Old Ardler, Meigle and Newtyle

Author: John Alexander

Scotland

Published on 1 August 2025 by Stenlake Publishing in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 48 pages
239 x 174 x 7 | 170g

Disparate in character and divided by the local authority boundary between Perthshire and Angus, the three villages are united by a common hinterland that buzzes with the sights and sounds of country life. Ardler was a 19th-century planned village with the early residents engaged in linen weaving. Longleys (not in the book title) is a hamlet between Coupar Angus and Forfar. Meigle is another quiet village, although its church burned down in 1869 to reveal sculptured stones buried in its walls. It was not quiet when its most famous resident, Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, was laid to rest. He lived in Belmont Castle, which was gifted to Dundee Corporation after his death. Belmont Camp was subsequently set up on the estate for children from Dundee. Newtyle was a railhead on the Dundee & Newtyle Railway, enabling produce from Strathmore to reach the cities quickly. The book includes street and road scenes from the three villages, views of local big houses, and half a dozen images of railway interest. Lengthy captions accompany all the illustrations.