Erskine Beveridge
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Erskine Beveridge FRSE FSAScot (27 December 1851 – 10 August 1920) was a Scottish textile manufacturer, historian and antiquary. He was the owner of Erskine Beveridge & Co. Ltd., which had been founded by his father in 1832 and was the largest linen manufacturer in Dunfermline, Fife. He travelled extensively in Scotland, taking numerous photographs and publishing several scholarly books on
Scottish history The recorded begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. North of this was Caledonia, inhabited by the ''Picti'', whose uprisings forced Rome ...
and
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
.


Life

He was born in Dunfermline, the eldest of four children of Erskine Beveridge (1803–1864) and his second wife, Maria Elizabeth Wilson (1816–1873). He was educated at the Free Abbey School in Dunfermline, the Edinburgh Institution, and the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
. His father died when the younger Erskine was twelve years old, and in 1874 the family firm passed from the management of a trustee to the joint control of Erskine junior, a brother, and a half-brother. By 1888, Erskine junior was in full control of the business following his half-brother's death and his brother's withdrawal. The company grew rapidly with the robust world demand for high-quality linens. Notably, Beveridge tapped the large North American market and eventually opened a New York warehouse. By 1903, Erskine Beveridge & Co. Ltd. was a world leader in fine linen and had three branch factories in addition to its primary works in Dunfermline. Notwithstanding his dedication to and success in business, Beveridge was devoted to Scottish antiquarian studies. His first published book was a compilation of grave inscriptions called ''The Churchyard Memorials of Crail'' (1893), and he published two further works about his native Fife: ''A Bibliography of Dunfermline and the West of Fife'' (1901) and ''The Burgh Records of Dunfermline, 1485–1584'' (1917). Perhaps his greatest antiquarian contribution was to the archaeological study of the
Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebr ...
. He published ''Coll and Tiree: Their Prehistoric Forts and Ecclesiastical Antiquities'' in 1903. He owned a large house (now a ruin ) on the
tidal island A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of ...
of
Vallay Vallay ( gd, Bhàlaigh) is an uninhabited tidal island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. It can be reached from North Uist by a long beach at low tide. Once the island supported a population of nearly sixty people. Its best-known inhabitant ...
,
North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...
, and he excavated many sites in the area around Vallay, dating from the first millennium BC to the first millennium AD. These excavations, together with his studies of other parts of North Uist, led to the publication of ''North Uist: Its Archaeology and Topography'' in 1911. Today, he is regarded as one of the first and most significant archaeological excavators in the Outer Hebrides. Some of the objects that he recovered are preserved in the Erskine Beveridge Collection at the
National Museums Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections ...
. His notes formed the basis of two further books that were published posthumously. ''The 'Abers' and 'Invers' of Scotland'' (1923) was a study of Scottish
place-names Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
, and ''Fergusson's Scottish Proverbs'' (1924) was an annotated edition of a compilation published by David Fergusson in Edinburgh in 1641. He was also an amateur photographer, illustrating some of his books with his own photographs. A two-volume collection of
collotype Collotype is a gelatin-based photographic printing process invented by Alphonse Poitevin in 1855 to print images in a wide variety of tones without the need for halftone screens. The majority of collotypes were produced between the 1870s and 1 ...
reproductions was published in 1922 as ''Wanderings with a Camera, 1882–1898''. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland holds about 500 of his original glass plate
photographic negative In photography, a negative is an image, usually on a strip or sheet of transparent plastic film, in which the lightest areas of the photographed subject appear darkest and the darkest areas appear lightest. This reversed order occurs because th ...
s. Beveridge was a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...
, serving as vice-president of the latter from 1915 to 1918. The
University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
awarded him an honorary degree. He married twice, first in 1872 to Mary Owst (1853–1904), with whom he had six sons and a daughter, and second to Margaret Scott Inglis, with whom he had two sons. He was a member of the
Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...
. He died at his house in Dunfermline, called St Leonard's Hill, after an operation for throat cancer. He was buried in the churchyard of
Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland Parish Church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reforma ...
.


Bibliography

*1893 – ''The Churchyard Memorials of Crail''. *1901 –
A Bibliography of Dunfermline and the West of Fife
'. *1901 –
A Bibliography of works relating to Dunfermline and the west of Fife, including publications of writers connected with the district
'. *1903 –
Coll and Tiree: Their Prehistoric Forts and Ecclesiastical Antiquities
'. *1911 – ''North Uist: Its Archaeology and Topography''. *1917 –
The Burgh Records of Dunfermline, 1485–1584
'. *1922 – ''Wanderings with a Camera, 1882–1898''. *1923 – ''The 'Abers' and 'Invers' of Scotland''. *1924 – ''Fergusson's Scottish Proverbs''.


References

;Footnotes ;Sources * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beveridge 1851 births 1920 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Hebrides Scottish antiquarians Burials at Dunfermline Abbey Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish historians 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 19th-century antiquarians 19th-century Scottish historians People from Dunfermline Historians of Scotland People educated at Stewart's Melville College Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland