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Almondell And Calderwood Country Park
Almondell and Calderwood Country Park is a Country Park in Mid Calder and East Calder in West Lothian, Scotland. It is a 4 star Visitor Attraction (Visitscotland). The Park is split into two main areas, Almondell Park which comprises the Almondell estate which originally belonged to the Erskine family of Broxburn and the Calderwood estate which once belonged to the Barons of Torphichen. History Almondell House and its estate dates to the 18th century. The House was erected in 1786, designed by its owner Henry Erksine, a lawyer. The house was the historic home of the Earls of Buchan (it is now Newnham House in England). Almondell House was demolished in 1969. The coach house and stable buildings of the house were converted into a visitor centre when the country park opened in the 1970s. The Park also contains the Nasmyth Bridge, spanning over the Almond from the East Calder entrance. The bridge was originally constructed in 1810 to a design by Alexander Nasmyth. It w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl Of Buchan
The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male line. The earldom had three lines in its history, not counting passings from female heirs to sons. Today, it is held by the Erskine family as a peerage. The current holder is Harry Erskine, 18th Earl of Buchan (b. 1960). Mormaerdom of Buchan The first recorded person who definitely held the position of mormaer was Gartnait, whose patronage is noted in the Gaelic Notes on the ''Book of Deer''. The latter is the only significant source for the mormaerdom, and its existence makes Buchan one of Scotland's best documented provinces for native cultural institutions. After the death of Fergus, before 1214, Buchan became the first native mormaerdom to pass into the hands of a foreign family, the Comyns, though only through marriage. Alexander Com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. A Xhosa, Mandela was born into the Thembu royal family in Mvezo, Union of South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. After the National Party's white-only government established apartheid, a syste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almond Aqueduct
The Almond Aqueduct, also known as the Lin's Mill Aqueduct, is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Union Canal over the River Almond in Scotland, west of Ratho, Edinburgh. History The aqueduct was built to a design by Hugh Baird, with advice from Thomas Telford, in tandem with the Slateford Aqueduct and Avon Aqueduct, with which it shares its design. Baird had originally proposed to have only a single span, with embankments carrying the canal the rest of the way, but eventually decided to use the same design as the other two aqueducts. Telford was not convinced that the stone arches were necessary in conjunction with the iron trough, but Baird used both on all three major aqueducts. Construction was carried out by Messrs. Craven, Whitaker and Nowell between 1819 and 1821, their success in building a stone bridge over the River Ouse making their tender for the contract "by far the most eligible." In 1970 it was designated as a scheduled monument and in 1971 it was given Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Union Canal (Scotland)
The Union Canal, full name the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, is a canal in Scotland, running from Falkirk to Edinburgh, constructed to bring minerals, especially coal, to the capital. It was opened in 1822 and was initially successful, but the construction of railways, particularly the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, which opened in 1842, diminished its value as a transport medium. It fell into slow commercial decline and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933. It was officially closed in 1965. The canal is listed as three individual scheduled monuments by Historic Scotland according to the three former counties, Midlothian, West Lothian and Stirlingshire, through which it flows. It has benefited from a general revival of interest in canals and, as a result of the Millennium Link, was reopened in 2001 and reconnected to the Forth and Clyde Canal in 2002 by the Falkirk Wheel. It is now in popular use for leisure purposes. History Proposal The canal was conceived with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron. Its success inspired the widespread use of cast iron as a structural material, and today the bridge is celebrated as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution. The geography of the deep Ironbridge Gorge, formed by glacial action during the last ice age, meant that there are industrially useful deposits of coal, iron ore, limestone and fire clay present near the surface where they are readily mined, but also that it was difficult to build a bridge across the river at this location. To cope with the instability of the banks and the need to maintain a navigable channel in the river, a single span iron bridge was proposed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard. After initial uncertainty about the use of iron, construction took place over 2 years, with Abraham Darby III responsible for the ironworks. The bridge c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pumpherston
Pumpherston is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. Originally a small industrial village housing works for the nearby shale mine and works, it now forms the eastern part of the new town of Livingston, which was constructed to the west of Pumpherston in the late 1960s and quickly grew to incorporate Pumpherston in its wider urban settlement, as defined by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). The village of Uphall Station lies immediately to the north. History In 1884 the Pumpherston Oil Works was built to extract and product shale oil and the village developed adjacent to the works to house employed staff and their families. Pumpherston was initially divided into two villages, south and north. The north village had 116 homes and a co-operative store by 1885. By 1888, the south village had two rows of houses, comprising 48 tenements that had been erected. By 1914, Pumpherston north village had continued to expand to over 220 houses, as well as a workingmans institute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almondell Viaduct
The Almondell Viaduct, also known as the Camps Viaduct, is a viaduct spanning the gorge of the River Almond in Scotland, located in East Calder, West Lothian, as well as the main canal feeder taking water from the Almond to the Union Canal at Lin's Mill near Ratho The viaduct is built on nine high segmental brick arches atop rock-faced snecked rubble piers, and features rounded cut-waters in the river below. History This famous local landmark was built circa 1865-66 by J. & A. GRANGER, Esqs, Railway Contractors. It opened to rail traffic in 1867, and remained in operation until 1959 as a single track Mineral Railway bridge on the Camps Branch of the North British Railway. Its purpose was to supply the now-closed Coltness Iron Works with limestone from the Raw Camps and East Camps Quarries in East Calder, where extensive quarries, brickworks and limekilns were once located. It also supplied James "Paraffin" Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Company at Pumpherston wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Nasmyth
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Aleksander and Aleksandr. Related names and diminutives include Iskandar, Alec, Alek, Alex, Alexandre, Aleks, Aleksa and Sander; feminine forms include Alexandra, Alexandria, and Sasha. Etymology The name ''Alexander'' originates from the (; 'defending men' or 'protector of men'). It is a compound of the verb (; 'to ward off, avert, defend') and the noun (, genitive: , ; meaning 'man'). It is an example of the widespread motif of Greek names expressing "battle-prowess", in this case the ability to withstand or push back an enemy battle line. The earliest attested form of the name, is the Mycenaean Greek feminine anthroponym , , (/Alexandra/), written in the Linear B syllabic script. Alaksandu, alternatively called ''Alakasandu'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nasmyth Bridge
The Nasmyth Bridge (also known as the Almondell Bridge) is a Category A Listed historic bridge and local landmark in East Calder, Scotland. Located within the Almondell and Calderwood Country Park, it was designed by Scottish painter, architect, and landscape designer Alexander Nasmyth. History The bridge was commissioned by Scottish Whig lawyer Henry Erskine to provide a southern approach to his country residence Almondell House, spanning over the River Almond, from the old Edinburgh-Glasgow route as this enters East Calder. Alexander Nasmyth was commissioned to design the bridge sometime between 1806 and 1810, most likely following the success of a bridge he had designed in 1808 for the Earl of Selkirk on the River Dee, at Tongueland near Kirkcudbright. The Almondell Bridge was completed by 1811, as attested by an oil on canvas painting of the Almondell Bridge by Nasmyth himself, dated from that year, which is its earliest known representation. Erskine's mansion was buil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newnham House
Newnham may refer to: Places In England *Newnham, Bedford, an area in the town of Bedford *Newnham, Cambridgeshire *Newnham, Gloucestershire (also known as Newnham on Severn) * Newnham, Hampshire * Newnham, Hertfordshire * Newnham, Kent *Newnham, Northamptonshire * Newnham Murren, Oxfordshire * Newnham, Warwickshire, in the parish of Aston Cantlow *Newnham Paddox, Warwickshire * Newnham Regis, Warwickshire (also known as King's Newnham) * Newnham, Worcestershire (also known as Newnham Bridge) * Newnham (Old), Plympton St Mary, Devon * Newnham Park, Plympton St Mary, Devon In Australia *Newnham, Tasmania Newnham as an educational establishment: *Newnham College, Cambridge, University of Cambridge, England *Newnham Campus, Seneca College, Ontario, Canada *Newnham Campus, University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ Colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Erskine (lawyer)
The Honourable Henry "Harry" Erskine (1 November 1746 – 8 October 1817) was a British Whig politician and lawyer. Background and education Erskine was the third but second surviving son of Agnes, daughter of Sir James Steuart, 7th Baronet and his wife Anne (1687-1736), and Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan. He was the brother of David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan, and Lord Chancellor Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine. His elder sister was Lady Anne Agnes Erskine who was involved with the evangelical methodists of Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. He was educated at the University of St Andrews (1760-1764), the University of Glasgow (1764-1766) and then to the University of Edinburgh in 1766. He was described as "a tall and rather slender figure, a face sparkling with vivacity, a clear sweet voice, and general suffusion of elegance".Monuments and Statues of Edinburgh, Michael T. R. B. Turnbull, (Chambers) p. 54 Legal and political career Erskine is considered the lawyer w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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