Extreme weather, school logbooks and social vulnerability: the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

Naylor, S. , Macdonald, N., Bowen, J. P. and Endfield, G. (2022) Extreme weather, school logbooks and social vulnerability: the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Journal of Historical Geography, 78, pp. 84-94. (doi: 10.1016/j.jhg.2022.07.006)

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the value of school logbooks, an unusual and hitherto underused archival source, to the field of the historical geographies of weather and climate. It examines logbooks for schools across the Outer Hebrides, or Western Isles, off the west coast of mainland Scotland, ranging from the late nineteenth century until the early twentieth century. The weather had numerous and varied impacts on everyday life on the islands and was frequently recorded in school logbooks. The paper shows that islanders were especially vulnerable to extreme weather events – typically strong winds, heavy rain, storms and snow – which affected children's school attendance, health and well-being. It is argued that vulnerability to extreme weather reflected the wider social vulnerability of the islands' crofting communities.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors would like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council for funding the research on which this paper is based (grant references AH/K005782/1 and AH/V003569/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Naylor, Professor Simon
• Authors: Naylor, S., Macdonald, N., Bowen, J. P., and Endfield, G.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Journal Name: Journal of Historical Geography
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0305-7488
• ISSN (Online): 1095-8614
• Published Online: 26 August 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Historical Geography 78: 84-94
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
312458		UK Climate Resilience Programme- Living With Uncertain Change	Simon Naylor	Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)	AH/V003569/1	GES - Geography