Echoes from Calder Glen

About the exhibition:

From first time author Michael Hopcroft, Echoes from Calder Glen is an awe-inspiring journey into the human history and ecology of one of Scotland’s forgotten river valleys: Calder Glen.

Situated on Lochwinnoch’s doorstep, but today little known and seldom visited, Calder Glen is a scene of outstanding natural beauty with a remarkably rich and varied human history.

In Echoes from Calder Glen, through both photography and the written word, Hopcroft presents a landscape which is alive with memories: a resonating chamber which echoes with the sounds of bygone generations. From the peels of merry laughter of the Victorian excursionists who once resorted here in great numbers, to the cries of newborn infants whose lives were cut tragically short; from the blasting of gunpowder and the clanking of metal of men digging for copper, to the whispers of young lovers, this is the story of a terrain imbued with diverse meanings as told through the experiences of a diverse cast of characters including celebrated poets, forgotten women labourers, political radicals and a mute and palsied antiquarian who lived and died almost two centuries ago.

Based on original research Echoes from Calder Glen shows how landscape can serve, not only as a conduit to the past, but also how a deeper understanding of the world as it once was, can help us to widen our perspectives and open our imaginations to the future.

In this exhibition Hopcroft presents to the public, for the first time, a small selection from a much larger body of work which is intended to be released later this year in book form.

About the author:

Michael Hopcroft has been researching the local history of Renfrewshire for more than 15 years. Raised in the village of Houston but now living in Lochwinnoch with his wife and two children, he has a particular interest in the role of landscape in both shaping human history and in offering a means for us, today, to connect with our past. Combining his interests in history, landscape and photography, Echoes from Calder Glen is the first in a three-part series which will explore the historical landscape of Lochwinnoch; future installments will document Lochwinnoch’s northern muirlands, situated directly above the glen, and its lochs and wetlands, below. Other upcoming works include A Glance Ayont the Grave: a study of Lochwinnoch’s historical connections to the Caribbean during the era of colonial slavery.