Abertay Historical Society is not able to have a normal launch event and book signing for its latest publication, The Heart of the Stormont by Jim Black. It had been hoped this might be possible by the spring but with the on-going restrictions it has been decided to hold a virtual book launch instead, to give you the chance to meet the author and hear more about the book. This will take place on Wednesday 20 January at 7pm. The launch will be held on Zoom and free places can be booked at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-the-heart-of-the-stormont-by-... [1]

The Heart of the Stormont by Jim Black (Abertay Historical Society, 2020) £7.50

A fascinating account of the history of the part of Perthshire known as the Stormont. The district known as the Stormont once covered a substantially more extensive area, but since the mid-18th century the name has been popularly applied to the land north of the Tay between Dunkeld and Blairgowrie. Within its bounds sit the villages of Caputh and Spittalfield. Their early mainstay was handloom weaving but when this declined in the early 19th century the villages successfully transformed themselves into service centres for a locality that was beginning to prosper from radical improvements in agriculture. This book looks at wide-ranging aspects of community life including the building and settlement of Spittalfield and Caputh, life on the land, trade, transport, health, education and leisure.

Jim Black has put together a video accompanying the book which you can see at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCFtnQ-fAL4 [2]

and Karen Todd of the Walkin’ Café in Spittalfield has also recorded a video which is at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV5ukV7eZ-8 [3]

The book is now available for sale on the Abertay Historical Society website at:
https://abertay.org.uk/product/the-heart-of-the-stormont-2020/ [4]
although given the current situation it is only occasionally possible to get access to stock in order to deal with orders, so please be patient!