Celebrating Sir John Sinclair’s contribution to local history

Sir John Sinclair (1754-1835) is well known to most local historians for his work in promoting and editing the Old Statistical Accounts. But Sir John’s ‘zest for information’ involved him in many other pursuits which contribute to local history and are less well known.
This year is the 175th anniversary of his death and the Scottish Local History Forum is marking the occasion with this conference which highlights some of Sir John’s achievements. David Affleck ‘tops and tails’ the day with an introduction to Sir John’s life and work, and concludes with an assessment of his legacy. Heather Holmes gives an account of the reports compiled for the Board of Agriculture, an invaluable, but less well known, source for local historians in the UK, while Helen Chisholm focuses on the Statistical Accounts website.
In afternoon the location changes to the Canongate Kirk, where Sir John was an enthusiastic participant. Graeme Cruickshank completes the day with highlights from the history of the Canongate.

I reflect on the great moral lesson to be learnt from Sir John Sinclair’s admirable life. I consider whether during the many years in which he flourished, there was any man whom I could fix upon as having laboured with the same assiduity and with the same success for the benefit of mankind.

(Archibald Alison 1757-1839)