Martin Allen

Articles by this author

Martin Allen

The Historical Geography of Sanquhar

Geography, History, Mediaeval, Parish History, Recent

TDGNHAS Series III, 88 (2014), 43(WARNING large file size: 7.34 MB)

Abstract

This essay sets out to trace the development of Sanquhar from the earliest times to the close of the nineteenth century, with a glance at its more recent expansion, a section on its outlying dependency of Crawick and a look at the roads which may have been the main reason for the town’s existence. Conclusions are drawn from maps, observation on the ground, the historical record — mainly the comprehensive 1891 work of local historian James Brown — and information from local residents.

Martin Allen

John Heathcoat’s Steam Plough

Technology, Agriculture

TDGNHAS Series III, 89 (2015), 123(4.65 MB)

Abstract

John Heathcoat was the inventor of a steam ploughing engine which he demonstrated on marshland near Dumfries in 1837. The organisers were disappointed with its performance, and thereafter it was believed that the machine had sunk into the marsh; but there is evidence against that account of its fate.