INTRODUCTION

My intention when I first thought of writing an account of Strathkinness

was to produce a fairly short book consisting largely of the reminiscences of

people living in the village, and with a short section on its history. But it

soon became clear that unless a good deal of attention was given to the back-

ground of present-day Strathkinness much of the value of the book would be

lost. Because a place is small does not mean that it cannot have a complex

history. As Professor T.C. Smout said, “Local history is very difficult

because it is such a vast subject, and is of little use unless there is an attempt to

put it in context”. In writing this book I have discovered just how right

Professor Smout is. I could not, without spending many more years on

research, do much more than scratch the surface of the history of the village.

I discovered so much material of interest, often contained in records and

documents that have never before been studied, that the volume which has

finally emerged is very different from the one I originally envisaged.

However, the basic principle which I adopted from the start is still the

same. It is not an academic book, but one written primarily for the people

of Strathkinness, though the need to make it as accurate as possible is

important.

It is quite impossible for anyone to present a complete and wholly accurate

picture of the past. Distortion, whether the result of incomplete information

or unconscious bias in the selection of material, is unavoidable. Records

which survive can give only part of the story; but they are nevertheless the

most important means of ascertaining what life might have been like in the

past.

I have written at length about the churches and the school, although I

have left out a lot of material I would have liked to have included. Other

topics have not been covered to the same extent, partly because the time

needed to study the papers would have been too long. What I am presenting,

as the title states, is merely a “glimpse” of the story of the village and its

people.

The book is in two separate parts, one based on recorded sources and

dealing with the more distant past, and the other on oral sources, that is,

on the recollections and reminiscences of people living in the village today,

and what those who are involved in village activities today say about them.

Almost all the material given to me by present or past inhabitants of

Strathkinness has been used in just the way it was written, as it soon became

evident that to try to edit it would often destroy its flavour and even remove

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