Renfrewshire Local History Forum

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2019-05-09 19:30 - 21:30 (Europe/London) | D137/9, McLean Building, UWS, Storie Street, Paisley, PA1 2BE, United Kingdom
Members Night & Forum AGM

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2019-10-10 19:30 - 21:30
St Kilda: on-going research 1999 – 2019
Bob Will and Dr Anthony Byledbal
Guard Archaeology

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2019-11-14 19:30 - 21:30
The Clan Macfarlane Arrochar project: three rare late medieval buildings on Loch Lomond
Heather James
Calluna Archaeology

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2019-12-12 19:30 - 21:30
The Summer Sheilings
Anne Macdonald
ACFA

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2020-02-13 19:30 - 21:30
‘Ye Jacobites by name’: recent archaeological work at Glencoe and Glenshiel
Derek Alexander
Chief archaeologist, National Trust for Scotland

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2020-03-12 19:30 - 21:30
The Govan Stones – examining, interpreting and presenting a cultural resource
Stephen T. Driscoll
Professor of Historical Archaeology, University of Glasgow

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2020-04-09 19:30 - 21:30
Where once were houses, so shall there be again: prehistoric settlement activity at Northbar, Erskine
Dave McNicol
Guard Archaeology

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2020-05-14 19:30 - 21:30
AGM and Members Night

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2022-12-08 19:30 - 21:00
AGM, Short Presentation and Christmas Night Speaker TBA

Renfrewshire Local History Forum
2023-03-09 19:30 - 21:00
The Govan Stones-examining, interpreting and presenting a cultural resource Stephen Driscoll – Professor of Historical Archaeology, University of Glasgow

Stobs Camp - Art & Creativity in a Barbed - Wire World. Andrew Jepson, Archaeology Scotland
2024-10-10 19:30 - 21:00
Hello everyone and welcome to another exciting session of Lectures at Paisley University. We will meet in the same room as before D137 ground floor of the McLean Building

Stobs Military Camp

For nearly 60 years, thousands of young men used the facilities at Stobs Camp near Hawick in the Scottish Borders to train for war. Now the bleak, windswept hills lie as silent witnesses to all that passed before them.
Stobs Camp has significant historical importance with its quality of remains, intact training ground, massive archaeological potential and huge educational resource. Due to its extraordinary level of preservation Stobs Camp is an internationally important site relating to Scotland’s preparation for and subsequent handling of First World War prisoners.
Within Scotland no site exists with the mix of army training camp and prisoners of war and internees in one place, none has the surviving remains visible as at Stobs, no other camp has any standing buildings and much of the training ground including firing ranges and trenches surviving. And within the UK, no First World War prisoner of war camp has upstanding buildings remaining, no internees’ camp survives on the mainland, and no training camps survive to the same level of preservation.
This is why Stobs is so important.
Mr Andrew Jepson a.jepson@archaeologyscotland.org.uk will be discussing the similarity of internment and lockdown and how, today, we can be inspired by the resolve of the First World War prisoners at Stobs by looking at their material culture. The talk starts with a brief overview of the camp to set the scene.
About Andrew,
“After moving to Scotland in 2006 Andrew set in motion his plan to transition from working in IT to following his passion for history and archaeology. His interest in practical archaeology began in 2011 when he started volunteering for the National Trust for Scotland. In his spare time, he continues to help the Trust supervise community archaeology digs. In 2017 he became an NTS Thistle Camp Leader.

Andrew joined Archaeology Scotland in 2015 to run an educational project focusing on the Jacobite’s in Stirlingshire. This included managing two archaeological digs at St Ninians Kirk and Dunblane for over 300 children. In the same year he graduated with a First-Class Honours degree in History, helped organise the Borders Heritage Festival and ran Gallipoli-related exhibition school workshops at Old Gala House. In 2016 he helped curate a Celts exhibition for Borders Museums and for Archaeology Scotland he began work on the Stobs Camp Project with the aim of exploring, sharing and commemorating the First World War site near Hawick in the Scottish Borders. He has subsequently developed a keen interest in First World War internment camps.

He is passionate about promoting the history, heritage and archaeology of the Scottish Borders.”

Final Plague Outbreak in Scotland
2025-10-09 19:00 - 21:00
Professor Marc Oxenham, University of Aberdeen
Marc Oxenham is an Honorary Professor at the University of Aberdeen and an Emeritus Professor in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University. He is a member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He has worked in the USA, China, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Professor Oxenham is best known as a bioarchaeologist, focusing on human biological and socio-cultural adaptation to climate and technological variability/change in Holocene Southeast Asia.

Fairlie's Secret War
2025-11-13 19:00 - 21:00
John Riddell
John Riddell had a distinguished career as a civil engineer and is a noted historian of Ayrshire and the Clyde. He is the author of a number of books about the Clyde including Fairlie’s Secret War, about Fairlie’s little known, crucial role in WWII. In 2024 he was honoured by the Ayrshire Federation of Historical Societies for his contribution to the recording of Ayrshire’s history. He was the 2024 recipient of the John Strawhorn Memorial Quaich, an annual award presented to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to recording the history and heritage of Ayrshire.

Why Has Paisley so many Churches?
2025-12-11 19:00 - 21:00
Mr Duncan Macintosh
Duncan Macintosh is a retired building conservation officer who worked for Renfrewshire Council and who now champions the retention of historic architecture in Paisley. He is a very knowledgeable local historian involved in activities such as leading architectural walks in Paisley. He currently leads the Paisley and District U3AArchitecture Appreciation group which visits buildings and places of interest in the area about once a month.

The Archaeological Origins of Drumelzier's Merlin Legend
2026-02-12 19:00 - 21:00
Laura Muser, GUARD Archaeology
The archaeological origins of Drumelzier’s Merlin legend
Probably as far back as the 12th century written references to Merlin’s grave at Drumelzier have been made. Is there any archaeological proof?
Dr Ronan Toolis is CEO at GUARD Archaeology Ltd. He has over 30 years experience in a wide range of archaeological projects in Scotland and Germany. He has published the results of his work on assessing and investigating sites and analysing evidence in journals and books. His work has covered a very wide range from the Later Prehistoric to Early Mediaeval.

In the Footsteps of Bonny Dundee? Hunting for (Archaeological) Traces of Covenanters in the Clyde Region
2026-03-12 19:00 - 21:00
Dr Edward Stewart, CVARF Engagement Officer, University of Glasgow
Dr Edward Stewart is the Clyde Valley Archaeological Research Framework (CVARF) Engagement Officer at Archaeology Scotland. He is a field school co-director and excavation director of the Glencoe field school run by the University of Glasgow. He is passionate about making archaeology relevant to contemporary society and has collaborated on projects with the National Trust for Scotland, Glencoe folk museum and local communities in Glencoe and Ballachulish. His PhD in archaeology at the University of Glasgow explored shieling landscapes and the interpretation of upland archaeology in the Scottish Highlands.

AGM
2026-04-09 19:00 - 21:00

The History and Archaeology of the Treshnish Isles
2026-05-28 19:00 - 21:00
Derek Alexander, Head of Archaeology, National Trust for Scotland
Despite the fact they’ve been uninhabited since 1857, there’s a rich human history to the Treshnish Isles. Currently, there are at least 21 known archaeology sites on the islands, spread across the Dutchman’s Cap, Lunga, Fladda, Cairn na Burgh Mor and Cairn na Burgh Beag. These include two medieval chapels, a 15th- or 16th-century castle and an 18th-century barracks.
Derek Alexander is the Head of Archaeological Services for the National Trust for Scotland. After working as a commercial archaeologist he joined the National Trust in 2000 as the West Region Archaeologist and was appointed Head Archaeologist in 2011. He has undertaken fieldwork on many Trust properties including several small islands in the Hebrides some of which are the Treshnish Isles and Staffa. Many books, academic papers and magazine articles on a wide range of archaeological subjects have been written by Derek, including a book about Renfrewshire.
