Rural Settlement Research Questions
- To what extent did rural settlements grow during the 19th and 20th centuries? Why did some communities expand whilst others contracted?
- How did periods of economic depression affect rural communities?
- How did agricultural practices change over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries?
- What can we discover about the processes by which agriculture was mechanised?
- What can we discover about animal husbandry during the 19th and 20th centuries?
- How did industrialisation affect rural communities?
- How did ideas of improvement affect rural communities during the modern period?
- How did the design of rural dwellings alter in the centuries after 1800?
- What can we learn about the homes of labourers and the rural poor?
- To what extent did planned villages differ from other rural communities of the same period?
- To what extent were rural communities able to acquire consumer goods? How did patterns of consumption change during the modern period?
- What can we discover about facilities in rural communities (e.g. post offices, schools, village halls)?
- How did the provision of utilities (e.g. drinking water, drainage, electricity) change in rural areas during the modern period?
- What was the nature of the connections between rural communities and the wider world?
- What can we learn about the experiences of travelling communities in South East Scotland (e.g. Romani Gypsies, Scottish Travellers, and Showmen)?
Urban Settlement Research Questions
- What can we learn about migration to and from towns during the modern period? How did immigration affect towns in South East Scotland during the modern period?
- How did growing industrialisation impact towns in South East Scotland?
- To what extent did the 19th and 20th centuries see a growing separation between workplaces and homes?
- How have perceptions and realities of social class affected town planning in the region? To what extent did different socio-economic groups become more spatially separated during the modern period?
- What can we learn about the development of suburbs? To what extent was suburban development planned?
- How did life in small towns compare to life in major urban centres? What distinctive trends and experiences can we find in small towns?
- What can we learn about the provision of utilities (e.g. gas, water, sewage management)?
- How did street furniture change over the modern period?
- How much variety was there in living standards in urban areas?
- What can we discover about vernacular architecture in urban communities?
- What can we learn about tenements and other forms of communal dwellings?
- What can we learn about the development and design of social housing over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries?
- What can we discover about the so-called ‘slum clearances’? How did patterns of clearance and redevelopment change over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries?
- What can we discover about waste and derelict properties in towns? What factors lead to dereliction during the modern period?
- How did gardens and green spaces within and immediately adjacent to urban areas change during the modern period?
- What can we learn about the development of allotments in the region?
- How did the design of educational establishments change during the modern period?
- What can we learn about the changing use and design of libraries?
- What can we discover about the development of civic buildings during the modern period?
- What can we learn about public monuments? How has their design and purpose changed over the modern period?
- What can we learn about crime and punishment?
- What can we learn about fires, floods and other crises? What safety measures were put in place to prevent fires? How did these change over the modern period?
Leisure and Entertainment Research Questions
- How did mass tourism affect South East Scotland during the modern period?
- What can we learn about historic hotels in the region?
- How did the design, location, and significance of inns and pubs change during the modern period?
- How did the design of theatres, dance halls, cinemas, and other places of entertainment evolve during the modern period?
- What can we learn about musical instruments and performance spaces?
- How did public parks and gardens change during the modern period? What can we learn about their facilities (e.g. bandstands, playgrounds, bowling greens, ponds)?
- How does the design and purpose of botanical gardens change during the modern period?
- What can we discover about sports played in South East Scotland during the modern period? How did sporting facilities and equipment develop over the 19th and 20th centuries?
- How did the use and design of venues for spectator sports evolve during the modern period?
- What can we learn about swimming (both in open water and in purpose-built pools)? What infrastructure was associated with swimming / bathing? How did this change over time?
- What can we learn about piers, promenades, shelters, and other recreational structures by the sea?
- What can we find out about the development of recreational rowing, sailing, and other water sports in the region?
- What can we discover about curling, skating, and other winter sports in the region?
- What can we discover about the evolution of menageries and zoos in the region?
- How did the treatment of pets change during the modern period? What types of animals were kept as pets and in what conditions?
- What can we learn about cockfighting in South East Scotland during the 19th century?
- What can we discover about hunting, shooting, fishing, and other bloodsports in the region? What impact have these sports had on the environment? How have they affected surrounding communities?
- How did men’s and women’s recreational activities compare? To what extent was recreation segregated by gender?
- What can we discover about children’s play and how it changed over the modern period?