Finzean Old School sits in the parish of Birse, Aberdeenshire. Over the last few years, the Birse Community Trust has highlighted conversations around the funding of the school through the Rev. Gilbert Ramsay – who was born in the parish, and who funded the school through the considerable money he made in Barbados in the 18th century. This money was made through the transatlantic slave economy, and through the plantations on Barbados, where many people were enslaved at this time.

Further information on the links between Finzean, Barbados and the Transatlantic Slave economy can be found by listening to Sian Loftus in the October 2021 Managing Imperial Legacies webinar: Empire, Community and Scotland’s Built Environment.

Further information on the Birse Community Trust, and recent updates on the heritage of the island can he found here. (Opens new website)