Houses of Scotland

[Philip]

Way back in the murky mists of time I came across a series of models called "Houses of Scotland" which were designed and published by James W. Allan of Balmullo, St Andrews, Scotland. Can't for the life of me remember how but I found six of them in my stash. So here are two of them. As you can see, they are two very simple (and not too accurate) models of buildings in and around "The Kingdom of Fife" where Mr Allan lived at the time. But I think they look nice enough on my mantlepiece.

Pictues 1 & 2 are of a Stair-turret House which is typical of Scottish burg buildings. The stair-turret on this example was once attached to battlements but has since been topped by a cap-house. Pictures 3 & 4 represent a Town House, or Toon-Hoose, a seat for the bigwigs of the local administration.

Can't tell you the scale I'm afraid but the bases measure 14 x 10cm, on average.

[Aloniuk]

Originally Posted by Philip

Way back in the murky mists of time I came across a series of models called "Houses of Scotland" which were designed and published by James W. Allan of Balmullo, St Andrews, Scotland. Can't for the life of me remember how but I found six of them in my stash. So here are two of them. As you can see, they are two very simple (and not too accurate) models of buildings in and around "The Kingdom of Fife" where Mr Allan lived at the time. But I think they look nice enough on my mantlepiece.

Pictues 1 & 2 are of a Stair-turret House which is typical of Scottish burg buildings. The stair-turret on this example was once attached to battlements but has since been topped by a cap-house. Pictures 3 & 4 represent a Town House, or Toon-Hoose, a seat for the bigwigs of the local administration.

Can't tell you the scale I'm afraid but the bases measure 14 x 10cm, on average.

Nice wee hooses..... (I was born and brought up in Scotland)

[sreinmann]

That’s a great “Stash Find” Philip thanks for sharing. I’ll have to look for them for my son’s war gaming table.

[Philip]

Thank you for your interest, friends. There may be more coming - don't know yet. They don't take long, that's for sure!

[Philip]

Wot it says on the tin. A house attached to a steepled belltower. Buildings like this one were a source of pride among Scottish burgs in the 18th century, so I am informed. This specimen boasts an octagonal spire and balustrade above the belfry (used for ringing the curfew) and the Burgh Clock. There's a coat of arms too. The studded door at the base of the belfry leads to the Tolbooth, a euphamism for the town's dark, dank lockup. I wouldn't like to spend any time inside it. The principal building material here is sandstone, with blocks of hard black whinstone mixed in.

So there you have it.

[missileer]

Philip,
Those are really eye-catching model buildings. Too bad they are not still available on the market. I would like to have a set to put under the Christmas tree with a vintage model train set.

[Tim Crowe]

They look lovely little models

A great find

Tim

[Philip]

18c. streets like this one are typical of those that can still be found among coastal towns and villages. The orange roofs, like those of the Stair-turret House and Town House, are constructed using pantiles, a popular material for this purpose all over the area. Now pantiles are not native to Fife; they were first made in the Low Countries (The Netherlands, Belgium et al). They could be made in quantity and were cheap to manufacture. For this reason Dutch merchant vessels would use them as ballast on their journeys to Scotland in order to stock up on metals and other commodities. How pleased the captains must have been to discover that the natives were willing to take the tiles in part-exchange. Result!

[Tapcho]

These are all so very nice Philip. From the last set I'd like to rent the one with stairs.

Tappi

[Vermin_King]

Interesting finds, sir. Is it time to do a group photo?