This is the entrance to the farm steading at Mains of Carnousie in north east Scotland. It was built by General Patrick 'Tiger' Duff in 1797. He commanded the Bengal Artillery of the East India Company's army and fought in a number of campaigns. He was also, through his uncles, the Gordons of Letterfourie, involved in the Madeira wine trade and this was probably the source of the wealth lavished on Carnousie. I am exploring the connections between agricultural improvement, military service and commerical development. I have published a number of articles and I hope to continue once I have finished digesting the huge volume of material in the Gordon of Letterfourie collection in Aberdeen University archives. Deposited there in early 2010, I am (at the end of 2013) part way through reviewing this material.
Published articles
'Agriculture and empire: General Patrick 'Tiger' Duff and the shaping of north-east Scotland', Review of Scottish Culture, 22, 2010,
An overview article was published in History Scotland in January 2010 - 'Agriculture and Empire: General Patrick 'Tiger' Duff and the shaping of north east Scotland'.
‘A contested eighteenth century election: Banffshire 1795’, Northern Scotland, 2, 2011, 22-35.
'An eighteenth century scandal: the lieutenant, the mason and a disputed inheritance', History Scotland, June 2011
As you can see, I was delighted to be asked to speak to the Turriff and District Heritage Society about Duff.