Examining the interwoven histories of braille, vision aids, and schools for blind people, this lecture will consider what it meant to be blind or vision impaired in nineteenth and twentieth century Scotland. Focusing specifically on the Royal Blind School for Children (later BlindCraft), which was situated in the Craigmillar area, it will give insight into life at the institution, including the development of accessible facilities, education, and employment opportunities for the local blind community, and the wider context of the history of blindness, and the extent to which Craigmillar’s own institution was both typical and exceptional among other institutions in the period.

Additionally, this lecture will consider how practises and attitudes towards blindness changed over the course of the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, both at the Royal Blind School specifically and in Scotland more widely, culminating in the innovative and exceptional employment and skill-building scheme, Blindcraft.

Featuring incredible images, stories, and history, this talk is not to be missed!