This book takes a timely look at how Scotland's national politics have been expressed in its buildings, exploring the role the architecture of Scotland – in particular its world-famous 'castle architecture' – has played the ongoing narrative of Scots national identity.
Scotch Baronial
examines many of the country's most important historic buildings – from the palaces left behind by the 'lost' monarchy, to revivalist castles and proud town halls – examining their architectural styles and tracing their wildly fluctuating political and national connotations.
An introduction to a key episode in British architectural history, and a valuable resource for anyone studying the role of architecture in narratives of nationalism and empire globally,
ends by bringing the story into the 21st century, exploring how contemporary 'neo-modernist' architecture in today's Scotland, as exemplified in the Holyrood parliament, relates to concepts of national identity in architecture over the previous centuries.