Saltcoats - On This Day In History

Published stories from each town's past.
Penny Tray
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
28 JANUARY 1901

ACCESSION OF KING EDWARD VII

Saltcoats:
The Proclamation of King Edward VII reached Saltcoats on Saturday morning, and was exhibited at the Town Hall in the forenoon, exciting a great deal of interest.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
28 JANUARY 1907

DEATH

McQUEEN: Suddenly, at Saltcoats, on the 26th January, Lizzie Whiteside, beloved wife of Donald McQueen, wine and spirit merchant, Argyle Street, Glasgow.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
29 JANUARY 1902

MERCHANTS’ HOLIDAYS

At a meeting of the merchants of Saltcoats, Ardrossan, and Stevenston, held in the Town Hall, Saltcoats, forthcoming holiday dates were fixed.

Mr. T. C. Banks, Stevenston, was elected president; Mr. R. C. Wilkie, vice-president; Mr. Adam Wilson, junior, secretary; and Mr. Peter Kerr, treasurer.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
29 JANUARY 1907

THE STORM

Saltcoats:
At the East Beach, Saltcoats, the full force of the storm was experienced, and passenger trains on the Glasgow & South-Western Railway were covered with spray from the sea.

In the town the window of a fruiterer’s shop in Quay Street was blown in.

By the afternoon the storm had somewhat abated, but the sea was high.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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Scott McCallum wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:14 pm The discussion about Rocky Knowe has taken place here on a few occasions and no definite answer has ever been arrived at. I always thought of it as the wee park between Reid Terrance, Parkend Road and Guthrie Brae but old records show the address for Saltcoats Victoria's park as Rocky Knowe. My grandfather said that at this time - between 1911 and 1936 - they played near the public park between Kerr Avenue and Millar Road (though neither existed at the time)
The time frame for the housing development mentioned above would seem to add a bit of credibility to this as the housing at Kerr Avenue, Townhead Road, Smith Drive etc was built about 1937.
I hope someone else can shed a bit of light on this - maybe if we could get a street map from the 1920s.
Scott McCallum
Scott,

I’ve come across a Glasgow Herald article from 26 October 1936 which says: -

“Provost Kennedy opened the grandstand at Campbell Park, the ground of Saltcoats Victoria F.C. on Saturday afternoon. The stand and ground have been given to the club by the Town Council to replace Rockyknowe Park, which is being used for houses.”

One also has to consider the Glasgow Herald article of 19 January 1937, which revived this discussion, and which says: -

“Saltcoats Town Council considered estimates for the erection of 162 houses at New England and 52 at Rockyknowe. The lowest offer amounting to over £102,000 was accepted, subject to the approval of the Department of Health for subsidy purposes.”

Taking both of these articles into account, I looked at possible housing locations that might previously have been “Rockyknowe Park”, ruling many of them out on the basis that family intimations placed in the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald indicated that they were already built and occupied prior to 1936 and 1937.

One street that caught my attention, however, was Cunninghame Road, from which the first family intimation seems to have been made on the 22nd of March 1940, which, making allowances for further tendering processes/the Department of Health approval process/the building process/allocation to tenants/occupancy, etc., and then waiting for births, deaths, and marriages to occur, certainly made it worth considering.

I then looked at Cunninghame Road on “instantstreetview.com”, concluding that there are 36 houses in the original street, but if you also accept that Kerr Avenue would originally stop at its corner with Parkend Road, and thereafter only be extended when the land used for football purposes became available for building on, there would appear to be 16 houses (also Kerr Avenue) on that other side of the road – 36 and 16, of course, making 52, to correspond with the number of houses Saltcoats Town Council proposed building on “Rockyknowe Park”.

Maybe something or nothing!!!!!

Incidentally, having studied the A&S Herald family intimations there was definitely a street in Saltcoats called “Rocky Knowe” but nobody seems to know where it was, not even the Map Assistant at the National Library of Scotland, who concedes that “Rockyknowe Park” as a football ground and “Rocky Knowe” as a domestic address, do appear over the years in newspapers and other publications, but he can’t find them on any map or street plan at his disposal.

I can only imagine the answer might lie in ‘old’ Ardrossan & Saltcoats Heralds where the business of Saltcoats Town Council was often discussed during the relevant period.

Also, have a look at the following Ordnance Survey Map - compiled in 1937 - you will see that Cunninghame Road has only been completed on one side with only one block as yet built on the other! In other words it looks as if Cunninghame Road was the only housing being constructed in Saltcoats at the material time?????

https://maps.nls.uk/view/82863078

In the meantime Scott – “COME ON THE WINTON ROVERS!!!!!” :lol:
Last edited by Penny Tray on Thu Jan 30, 2020 5:35 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Penny Tray
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
30 JANUARY 1873

SOIREE AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The annual general meeting of the East U.P. Church, Saltcoats, took place on Tuesday evening in the church, which was comfortably filled.

Addresses were delivered by the Chairman (the Rev. George Philp, pastor); the Rev. George Morris, Dalry; the Rev. Mr. Cairns, Stewarton; Mr. Arthur Guthrie; and Mr. James Lambert Bailey, Ardrossan.

The annual report was read by the secretary, which showed that the congregational finances were in a satisfactory state – the income from all sources for the past year having amounted to £338 11s 2d, and the expenditure for all purposes to £230 4s 7d – leaving a balance of £108 6s 7d in favour of the funds.

During the evening Mr. James Campbell, in a most eulogistic speech, presented, in the name of the subscribers, an elegant Bible and a purse containing 20 sovereigns to Master ROBERT MILLAR, a boy 11 years of age, as an acknowledgment of the zeal, energy, and perseverance he displayed in writing a copy of the Bible during his leisure hours within the short space of six months.

Master Millar made an appropriate reply.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
30 JANUARY 1891

Sir,

SALTCOATS TOWN HALL

The paragraph in today’s Herald (27 January) in reference to the competition for the above may be “nothing but the truth,” but it certainly does not give “the whole truth.” Let me supplement it.

Several months ago the Commissioners invited designs, carefully detailing their requirements, holding themselves not bound to select or adopt any design, but declaring that until they had selected a design no drawing, photo, print, &c., should be exhibited, and reserving right to exhibit all the designs after a selection had been made.

Four months ago 17 designs were sent in, a selection of these was made, submitted to a measurer, and the plans were then publicly exhibited.

It then seems to have occurred to the committee that there was a cheaper method than employing one of the competing architects, and so they proceeded to prepare a scheme or plan of their own, which having completed, but not till then, they returned all the drawings, which they had retained for four months.

The circular accompanying the drawings states “the Commissioners have now come to an understanding” of what they want, and request tenders from each for “undertaking and discharging the duties of architect,” taking their referred sketches as a “basis.”

That they pride themselves on a smart stroke of business is evident, as the report submitted coolly says – “It is not to be expected that the usual fees will be charged or allowed, when so much of the work which would have to be done has already been prepared by our committee.”

And with simple faith in the gullibility of human nature they proceed to disclaim having “borrowed any of the ideas from the plans recently under review,” but unfortunately put their foot in it by naively stating that “the scheme is the outcome of mature experience than the members had when the question first engaged their attention. `Certainly, if four months’ study of the 17 designs for their new hall did not give “mature experience,” and ideas also, it would be strange indeed, but unfortunately for their disclaimer, the adoption in their scheme of several features of the exhibited designs proves more direct origin than that of the naively admitted “mature experience.”

Such is a brief history of the Saltcoats Town Hall competition up to the present, and the public from the facts, may form their judgment on the action of the Commissioners.

I trust and believe none of the competitors will so far sink his self-respect as to tender to further assist this “mature experience” with their curiously evolved scheme.

I am &c.,
JOHN B. WILSON, A.R.I.B.A.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
31 JANUARY 1891

Sir,

SALTCOATS TOWN HALL

Mr. Wilson’s letter in today’s Herald (30 January) fully corroborates one of mine which appeared in the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald of 23rd instant. Since writing it I have been “favoured” with the printed circular from the Commissioners, which Mr. Wilson refers to. I wonder if any other architects besides the seventeen who competed have got copies.

Judging from the manner the Saltcoats Commissioners have gone about “settling” (?) the competition, I am inclined to look upon this new move as another “feeler.”

Through their first move they have managed to “mature their experience,” and with the assistance of someone “behind the scenes” evolved a scheme. Through the assistance of this second move they expect to tap the working prices of the architects, and enable them to offer the job to the party who “matured” their scheme at the lowest quotation of fees given.

My advice to them is to give the work into the hands of the party who prepared the new scheme, at a fair professional fee. Surely they have very little conception of the labour required on a “set of working plans,” when they think that from their crude sketch these can be made out so easily? They had better “mature” their ideas in that direction too.

Seeing that the Commissioners did not strictly speaking carry out the conditions of the competition have the seventeen competitors no remedy?

I, for one, have no intention of offering my services for carrying out their “matured experience.”

I am &c.
W. Burns Stewart,
153 Oxford Street,
GLASGOW.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
1 FEBRUARY 1858

DEATH

At Seabank, near Saltcoats, on the 25th ultimo, Robert Cunninghame, Esquire, of Auchenharvie.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
1 FEBRUARY 1904

DEATH

MELLON: At 8 Green Street, Saltcoats, on the 28th instant, Bridget Mellon, in her 69th year.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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GLASGOW HERALD
1 FEBRUARY 1905

HOLIDAYS IN ARDROSSAN, SALTCOATS, AND STEVENSTON

At the annual meeting of the Merchants’ Association held in the Town Hall, Saltcoats, on Monday night, it was agreed to have nine monthly holidays during the year.

The financial affairs of the association were declared to be in a flourishing condition.

Mr. James Rogerson was elected president; Mr. John Dunlop, vice-president; Mr. Adam Wilson, junior, secretary; and Mr. Peter Kerr, treasurer.
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Re: Saltcoats - On This Day In History

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Penny Tray
Thankyou for all the work in trying to locate Rocky Knowe. It certainly looks as though it was over at that side of the public park. I remember a long time ago Jimmy Laughlan posted about helping to prepare the grass surface at Campbell Park and he also stated that the old pitch was in the Townhead Road/ Cunningham Road area. I cannot find this old post it must have been on an old version of the Threetowners. On the two bits of film from the old ground, there are lots of trees evident in the background and that could be in Auchenharvie.
If only I had asked my grandpa or had some of these folks still with us - it is amazing how quickly some things are lost to the past. I hope that this site can preserve some of these things for future generations.
Scott McCallum
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