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Who Built Scotland: A History of the Nation in Twenty-Five Buildings
Experience a new history of Scotland told through its places. Writers Kathleen Jamie, Alexander McCall Smith, Alistair Moffat, James Robertson and James Crawford pick twenty-five buildings to tell the story of the nation.
Travelling across the country, from abandoned islands and lonely glens to the heart of our modern cities, these five authors seek out the diverse narrative of the Scottish people. Follow Kathleen Jamie as she searches for the traces of our first family hearths in the Cairngorms and makes a midsummer journey to Shetland to meet the unlikely new inhabitants of an Iron Age broch. Tour the wondrous and macabre Surgeons’ Hall with Alexander McCall Smith, or walk with him over sacred ground to Iona’s ancient Abbey. Join Alistair Moffat as he discovers a lost whisky village in the wilds of Strathconon, and climbs up through the vertiginous layers of history in Edinburgh Castle. Accompany James Robertson as he goes from the standing stones of Callanish to the humble cottage of Hugh MacDiarmid – via the engineering colossus of the Forth Rail Bridge. And journey with James Crawford from a packed crowd in Hampden Park, to an off-the-grid eco-bothy on the Isle of Eigg.
'Who Built Scotland' is a landmark exploration of Scotland’s social, political and cultural histories. Moving from Neolithic families, exiled hermits and ambitious royal dynasties to highland shieling girls, peasant poets, Enlightenment philosophers and iconoclastic artists, it places our people, our ideas and our passions at the heart of our architecture and archaeology. This is the remarkable story how we have shaped our buildings and how our buildings, in turn, have shaped us.
Travelling across the country, from abandoned islands and lonely glens to the heart of our modern cities, these five authors seek out the diverse narrative of the Scottish people. Follow Kathleen Jamie as she searches for the traces of our first family hearths in the Cairngorms and makes a midsummer journey to Shetland to meet the unlikely new inhabitants of an Iron Age broch. Tour the wondrous and macabre Surgeons’ Hall with Alexander McCall Smith, or walk with him over sacred ground to Iona’s ancient Abbey. Join Alistair Moffat as he discovers a lost whisky village in the wilds of Strathconon, and climbs up through the vertiginous layers of history in Edinburgh Castle. Accompany James Robertson as he goes from the standing stones of Callanish to the humble cottage of Hugh MacDiarmid – via the engineering colossus of the Forth Rail Bridge. And journey with James Crawford from a packed crowd in Hampden Park, to an off-the-grid eco-bothy on the Isle of Eigg.
'Who Built Scotland' is a landmark exploration of Scotland’s social, political and cultural histories. Moving from Neolithic families, exiled hermits and ambitious royal dynasties to highland shieling girls, peasant poets, Enlightenment philosophers and iconoclastic artists, it places our people, our ideas and our passions at the heart of our architecture and archaeology. This is the remarkable story how we have shaped our buildings and how our buildings, in turn, have shaped us.
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 8, 2025
A set of essays covering 25 examples of the built heritage of Scotland, with the essays shared between 5 writers. The buildings featured range from the very famous (e.g. Edinburgh Castle, or the Forth Rail Bridge) to a couple I had never heard of. One of the latter was Innerpeffray Library, which lies a few miles outside the small town of Crieff and which, apparently, was the first free public lending library in the British Isles, dating from 1680. It seems it still operates and as a bibliophile, I feel I ought to pay it a visit, just as a sort of homage.
Some of the history included was a bit dubious. In the essay on Hampden Park (Scotland’s national football stadium), the author James Crawford brought in references to “Red Clydeside” and repeats a hoary old myth that Churchill ordered troops into Glasgow in 1919 to suppress a strike. This story has been debunked for years but is one of those that never quite goes away. I recently read and liked another of Crawford’s books, but his inclusion of this reference has given me a slightly less favourable view.
I’ve been to about half the buildings featured. On the whole I probably preferred the entries for the buildings I had visited, since I could relate better to the descriptions given as well as to each author’s impressions. I probably thought the essays by Alexander McCall Smith were the most consistent. The works by the other authors were more variable, I thought.
A reasonable enough collection, on the whole, without being exceptional. I learned a few things and, as a result of the book, there are one or two locations that I would like to visit. That’s not a bad outcome.
Some of the history included was a bit dubious. In the essay on Hampden Park (Scotland’s national football stadium), the author James Crawford brought in references to “Red Clydeside” and repeats a hoary old myth that Churchill ordered troops into Glasgow in 1919 to suppress a strike. This story has been debunked for years but is one of those that never quite goes away. I recently read and liked another of Crawford’s books, but his inclusion of this reference has given me a slightly less favourable view.
I’ve been to about half the buildings featured. On the whole I probably preferred the entries for the buildings I had visited, since I could relate better to the descriptions given as well as to each author’s impressions. I probably thought the essays by Alexander McCall Smith were the most consistent. The works by the other authors were more variable, I thought.
A reasonable enough collection, on the whole, without being exceptional. I learned a few things and, as a result of the book, there are one or two locations that I would like to visit. That’s not a bad outcome.
September 16, 2019
I liked the concept behind this book, but struggled with the execution.
I imagined it as a history of Scotland and its people told by talented writers describing 25 buildings. It is arranged in a chronological way, building by building, fueling that impression but the essays are more contemplative, woolly, drawn out, and less factual than I was hoping. Some of the essays were really heavy going and somehow Scotland and the the people who built the blooming things get lost in the telling.
I imagined it as a history of Scotland and its people told by talented writers describing 25 buildings. It is arranged in a chronological way, building by building, fueling that impression but the essays are more contemplative, woolly, drawn out, and less factual than I was hoping. Some of the essays were really heavy going and somehow Scotland and the the people who built the blooming things get lost in the telling.
March 19, 2024
I seldom go for these type of books, essays by different authors on a subject, they just feel so fragmented, but I was struggling to pick a book at my local library and thought why not? I'm glad I did. Not all of the chapters work but i found interest in each one and they are short enough that you don't need to give up and move on. I learnt something I didn't know and that makes it worthwhile.
December 30, 2017
I came across Who Built Scotland: A History of a Nation in Twenty-Five Buildings as a recommended book on Amazon after I had ordered and read James Crawford's fascinating book Fallen Glory: The Lives and Deaths of the World's Greatest Lost Buildings. I can sum up Who Built Scotland in two words: A Disappointment.
This book is collection of 25 essays prepared by five professional writers. A review of this book by Allan Massie, published 4 October 2017 in The Scotsman, is spot-on in its description: "The book is eclectic to the point of being quirky...." Personally, I do not like quirky books. The essays lack any semblance of cohesion, or weaving of historical context. The book would not lead any reader to describe it as a history of Scotland; in fact, referring it to as history seems rather misleading and presumptuous.
The majority of essays are mishmash of travelogue, self-reflections, and personal thoughts about a structure or place with just a smattering of history stirred into the story-pot to keep it somewhat interesting. What this recipe results in is an exceedingly boring, bland, and dysfunctional story -- and calling it a story is a real stretch -- about a fascinating nation.
Who built Scotland? You'll still be asking yourself this question after reading this book.
This book is collection of 25 essays prepared by five professional writers. A review of this book by Allan Massie, published 4 October 2017 in The Scotsman, is spot-on in its description: "The book is eclectic to the point of being quirky...." Personally, I do not like quirky books. The essays lack any semblance of cohesion, or weaving of historical context. The book would not lead any reader to describe it as a history of Scotland; in fact, referring it to as history seems rather misleading and presumptuous.
The majority of essays are mishmash of travelogue, self-reflections, and personal thoughts about a structure or place with just a smattering of history stirred into the story-pot to keep it somewhat interesting. What this recipe results in is an exceedingly boring, bland, and dysfunctional story -- and calling it a story is a real stretch -- about a fascinating nation.
Who built Scotland? You'll still be asking yourself this question after reading this book.
November 15, 2025
0/5 stars - no Aberdeen, no interest.
I jest!! But my opinion of this book has not been a secret. The premise is simple - five writers have selected twenty five human-made sites across Scotland that ‘tell the story of the nation’, with the aim of ‘[unravelling] the stories of the places, people and passions’ that make up our wee country. Fabulous. In terms of mission statements I can’t think of anything that would recruit me quicker. This is a HES publication, so in effect works as an advertisement for our public body responsible for the preservation of our historic environment and the diverse portfolio of properties Scotland has in state care.
However. Out of the five authors selected only Crawford, born in Shetland, is from further north than Stirlingshire, and the central belt bias is striking for a publication published by our country’s official government agency for heritage. The introduction offers a weak defence against criticisms of omissions and of course they are inevitable in a work like this, but I think it’s an egregious oversight that twelve of these places - essentially half - lie across the narrowest corridor of the central belt and within the span of 48 miles. You could hit up fifty percent of this book in a seventy six minute drive! You don’t need my Aberdonian bias - to which I freely confess - to see this is frankly ridiculous. Further than that, I think it’s actually just shite.
Shock! - I love Scotland. Some of the stronger chapters in this book really speak to the heart of our country and our people; grit and colour and pride and ingenuity and the many centuries of stories, how these are reflected in the spaces around us and form the very basis of our national and personal identities, our collective duty to protect what we’ve inherited. We live in such a special country with a historical fabric that is uniquely ours and not to be embarrassing but my eyes genuinely tear over when I think of it. I could type away for hours and I would never find the words to describe the heart-swell that is witnessing Scotland’s steeples and stadiums, our streets and our shores, its stone circles and weird little pronouncements of past existence where the original purposes are long forgotten, how I know my bones will one day become one with this soil and with that peace I know what it is to feel truly the definition of ‘home’. Scotland and the Scottish are fucking class.
It’s the biggest sadness, then, that the strongest sections of this book only serve to highlight its weakness that there are swathes of this nation that this book barely even mentions, stories and places that strike to the very heart of our national character that receive nary an index reference. You don’t need to be a massive nationalist or dandy or historian (though the best of us are all three) to recognise that that is a damned shame, for a book that could have been so comprehensive and so much BETTER than it is. I think that is my biggest issue - it’s just lazy.
I think this whole work would have produced a much more enlightening story had we had one site each from twenty five different Scottish authors. The constraint would have forced writers to really consider their choice and we would have received a much more diverse selection. Of these five writers, four are men, all are white, and all are university graduates (all gained at least one degree from the University of Edinburgh) (spew). Scotland has a rich collection of voices from across the social strata and this book is incredibly limited. I want Scotland’s queer voices! I want our women (not THOSE ones) shouting our history for everyone to hear. I want the stories of our Muslim communities who have found spiritual homes alongside Scotland’s oldest kirks. This book doesn’t do much to acknowledge these stories that, like our buildings, will outlast us all. As this book takes me on a search of our nation, I close the last page to realise that I still haven’t found it.
I jest!! But my opinion of this book has not been a secret. The premise is simple - five writers have selected twenty five human-made sites across Scotland that ‘tell the story of the nation’, with the aim of ‘[unravelling] the stories of the places, people and passions’ that make up our wee country. Fabulous. In terms of mission statements I can’t think of anything that would recruit me quicker. This is a HES publication, so in effect works as an advertisement for our public body responsible for the preservation of our historic environment and the diverse portfolio of properties Scotland has in state care.
However. Out of the five authors selected only Crawford, born in Shetland, is from further north than Stirlingshire, and the central belt bias is striking for a publication published by our country’s official government agency for heritage. The introduction offers a weak defence against criticisms of omissions and of course they are inevitable in a work like this, but I think it’s an egregious oversight that twelve of these places - essentially half - lie across the narrowest corridor of the central belt and within the span of 48 miles. You could hit up fifty percent of this book in a seventy six minute drive! You don’t need my Aberdonian bias - to which I freely confess - to see this is frankly ridiculous. Further than that, I think it’s actually just shite.
Shock! - I love Scotland. Some of the stronger chapters in this book really speak to the heart of our country and our people; grit and colour and pride and ingenuity and the many centuries of stories, how these are reflected in the spaces around us and form the very basis of our national and personal identities, our collective duty to protect what we’ve inherited. We live in such a special country with a historical fabric that is uniquely ours and not to be embarrassing but my eyes genuinely tear over when I think of it. I could type away for hours and I would never find the words to describe the heart-swell that is witnessing Scotland’s steeples and stadiums, our streets and our shores, its stone circles and weird little pronouncements of past existence where the original purposes are long forgotten, how I know my bones will one day become one with this soil and with that peace I know what it is to feel truly the definition of ‘home’. Scotland and the Scottish are fucking class.
It’s the biggest sadness, then, that the strongest sections of this book only serve to highlight its weakness that there are swathes of this nation that this book barely even mentions, stories and places that strike to the very heart of our national character that receive nary an index reference. You don’t need to be a massive nationalist or dandy or historian (though the best of us are all three) to recognise that that is a damned shame, for a book that could have been so comprehensive and so much BETTER than it is. I think that is my biggest issue - it’s just lazy.
I think this whole work would have produced a much more enlightening story had we had one site each from twenty five different Scottish authors. The constraint would have forced writers to really consider their choice and we would have received a much more diverse selection. Of these five writers, four are men, all are white, and all are university graduates (all gained at least one degree from the University of Edinburgh) (spew). Scotland has a rich collection of voices from across the social strata and this book is incredibly limited. I want Scotland’s queer voices! I want our women (not THOSE ones) shouting our history for everyone to hear. I want the stories of our Muslim communities who have found spiritual homes alongside Scotland’s oldest kirks. This book doesn’t do much to acknowledge these stories that, like our buildings, will outlast us all. As this book takes me on a search of our nation, I close the last page to realise that I still haven’t found it.
April 23, 2023
I read the essays in this book off and on over quite a period of time, which works fine. It’s a book one can dip into and out of because it is 25 separate essays by a handful of authors, and each stands in its own. That said, there is a thread of continuity running through it, one of the relation of the people of Scotland to the land of Scotland. Everywhere from the Borders to Shetland. It’s not a history book in the typical way of thinking of history. Though it contains dates and names and places, of course, it’s more of a social history an an anthropological attempt to interpret some notable (though not always famous) buildings in Scotland.
And as always, the contributions of Alexander McCall Smith are an especial delight.
If you’re looking for a contemplative way to experience the history of Scotland over the millennia, in many ways using the buildings as a metaphor for the history of the nation, this is an engaging book.
And as always, the contributions of Alexander McCall Smith are an especial delight.
If you’re looking for a contemplative way to experience the history of Scotland over the millennia, in many ways using the buildings as a metaphor for the history of the nation, this is an engaging book.
March 10, 2023
Wonderful book to be recommended to anyone with an interest is Scottish history, culture, traditions or architecture. The book comprises 25 stories, each in a different style, from 5 authors. They range from the whimsical (Signs and traces - Kathleen Jamie), to the historical (The lost estate - James Crawford), to the architectural (The making of a classical gem - Alexander McCall Smith), to the truly personal - (Nothing like my ain house - James Robertson and Arcadia - Alistair Moffat). The storytelling is fabulous. I am in love with Scotland.
April 6, 2023
This is a novel approach to history, having authors select buildings of meaning both to them personally and also to the nation of Scotland and presenting them chronologically in time so as to form a narrative of Scottish history through those buildings. The buildings are suitably diverse ranging from Neolithic camps to tower blocks though I was surprised at the omissions. No Skara Brae? No Scottish Parliament Building? The entries are biased towards the Glasgow - Edinburgh axis, which is understandable but I would have expected Aberdeen to feature at some point too.
June 30, 2024
I bought this book because we had traveled to Scotland and I like to read about places I visit, and also because it's partially written by Alexander McCall Smith, one of my favorite authors. Scottish authors travel to various historical places/buildings (in chronological order) and write about them. It really does give a sweeping sense of place and time, and I enjoyed it all the way through, even the modern sites, which I found among the most interesting.
April 26, 2022
Not at all what I was expecting from the title and the contributors involved. It was all too impressionistic for my taste.
The tone was rather set by the second essay mistakenly placing Cairnpapple Hill in Midlothian rather than West Lothian. Somewhat ironically Alistair Moffat then went on to say - "Cairnpapple is a fascinating place and the public should be shown how to find it."
The tone was rather set by the second essay mistakenly placing Cairnpapple Hill in Midlothian rather than West Lothian. Somewhat ironically Alistair Moffat then went on to say - "Cairnpapple is a fascinating place and the public should be shown how to find it."
November 14, 2020
Oh, the irony: a 'nation' that can be described by uninhabited islands. It makes sense.
April 28, 2024
Some of it very very good (Kathleen Jamie) some of it irritating and smug (Alexander McCall Smith)...
November 12, 2024
really deepened my travel experience in Scotland
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews