Seminar: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: The Inheritance Heist and other stories from Georgian Kintyre

Join us in person at Cherry Park, Inveraray, on Friday 15 January 2027 at 10:30am UK-time to hear Rob Lee share ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: The Inheritance Heist and other stories from Georgian Kintyre’. This seminar will also be live-streamed and recorded.

A tale of ‘Sexual Assault, Lies and Gold’. The turn of the 19th century saw Britain at war with Napoleonic France both on the high seas and the European landmass. But what of the folks back home in Kintyre? This talk tells the stories of three inter-related Kintyre families; the Porters, the Kilpatricks and the Clarks, and the lies and deceptions told to try and obtain money, influence and sex. The duplicities sparked conflict between the families which, in turn, completely changed each of the lives of the individuals concerned. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Speaker Biography

Rob has worked in academia and industry as a cross-discipline researcher for over thirty years - most recently as The Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence, Biosciences, at the University of Exeter, where he is also an Honorary Professor.

Past published research includes:

• The application of information theory to the Pictish Symbol Stones, which showed that the symbols were a form of writing, at the word level.
• The development of novel techniques for the rapid extraction and processing of micro-fossils, such as pollen, from soil and lake sediments.

Although now retired he continues to work with colleagues at Exeter to develop and use new techniques for ancient DNA extraction from sediments as part of a long-term project to investigate the possibility of Mesolithic farming in Britain, millennia before the well documented Neolithic agricultural revolution.

For the past 7 years, Rob has been researching the socio-economics of whisky production, both legal and illicit, in Kintyre in the long 18th Century. He has transcribed the (illicit) Still Books of Robert Armour, Coppersmith, Campbeltown, amongst others, and given a couple of talks to the Kintyre Antiquarian and Natural History Society on his work. He gave a talk to the FAEA in November 2026 on how to use the different archival sources to research Kintyre family trees.

Booking information

This event is FREE* for members of Friends of Argyll Estates Archives and of Inveraray History Society.

*Please note: Friends must be logged in to their web account to receive their discount!

Non-members are invited to make a donation of £10 at Shop – Friends of Argyll Estates Archives.

Find out more about becoming a Friend here: Become a Friend of Argyll Estates Archives – Friends of Argyll Estates Archives

Muniments Room or online, Argyll Estates Archives, Cherry Park, Inveraray, PA32 8XE,