The Evolution of Scotland’s Towns
Creation, Growth and Fragmentation
This pioneering book tells the story of urban development in Scotland over the course of a millennium, drawing on original research into more than thirty towns, from the smallest settlements to major cities. The changes in urban society came at different times and at different paces for most towns and many had to withstand crisis after crisis. The overall evolution of urban life, in its different guises, is explored throughout the book.
List of Illustrations and MapsAcknowledgementsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction
Chapter 1: Medieval TownsI Towns Before Towns: pre-twelfth-century settlementII The First BurghsIII The Built EnvironmentIV Keeping Order
Chapter 2: Daily Life in the Middle AgesI Markets and MerchantsII Home LivesIII Health of the TownspeopleIV Relaxation
Chapter 3: Medieval Faith and the ChurchI The Church RoutineII The Parish and its PeopleIII ReformationIV The Aftermath of Reformation
Chapter 4: Encroachment on Burgh Society, 1550-1750I New Burghs, Markets and Shrinking HinterlandsII New Burghs: Two Test CasesIII Urban ClearancesIV A Slow Disappearance
Chapter 5: Man-Made and Natural Disasters, 1550-1750I War and Occupation in the Seventeenth CenturyII Continuing Unrest and OccupationIII LifestylesIV Famine’s Devastating and Final Strike
Chapter 6: The Birth of Urban ScotlandI Improvement and EnlightenmentII Population GrowthIII New Townscapes and New IdentitiesIV Railways and Improving CommunicationsV Growing Industrialisation
Chapter 7: The Victorian TownI Housing Conditions and HealthII The Dawning of a Better LifestyleIII Leisure TimeIV The Changing TownscapeV Visionary Thinking?
Chapter 8: The Twentieth CenturyI The Garden City IdealII The ‘Great War’ and the Inter-War YearsIII World War II, Austerity and RecoveryIV Modernisation: new ideals or the wrecking ball?V Architecture: a mirror of the twentieth century?
Post-Script: Footprints to FragmentationAppendix: Table: Population Statistics: a select listBibliographyIndex
