Alastair Tibbs

"Take that, sir. By God, sir, you shall more of this yet!,” cried Scottish banker George Morgan as he struck a merchant on the head with his umbrella. The incensed victim, David Landale, replied through the crisp Kirkcaldy air in measured breaths: "You are a coward, sir, a poor, silly coward."

Original painting by George Willison (1741-1797), engraved by Valentine Green (1739-1813). Original mezzotint print, published 1770. Print commemorating the victory of Archibald Douglas in the House of Lords. A portrait of Douglas appears in the medallion, supported on a plinth by a figure of J

From Dublin to Dundee and Belfast to Birmingham, the labouring poor of 19th century Britain and Ireland had to contend with the widespread scourge of child-stripping – the theft of their children’s clothing by heartless thieves who faced the full rigour of the law when apprehended. Local

In October of 1739 an Irish merchant vessel, the William, slipped out of Donaghadee harbour near Belfast and sailed into infamy. Its stated goal of collecting Norwegian timber shrouded the dark mission of its master William Davidson – to kidnap Scottish crofters and sell them into slavery in t

Prison reform campaigners have called for a cap on the number of prisoners in Scotland as jails grow dangerously overcrowded and under-resourced. The country’s prison population reached an average of almost 8,000 last year, an eight per cent increase since 2023.