A Stroll round 1960s Saltcoats

[westendcafe]

Was there not also a circus that came to the braes? I think I recall being taken to a circus there - not at the same time as the fair. Was it Billy Smart's Circus?

I can remember The Robert Brothers Circus coming to town at around that time though there may have been others too.

[down south]

What a terrific list, Sam. And what an experience that must have been for you as a youngster, being an insider in the fair world and knowing such a fascinating collection of characters .

Interesting to see what a range of sideshows and smaller attractions there was then, as well as the big rides...any number of shooting galleries, it seems ! I suppose those were the ones that mainly lost out when the available space at the Braes shrank in the sixties; one reason perhaps why some of them started to open up in the town centre instead.

And yes, I have vivid memories of being taken to a circus on the Braes when I was maybe about six or seven. No idea if it was one of the most famous names or not; but it was definitely outside the Fair season, sometime in the autumn I think, and as I remember it the tent was set up somewhere at the end near Hirst Place.

I'd enjoyed circuses on TV, and watched plenty of episodes of " Circus Boy ", and I'm sure I was thrilled beforehand at the prospect of an evening at the circus. But I was definitely still a bit young, and not quite prepared for quite how real a live show would be. I was still a bit nervous of our harmless pussycat, and the sight of actual live big cats in the ring , even if they were behind bars , was frankly all too scary for me. Lucky we were high up in the tent, so at least they were a long way away; but that had the sad effect of making the milder items I might have liked better seem a bit remote and hard to follow.

But even that wasn't as alarming as the Grand Finale, which was a thrilling Wild West drama; a Red Indian attack on a wagon train. A wonderful opportunity for lots of daredevil bareback riding, sharpshooting,capture and rescue, noise and spectacle; the bigger boys in the audience must have lapped it up. But I wasn't at all sure it wasn't all really happening. When the covered wagons were set on fire I quite genuinely thought the whole tent might go up in flames; something that seemed to happen quite a lot in " Circus Boy "....and the arrival of the Cavalry to win the day was an all too merciful relief to me. So that was definitely it for me with circuses !

Susan

[down south]

It was the early sixties that saw the new Braes Road being cut across the middle of the Braes; something I do remember, though I can't be sure of the date. Around 1963 is my best guess; maybe someone else has more accurate knowledge.

The flats at the Quay Street end were already there before that; and over the next few years, the ones along the new road were added. As Westendcafe has already mentioned, similar ones were filled in in place of older buildings along the Windmill Street shore as well. Now they're the oldest buildings still left along that stretch, with newer ones all around them, as you can see in this current view from the harbour:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75995708@N07/6997270241/

This all cut down the space for the fair quite a lot; but it still flourished as well as ever for some years yet, on the sea-wall side of the road. Here's a picture of it from the early seventies ( for which, thanks to our poster Maccate who originally found this link. And of course the bus enthusiast who took it in the first place ! ) :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26164165@N ... 1/sizes/l/

It shows a couple more of the major attractions we haven't mentioned yet. Not sure when the Big Wheel will have first arrived, but I'm pretty sure it was already there when I was first at the fair around 1962.

And alongside it, I think that's the ride called the chairoplanes ? Those certainly went back some way: according to this Herald Files report, they first arrived back in 1922, introduced by Wilmot's, who I believe used to be another familiar name among the showmen .

"July 1922. A particular attraction in Wilmot's Carnival at the Saltcoats Braes is the new chair-o-planes; the latest Continental novelty. "

Just one more reminder of the Fair at its peak: here's a link to a wonderfully nostalgic poem, by our poster Iain Bain : http://www.threetowners.net/forum/viewt ... 236#p95236

But things are very different now, along the Braes. Essentially it seems to be one big car-park, with a couple of supermarkets at one end; and I gather the days of the Fair coming there are a thing of the past. I would guess it will have been the building of those that heralded the demise of the Fair as we knew it.

PS I now have a date for this, of 1988; at any rate that was when Cunninghame council put the Braes up for development, as described in the Herald Files here ; though as that makes clear it took a while to get any interest.

I understand a few small rides did continue after that, at the amusement centre by the Pavilion;all that's left now of Saltcoats Fair. Here's an aerial view of them: http://www.197aerial.co.uk/saltcoats.htm

Susan

[down south]

Returning to where Aldi and Iceland now stand; it seems like a bit of a dull comedown for a spot with a much more interesting history.

Back when I was young, round about there was the site of one of the distinctive landmarks of the harbour , the short row of houses known as Hirst Place: it's very recognisable in old photos, such as this one , where it 's at the far right:

http://www.threetowners.net/forum/viewt ... 839#p95839

It was one of the last to go from all the old buildings in that picture, and I remember it standing forlornly there up till the mid-sixties; being ignorant of the history of the Braes, I thought it had been part of a longer street, and wondered why it had been left when the rest was gone. But it wasn't there for much longer; a post or two later in that same topic I linked to, there's a 1960s postcard which appears to show it in the process of demolition.

But Hirst Place itself was relatively new, having been built only in the late 19th century ; and I'm pretty certain ( and I'm sure Sam will be able to confirm this )that it was built on the site of the old South Salt Pans; just one of the Saltcoats industries, that used to thrive on the Braes in days gone by. This I think is the saltworks that used to stand there; it closed in around 1874.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nayesterdays/6347458870/

Suppose it's a fair exchange, since supermarkets seem to be about the only thriving industry nowadays....

Susan

[down south]

More about the history of Saltcoats Saltpans here.

And beside them even into the later 19th century, there still remained something of the other old Saltcoats Braes industry of ship building and repairing:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nayesterdays/6302301796/

You can see the boat dock they used , and the Saltpans as well, marked on this map from around the same date:

http://maps.nls.uk/os/25inch/view/?sid= ... 2&layers=B

And if you're thinking it looks a bit strange, it's showing only the part of Saltcoats that belongs to Stevenston Parish; there's an equivalent one of the Ardrossan Parish side on the same site which shows some of the same details.

Saltcoats shipbuilding by then was nothing like it had been at its peak, of course; which was back in the days of the late 18th century, before the building of Ardrossan Harbour led to most of the industry decamping to there instead. Back then there were three thriving yards along the Braes , employing approaching 200 men; Chapter 7 of Old and New gives a lot of the detail on this, and the later smaller-scale revivals. I'd guess the Shearers he mentions there were the same family who later founded the famous Ardrossan yard Barr and Shearer.

No sign on the maps by later of the creek the earlier yards clustered round and launched into, that also marked the boundary between Eglinton and Auchenharvie territory; but it surely will have run along the dividing line between the parishes. And following a watercourse from further up, could well also explain the strange windings of that line through the town.

Susan

[morag]

Susan..I think you need a visit back. You have opened- provided, and given so many links..things I didn't know existed...but I realise that miight not be a good thing...though I never fail to enjoy 'going home '

[down south]

Thanks, Morag, for those generous thoughts. But if I was back in Saltcoats I might discover all the mistakes I've made in the Stroll, and have to start again...that would never do .

But of course I can't claim credit for such links as " Old and New ", which is readily available to all right here on Threetowners; and full of good things it is too. In fact while looking in there further I've come across something that seems to solve an earlier question I failed to get a really satisfactory answer to.

Remember how back on page 80 I wondered about the dykes after which Laighdykes, Dykesmains, etc were named ? Well, at the start of chapter 16 I find the author describing Saltcoats as it was at a very long-gone era (when even Dockhead Street was still just a " wild stretch of shore " ! ) , and stating that "The boundary line between the lands of Cuninghame and Eglinton formed a sinuous line of dykes across the central parks of the village. "

I knew I had it in the back of my mind that I'd seen something, somewhere, about old dykes. Though if the Laighdykes area ones were among them, it suggests that the land boundary in that area at least was more towards the Ardrossan/Saltcoats border, than along the parish line.

However, there's certainly confirmation in that chapter too, of a burn that fits the bill exactly for the parish divide to have followed; called the Flush, and running from the heights of Kyleshill and down what would later be Countess St. Long-vanished, it's clear, by the author's day, let alone ours.

Susan

[Penny Tray]

Susan,

Last night, by chance, I came across a publication, 'SCOTS WORTHIES', which contained "a brief historical account of the most eminent noblemen, gentlemen, ministers, and others, who testified or suffered for the cause of reformation in Scotland." Included amongst those listed was JAMES MITCHELL, a minister and son of JAMES MITCHELL of DYKES in the Parish of Ardrossan. The former was born in 1621.

Tonight, looking at the selection of historical maps you recently posted DYKES appears to have been located North of the the present Border Cross Roads and West of the present High Road. In other words probably on the land our age group would have known as Laighdykes Playing fields.

"Laigh", I think, means "low" in old Scots and this maybe means there was a Low Dykes building as well as a Main Dykes or Dykes Main building (the home of the Mitchells), etc, around this area.

[down south]

Thanks very much for that, PT. The name obviously goes back quite some way, whatever the exact source of it.

But time to get back to the Harbour.The story of which begins in 1684, when the construction of it started ; just one of the many enterprises of Robert Cuninghame , the laird of Auchenharvie at that time.

The first harbour built at that stage extended out only as far as the jetty at right angles to the main pier, that encloses the inner basin. The further extension out beyond it along the Shott reef, that presumably was intended to allow the docking of bigger vessels, wasn't added till 1797. It took sixteen long years to complete that first effort, at what was then a princely cost of £1000, and represented quite a financial struggle, particularly as the laird was also investing heavily in starting up both the salt pans, and the coal mines on his estate.

But it paid off in the end, in the time of his heir and nephew, another Robert, who was able to create even more ambitious schemes, including the first canal in Scotland. There's a brief summary of their activities in the article below, for which much thanks to the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, where it appeared in the early 1970s. We've also had some more detailed discussions about the canal in these two topics: http://www.threetowners.net/forum/viewt ... 915#p67915 and
http://www.threetowners.net/forum/viewt ... 987#p87987

And this won't be the last we hear of these old industries when the Stroll ( as it soon will ) heads on into Stevenston Parish territory up at the eastern end of the town.

Susan



ROBERT CUNINGHAME OF AUCHENHARVIE

There were actually three of them — the first brought the family to Ayrshire and the other two between them started their own industrial revolution in Stevenston and Saltcoats.

Sir Robert Cuninghame, physician in Scotland to Charles II and a descendant of the Glencairn family, bought the Barony of Stevenston in 1656. He had been taken prisoner at the battle of Worcester and had been a prisoner for a short time in the Tower of London.

The estates passed to his nephew, Robert, who immediately began to set about improving his inheritance. He began coalmining operations in Stevenston but it was a primitive industry in these days and the coal was brought to the surface in creels, carried by the wives and children of the miners. Soon the Stevenston mines were working twelve seams of coal and Cuninghame began to look around for markets.

The first thing he did was to reintroduce the salt making industry to Saltcoats. He built pans and used the dross from his pits to evaporate the water.In 1684 he began to construct Saltcoats Harbour, a task which took 16 years to complete as the winter storms invariably washed away the progress made during the summer.

This was an extremely costly project so Cuninghame asked the Scottish Parliament for a grant. They gave him for 20 years the excise duty on ale and beer sold in the parish of Stevenston. Seven years later he got the duty on brandy and "aquavitae" sold in the parishes of Stevenston and Ardrossan. This was not made without charge however, and Cuninghame had to pay £468 a year for the right to collect.

But even these government grants were not enough and Cuninghame was forced to sell Kerelaw to the Hamiltons and Ardeer to Patrick Warner to enable his projects to continue.

In 1708 Cuninghame built Seabank, which was later called Auchenharvie. He died in 1715.

His enterprises failed after his death. The pits and saltpans were operated for a time by shipmasters in Saltcoats and it was during the time they were in control that an engine was built in the house which still stands opposite Auchenharvie. It was only the second engine built in Britain, but it failed to pump water from the pits.

But in 1770 Robert Reid Cuninghame appeared on the scene. He was a nephew of the second Robert and he took over the enterprises started by his uncle and a new era of prosperity began for the district. He restarted mining in partnership with Patrick Warner.

They built a canal from the Stevenston pits to Saltcoats Harbour, the first commercial waterway in Scotland. It was two and a quarter miles long, four feet deep and it made the transport of coal much easier. It followed the line of Canal Street and from the terminus coal was carted to the harbour. To avoid a toll on the number of carts going to the harbour Cuninghame later built a short railway to the harbour. He even planned an underground canal to join two of the pits.

These were prosperous times for the district. The coal was exported to Ireland and in 15 years 64 ships were built al Saltcoats. The town also had a ropeworks, a brewery and a distillery.

In eight years the population of Saltcoats rose from 1880 to 2400. Wages were good, compared with the cost of living, and the whole of North Ayrshire owed a debt to the Cuninghames who brought industry and prosperity to the families living there.

[down south]

Just thinking, we mustn't cheer too loudly for the Cuninghames; after all they were profiting from mining conducted under horrendous conditions, particularly for the women and girls who had to descend into the mines and climb out carrying their menfolks' coal in heavy creels on their backs; I only recently read some eyewitness descriptions of that desperately hard , and literally back-breaking, way of life in Scottish pits in a historical anthology.

But we Saltcottars can nevertheless spare a little boo and hiss for the Earl of Eglinton, whose development of Ardrossan Harbour at the start of the 19th century eventually stole so much of the Saltcoats Harbour trade. Though it was really the arrival of the railway that put the seal on this, and up to the mid-nineteenth century Saltcoats shipping was still doing quite well, particularly with trade to Ireland and supply runs to Arran.

As the author of Old and New points out, " The history of the ships of Saltcoats would require a volume as long as Deuteronomy. " But Chapter 8 of that work gives something of a flavour of those days, and remembers some of the most notable ships and their captains.

None more famous of course, by virtue of being a woman in days when following such a career was unheard-of, than Captain Betsy Miller of the Clytus, and there's more about her career here. Must say I rather feel for her younger sister Hannah, obviously not so keen but expected to follow in her footsteps nevertheless after Betsy retired....

Interesting too to notice what's said about the last resting place of the Clytus; that it was scuttled near to the Bathing Pool, and its timbers were still to be seen. That was written only a few years after it stopped sailing of course, and I don't suppose anything has remained of it for many a long year.

( PS I've now discovered that the possible remains of an old wreck some of you may have seen me linking to a photo of earlier is in fact on North Shore, not Saltcoats beach. Knew I'd seen something of the sort discussed before....but I suppose it was too much to hope for , after all if it had been at Saltcoats it would have been much more famous. )

Susan

[down south]

Betsy Miller and all the other seafarers who once thronged the harbour wouldn't know it now; there's not a boat to be seen here, and just this anchor as a memorial of past glories:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75995708@N07/6982363793/

It was still a lot livelier than that at least, back in the sixties.The harbour was still packed then with colourfully-painted small boats , the last remnants of the old Saltcoats fishing fleet. They still ran small trading errands, like taking the Sunday papers over to Arran, and plied for hire in the season, for sea-angling or trips around the bay, as they had done since the early days of Saltcoats as a seaside resort:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nayesterdays/4456425549/

The Spindrift was the most famous of them; like Betsy Miller it's been immortalised in the name of one of the town's newer streets . And many of the other boats and their owners are remembered inthis earlier topic.

Here they are in a 1960s postcard. And I'm sure you'll also spot in it one or two other interesting features of the quayside back then which will be well worthy of our attention.

Susan

[down south]

Anyone could be well excused for not noticing the small pale column sitting on the quay in the centre of the last picture ; here's a slightly better look at it in close-up:

I doubt if I would have paid it much heed myself, if I hadn't heard mention of it from Sam, who once pointed out an even more fleeting view of it to us. Because it's something I'd never knowingly heard of or noticed up till then; a commemorative fountain.

But I do by chance have some information about it, because I found this old Herald Files mention, describing its first appearance back in 1923; it was obviously another element in the harbour improvements the council were carrying out at the time:

" August, 1923. The Cuninghame Memorial Fountain at the harbour, Saltcoats, is quite an artistic erection. It is now in working order, but strange to say there are no drinking cups. "

It sounds as though it may have been put up to remember the role of the Cuninghames in the building of the harbour. It was only a few years before then in fact, around the time of WW1, that the last of the Cuninghames of Auchenharvie, Mr Robertson Cuninghame, had died, and the harbour had been sold to the council.

I gather though that it's not there any more. And sadly , as far as I know there isn't any picture in existence that shows it from close at hand. Can anyone describe in more detail what the fountain was like ?

And does anyone have a clue as to when and why it disappeared ? That pale stone, if that's what it was, looks like an open invitation to vandals with spray-cans...maybe that was one possible reason.

Susan