Around Edinburgh - Grangemouth

Recollections

George Smith

British Columbia, Canada

Thank you to George Smith, British Columbia, Canada, formerly Edinburgh, for the confirming the location of this photograph.

George added:

Caron Dock

"I have some faint recollection that the building included the police station but I can not remember what the building was called.

I guess the dock shown is Carron Dock but I will investigate further."

George Smith, British Columbia, Canada

Recollections

Elizabeth Thomson

Thank you to Elizabeth Thomson who grew up in Grangemouth for sending the follow-up comments below:

Junction Dock or Old Dock

"This photograph is definitely not Carron Dock. I believe this is a photo of either Junction Dock or Old Dock, more or less south-east of the point where the Forth and Clyde Canal entered the River Carron via a Basin and the harbour.

There is a cut between these docks and Carron Dock which was built much later."

Timber Basin

"To the left of the Town Clock there was originally a wooden bascule bridge (later replaced by a metalled road bridge) over a canal cut from this dock into a timber basin which lay to the west behind the buildings in the background.

The timber basin was owned by Muirhead & Sons Sawmills and timber was offloaded from the ships in the dock into the water and floated through to the timber basin."

Buildings

"The street in front of the buildings was South Bridge Street and the building in the middle of the photo, behind the left-hand sailing ship, was the Queens Hotel.

The police station was located in a lane to the left of the Town Clock building.

When I was young, (I was born in 1954 and grew up in Grangemouth) the building with the clock steeple was used by the Co-operative Society."

Almost all Gone!

"The timber basins no longer exist and virtually none of the buildings in the old town of Grangemouth stand any more. I think the only exception is the building which was Zetland Primary School (no longer used as a school).

It used to be a very vibrant, hard-working community and the old town, canal and docks were fascinating. Great care was taken in the planning of the town which was very well looked after by the Town Councils."

Elizabeth Thomson - 23+24 April 2005

Recollections

George Smith

British Columbia, Canada

Thank you to George Smith, British Columbia, Canada for replying.

George wrote:

Thanks

"I am glad someone local managed to identify the locations in that photograph.

I remember off-loading timber and its being floated up to Muirheads timber basins, but I had no detailed memory of the dock area, probably because I went there by car.

I am grateful to Ms Thomson for her remarks which help clarify my memories. and will help to make 'Recollections' a worth while resource to researchers."

George Smith, British Columbia, Canada

Recollections

Bill Ross

Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand

Thank you to Bill Ross who wrote from New Zealand:

Location

"I was born only a few hundred yards from where this photo was taken. I would guess that it was taken in the early part of the 20th century.

I can confirm the Elizabeth Thomson's comment that the Co-opertaive Society used part of the building and that the Queens Hotel was here."

1950s

"The area was once a busy thriving community, but the old town which was the original heart of Grangemouth gradually declined throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

The closure of the shipyard in the early 1970s and infilling of the Forth and Clyde Canal were effectively the death knell of the Old town which consisted."

Canal

"The Forth and Clyde Canal was a busy waterway but its use for commerce had really ended by the 1960s.

It was filled in around 1966, although the Millennium Canal project has seen the connection remade to the Union Canal with the building of the Falkirk Wheel."

1970s

"I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s in the new housing developments which were nearly all council housing - Kingseat Avenue, Inchyra Road area

The town council received many hundreds of thousands of £s in rates from the major industries, BP and ICI. It had a huge surplus of funds which were spent on:

- the Sports Stadium

- a large Swimming and Recreation Centre and

- a misconceived and poorly designed new retail town centre 'La Porte Precinct''

Prosperity

"At its peak the town had a population of over 24,000 and was, as I recall, labelled the richest town in the country in the headlines of the Daily Record newspaper.

Massive growth in the petro chemical industries saw many thousands of people move from the west, Glasgow and its environs, to Grangemouth where employment and housing were readily available. It's schools were the envy of many surrounding towns."

Decline

"Everything seemed to change when changes to local government were implemented in the 70's and the town council was effectively removed. Governance moved to Falkirk and the rates monies were more widely dispersed throughout Stirlingshire.

Sadly, Grangemouth is now a shadow of its former self."

Bill Ross, Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand: July 18, 2008

Recollections

Bill Ross

Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand

Thank you to Bill Ross who wrote again, giving a lot more information about the Grangemouth Docks photo and about the history of Grangemouth.

Here is a brief extract from Bill's comments:

Junction Dock

"The dock in this photo is Junction Dock."

The Old Town

"The 'Old Town' around the docks was very much a working class area, and obviously heavily reliant on the business from sailors and merchantmen.

The streets in the Old Town around the docks were gas lit until the early 60's and there was great sense of community. There was a boxing club, every corner had a pub and the usual merchants proliferated, shoemaker, baker, butcher and newsagent.

A plethora of street names and buildings have now been wiped out from the area: A few were:

- Carron Old Wharf, Dalgrain Road (part) Canal Street, Shipbuilding Yard, Middle Street, School, Smithy, North Charlotte Street, South Charlotte Street, North Harbour Street, Lick, Basin, South Basin, South Harbour Street, Waterloo Place, Grange Street, South Bridge Street, U P Church, Timber Basin, Upper Dock, Old Dock, Forth Saw Mills, Station (Terminus) Timber Basins, Wharf, C R Railway Line Grangemouth Branch, Almond Pow, Eastend, Eastend Road,"

Diver in the Canal

"I saw my first diver working a vessel on the canal when I was around 5 years old, in 1961. The image has remained with me to this day. There was no scuba in those days. He had the shiny bell helmet that was screwed on to a heavy collar plate fitted over his shoulders and which, as I recall, came down to his chest. His suit was a heavy canvas type which was browned with age.

He also wore large lead soled boots which he had to strap on over the suit. It really was something that is an iconic image of pre scuba divers. Canvas suit, leather straps, bronze or brass shiny fittings and big heavy rubber gloves which were tied off around the wrist.

The faceplate was exactly like the old photos we see with a glass circle covered in a mesh."

At Play

"We played on the Muirhead an Sons Timber basins which was full of logs imported from Scandinavia for milling. We'd 'run the logs' and often fall in. The basins weren't deep but there was definitely a danger if you missed your step. We kids also spent hours watching boats traverse the old canal.

Fishing with little nets for sticklebacks in the burn was also a very popular activity for both boys and girls."

Outdoor Swimming Pool

"The town also had the massive Zetland Park which was a rich playground for all of us. With an Outdoor swimming pool it was magnet, especially during the long hot summers.

The pool had diving boards and had a sunbathing deck down both sides, as I recall, above the individual changing rooms which had brightly painted wooden doors. You placed all your clothes in a wire basket for which you were given a numbered arm band or token to retrieve when you had exhausted yourself.

Memories of Frank Ifield blaring out from the tannoy system have never been forgotten! 'I Remember You' seemed to be the only record they had!"

Bill Ross, Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand: July 21, 2008