JAMES DAVIDSON
19TH DECEMBER 2024
A photographic exploration with an explanation of the reasons for the many abandoned buildings in rural Aberdeenshire
When James and his wife moved into their 1851 farm cottage and steading near Tarland over 20 years ago, he became interested in the local history of the area. As he wandered rural Aberdeenshire, he discovered abandoned communities and glens which today appear empty but once had schools, churches, markets, tradesmen and many ‘reekin’ lums. Religion, agricultural and technical advances, population increases, famine and the attractions of cities and the ‘new world’ saw a steady decline in these remote glens. To stand at the kitchen window of an abandoned cottage and consider the joys, the hardships, the sadness and the life of the folk who once lived there motivated him to try to find out more and to keep their memories alive.
James’s talk will include many photographic images, and will provoke discussion on the reasons why Aberdeenshire has so many abandoned cottages and farms, and why, unlike in other parts of Scotland, there is little evidence of forced evictions.