Proceedings

Lecture to the Society, 20th January, 2006. This talk related that Dumfries and Galloway has some of the finest gardens in the country which reflect the climate, topography and history of the area. There is a range of gardens that are right on the sea goi

Lecture to the Society, 2nd December, 2005 (The Cormack lecture).
This presentation looked at the way in which people in early prehistoric Scotland had exploited the local lithic resources of flint and stone to manufacture various types of artefacts. The

Lecture to the Society, 17th February, 2006. The recovery of the Svalbard Barnacle Goose population from around 300 in the late 1940s to 27,000 in the winter of 2005-6 has been a huge success for conservation but with a changing global climate what will t

Summary of a lecture given to the Society on 7th October, 2005. Scotland’s renowned Physicist and greatest Countryman, whose home was in Parton Parish, was born in Edinburgh. James Clerk Maxwell is well known to the scientific world but, shamefully, is
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Summary of a lecture given to the Society, on 18th November, 2005.
The illustrated talk on the Glenkens Schools covered all the recorded schools that were opened in this remote area of the Northern Stewartry starting back in around 1660. The Glenkens co

Summary of a lecture given to the Society on 4th November 2005. The talk unearthed fragments of the rich tradition of publication participation in natural science by re-visiting the enthusiastic and idiosyncratic world of popular natural history in Victor

Summary of a lecture given to the Society on 21st October, 2005. An overview of the ecology of black grouse was initially described from identification, breeding behaviour, where they live and what the birds ate at different times of the year. The status

Summary of the Presidential address of Mrs E Toolis presented to the Society on 1st October 2004.
Gardening began in the Fertile Crescent with Sumeria, the first civilisation. Their gardens had sophisticated watering systems with new, imported plants and

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 27th March 2004 by Alastair Dodds of the National Museums of Scotland. The factory was built to a ferro-concrete design similar to that at Heathhall, Dumfries, itself based on Ford factory designs which all

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 19th March 2004 by Nick Chisholm, Environmental Manager to the River Annan District Salmon Fishery Board. The River Annan is unaffected by hydro-electric power schemes, unlike so many Highland rivers, and i

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on Members' Night, 5th March 2004, by Michael Taylor. Postcards soon acquire historical value and this was well exemplified by the range of old and modern postcards used to illustrate this point - many were of

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society by Morag Williams at members' Night, 5th March 2004. The term 'Art Therapy' did not come into use as a term in connection with the treatment of mentally ill patients till the 1940s but was effectively introduc

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 20th February 2004 by Ian Gow, Senior Curator of the National Trust for Scotland. Mr Gow outlined the history of the Gordon family of Liverpool merchants who moved to the area in the 1870s. After renting ac

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 16th January 2004 by Derek Hextall of the Kirkconnel Parish Heritage Society. The society was set up in 1997. The society has developed several projects to mark the vast heritage of the parish. Cairn School

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 6th February 2004 by Stan Tanner, Planning and Environment Forester, Forest Enterprise. Forestry Enterprise manage the Forestry Commission estate to create attractive productive woodland and manage them fo

Summary of a lecture delivered to the Society on 21st November 2003 regarding life and times of Robert Douglas 'Collector' of Customs and Master Smuggler. Douglas married Margaret Corbet, daughter of a Glasgow merchant. He obtained credit on the Isle of m

Summary of the First Cormack lecture - delivered to the Society on 5th december 2003. The subject was 'Early Celtic Art in South-West Scotland: Its Origin and Purpose'. Fraser Hunter explained that he hoped that the lecture provided some insights, however

Summary of lecture given on 3rd October 2003. The Dundrennan range was established in 1942. The RCAHMS, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, has recently undertaken a baseline archaeological survey. The survey, including all relict military featur

Summary of a lecture delivered 7th November 2003. A review of the Moffat Spa town over the centuries was provided but the lecture concentrated on the Victorian period - with particular reference to the history of the Hydro Hotel and its subsequent destruc

Summary of a lecture given to the Society on 17th October 2003. An overview of past botanical recording within the county was given with details of recent work