"Martin Rowley" wrote in message
...
Can anyone with access to the original literature shed light on the
period(s) over which Alexander Buchan based his analysis?

The Meteorological Glossary (var. ed), mentions 'over 50 years', but in
works by Lamb, Goldie etc., the period 1857-1866 is listed (the original
work, I believe, was published in 1867), with ".... account being taken
of certain records back to 1795".
(Don't worry: I'm not trying to resurrect these spells for any sinister
or populist purpose! Just trying to find out the truth behind the
analysis.)

Martin, I can't find a reference to answer your question
properly, even though I checked his obituaries in the journals
plus an encomium :-) on the award of the first Symons Gold
Medal to him in 1902. The trouble is that the Buchan Spells
were not a major part of his work, and not even widely known
about until someone resurrected them in the debate about fixing
Easter during the 1920s.

If the original work is published it will almost certainly be
in the Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society for
1867 (or 1869 which was quoted by CEPBrooks).

However, I do remember reading somewhere that his
research was based only on Edinburgh temperature records
and he never claimed they were applicable to any other part
of the UK.

I imagine someone else will find a decent reference, but in
the absence of that, if I turn up anything relevant I'll let you know.

Philip Eden