Jack Gillon: 13 books

Monumental Edinburgh illustrates the history of the capital city of Scotland through its statues and monuments – a permanent display in a city-wide museum. The book lists them by area for easy reference while out and about and explains the stories behind the lesser-known figures and events commemorated...

Not all of Edinburgh’s history is well known; some of it has remained a secret, lost behind the façades of the familiar and hidden from view … until now. Fascinated by Edinburgh’s hidden history, author Jack Gillon has plundered the records in a quest for the lesser-known side of Scotland’s...

Falkirk’s strategic location, midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow at the crossroads of lowland Scotland, has been the main influence on the town’s development and has contributed to its key role in Scotland’s history. The Romans were the first to make a significant mark on the district, William...

‘The Fair City’ of Perth is aptly named. Situated on the banks of Scotland’s longest river, the Tay, Perth and its surrounding area boast some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. Perth was once the capital of Scotland and there are many interesting historical sights to visit. The jewel...

Ayr has always been an important economic centre on Scotland’s south-west coast. The town was established as a royal burgh in 1205, serving as the county’s central marketplace and harbour throughout the medieval period and has remained an important port throughout its history. With the expansion...

EDINBURGH in the 1950s was a very different place. After the ravages of war, the International Festival and Military Tattoo was introduced as an antidote to post-war austerity, the new Civic Survey and Plan put forward grandiose recommendations for change, and a new young Queen visited the city. This...

The Festival and King’s Theatres are two of Scotland’s most historic theatrical venues and both have their own engrossing stories to tell. This book highlights their milestone moments and recollects the innumerable celebrated performers that created the legacies of the theatres. The King’s Theatre,...

The Midlothian town of Dalkeith has had an eventful history. Cromwell’s officer, General Monck, was Commander in Scotland, and the government of the country was based out of Dalkeith Castle. In the seventeenth century, Dalkeith had one of Scotland’s largest markets in its exceptionally broad High...

In 1560, when Mary of Guise ran Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots, remained in France, Mary of Guise moved the Scottish Court to Leith, a site that is now Parliament Street, off Coalhill. Serving Edinburgh’s shipbuilding and repair facilities, Leith’s port saw the opening of a new Wet Dock, the...

Neuk is the Scots word for nook or corner, and the delightful East Neuk, with its string of picturesque fishing and farming villages, is one of the most attractive parts of the country to investigate. Few regions present a greater number of attractions than the East Neuk with its sandy beaches, wild...

Edinburgh’s South Side has contributed much to the rich story of the city. In 1766, Edinburgh made its first ambitious expansion beyond the city walls with the planned development of George Square. The construction of the North and South Bridge, linking the New Town, Old Town and South Side, was...

Nestled under the Garleton Hills on the banks of the River Tyne, the Royal Burgh of Haddington, East Lothian, was established in the twelfth century to provide trade and industry in one of Scotland’s richest agricultural counties. It was upon the strength of its agricultural industry that Haddington...

The teeming nature of life in eighteenth-century Edinburgh elevated the Old Town’s taverns to a critical role in the city’s social life, and there was ‘no superabundance of sobriety in the town’. Much of the business life of the city was carried out in taverns where it was even normal for...