Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Downton, North Yorkshire, has a picturesque churchyard. The remains of many generations of the Crawley Family, the Earls of Grantham rest within its walls. The churchyard is also the resting place of Lavinia Swire, the original fiance of Matthew Crawley, the ill-fated heir to the Earldom of Grantham. Lavinia succumbed to Spanish influenza (and possiblyContinue reading “Remembering Lavinia Swire”

This morning, I attended the funeral of Edward Colin Lamont Mayall, known locally as ‘Colin’. Colin was a renowned local historian, genealogist and author of several books and hundreds of blog posts on the history of Strathearn and Scotland. I first met Colin in 2009 when I attended his local history classes in Crieff. ColinContinue reading “A Tribute to Colin Mayall 1941-2025:”