatalogued. These include details of the destruction of the old settlement and the building of the new town. It has revealed previously untold stories about the old town's inhabitants, their work and daily lives. Well documented was the sheer number of changekeepers – those licensed to sell alcohol – in old Inveraray, among many other gems of detail.
A special 45-page guide book has been produced which aims to bring back to life the people and places of a town which no longer exists and put into context the building of the new town and razing of the old, to make way for the new Inveraray Castle. The book can be obtained by emailing archives@inveraray-castle.com in return for a small donation.