Articles

William Adamson MP

Born in Halbeath, The Rt. Hon. William Adamson, PC, MP was a miner, trade union leader and MP for Fife West from 1919 to 1931. He was a member of the first Labour Cabinet and became Secretary of State for Scotland. In this short biography, George Robertson summarises his political achievements but also describes his early life and how it influenced politician he was to become.

Stewarts Rubber Manufacturers

In the latest in our series on Dunfermline’s Industrial Heritage, George Beattie gives us the history of Ralph W. Stewart & Co, Ltd., Scottish Central Rubber Works, Elgin Street, Dunfermline.

The story of this firm, which had it’s roots in linen manufacture, tells of a bold attempt at diversification into a new industry, at  a time when the linen industry was struggling.

The Rev. Ralph Erskine

There is a statue of an 18th Century minister outside the former church in Queen Anne St. and it has been there since 1849. Who is it of, and why was he commemorated like this? In “Rev. RALPH ERSKINE (1685-1752) –  SECESSIONIST MINISTER” George Robertson answers these questions and explains some of the complex church politics of the time, between the turbulence of the earlier 17th Century religious strife and the better known, later, Disruption.