Borders Journeys Ancestral Tour to Carlisle

Yesterday, I enlisted the assistance of Ian Walker of Borders Journey's Ancestral Tours to take me to the area where my maternal grandmother was born and raised. I met Ian at the SAFHS conference last year and a couple of the participants from last year's tour travelled with Ian and had an amazing experience.

We left Edinburgh and drove down through the Borders. Ian took me by route of the Devil's Beeftub, which has a prominent place in the collective memory of my maternal family. Unfortunately the rain and fog rolled in just before the Beeftub, so the scenery was missed and we were thankful to have come out the other side safely. The Beeftub has a Drover's Road on the opposite side to where we were, but was a perfect hiding spot for the Reiver families to hide the cattle they had stolen from other border clans. It is a very very deep glen making it difficult to get to and a perfect spot to place the cattle and keep them safe...well, until the other Reiver family decided to retaliate!

 From the Beeftub, we entered Moffat. This area is well known for its Woollen Mills. I have aunts who worked in Moffat, so was able to stop and take a wander around. It has been many years since I have had the chance to do so.

From Moffat, Ian detoured into Gretna Green. I remember going here as a child on day trips with my cousin who lived in the Carlisle area. Gretna has grown into a marrying mecca and in many respects is now overgrown and far too commercialized. The kids and I were able to tour the original Smithy Shop which is much as I had remembered it.

From Gretna, we crossed into England and on to Kingstown. In 1911, at the age of 2 and a half, my granny was living in these cottages on California Road with her maternal great aunt, Ann Brown. I was surprised that this would have, at the time, been quite rural as the development around the cottages is all post WWII.

From Kingstown, we went to Kingmoor. The land that my granny's maternal grandparents owned (25 acres) is now a nature reserve. It was here that my gran was born in 1908.

I was pleased to see that it hadn't been developed and I was able to get a sense of just how large the property was as well as how rural. We were able to get out of the bus and wander. It was surprising to me to feel shivers and a bit of emotion. I know others feel this when they visit ancestral haunts, but having been so familiar with mine, having visited many many times, I did not anticipate the feelings I had. I was also acutely aware that ma granny was no happy wi me and was gi en me an earfy.

From Kingmoor, we went to the Carlisle Cemetery where some of my granny's paternal line are buried. Ian had found the plot and lair numbers but being Sunday, no one was around to assist us to find the actual headstones. No worries. My taphophilia kicked in and I was quite happy to wander around the older part of the cemetery and take in the stones. They are quite amazing and in some respects reminded me of the rather elaborate ones at the Glasgow Necropolis.

 

There are several shrubs with headstones growing up in the middle of them. And then we found this gnarly, twisted tree with it's own cemetery underneath:

Following our wander around the cemetery, we drove past the Grand Central Hotel where my granny's maternal aunt worked in 1911. She was a kitchen maid.

Another drive by was Castle St (we did attempt to get to Castle street, but logistically it wasn't working) where my great grandparents lived in 1901, prior to moving over to the family farm, where my great grandfather then took over from his father.

It was now time for a break. We stopped at Houghton Hall, now a garden centre, but at the time, was the grounds of Houghton House where my great, great grandfather worked as a butler in both 1841 and 1851.

 On the 1851 census, while great great granddad was busy as a butler at the Big Hoose, his wife was at Dykeside Cottage where she was the land proprietor.

I was able to meet up with my cousin and share a catch-up with him. All too soon, it was time to say goodbye and claim enough hugs from him to last another year.....

Our last ancestral place to see was the Railway Station House in Harker, where my paternal great grandmother was born when her father was down in England working on the railway. This is still used as a home.

On the way back to Edinburgh, Ian took us through Selkirk

and then on a ride through Melrose.

It was an amazing day. I know that my tour participants who have enlisted Ian's assistance for their ancestral journey will not be disappointed. Thank you, Borders Journeys!

Glasgow Cattle and Meat Market, Calton

A fascinating stop on the Calton Heritage Trail was the site of the old Glasgow Cattle and Meat Market. This has since been refurbished into condos, but the fasçade has been retained. This was once an enormous cattle and meat market. The entrance ways are massive and impressive

 The Glasgow Cattle and Meat Market, Gallowgate and Graham Square, Calton

 The principle entrance to the Cattle and Meat Market

 Bust of a bull shows the purpose of the building

 Original doors

 Entrance to the original meat market and stalls

 

Cattle and sheep sheds

 

 

Bust of a ram shows that sheep are also sold and traded here

 

The architect for the meat market entrances was John Carrick. They were built in 1875. This was a hub of activity for farmers, drovers, butchers and businessmen of the day.

Calton Heritage Trail

On our first morning in Glasgow, we took a self-guided walk around Calton. This was the working man's area of Glasgow, just east of the area where the merchants lived. It has a rich history.

 

 

The trail starts just a block for our hotel (we have chosen to stay at this  hotel year after year because of it's proximity to our ancestral homes, workplaces and places of worship.  

 

The first item of interest is the Mercat Cross. Most towns and cities (medieval burghs) in Scotland have a mercat cross. This was the place where royal announcements were proclaimed, burgh announcements were made and often where public executions took place. The Glasgow Mercat was designed by Scotland's first female architect, Edith Mary Burnett Hughes. It was built in 1929.

 

 

 

Next on the tour was the Mercat building - behind the mercat cross. Third was the Tolbooth Steeple. This is one of the major junctions in Glasgow. Here, the Trongate, Gallowgate, (east-west) High Street and Saltmarket (north - south) intersect. The original tollbooth was built in 1626 and contained town clerk's office, the council hall and the burgh's prison. The steeple is all that remains of the original building.

 

 

 

Further along, we come to Barrowland, the original market. This market was created by the McIver family in 1921. It ran similar to a north american flea market and was always bustling with activity since it was the one place open on a Sunday. A ballroom was added in 1934. This burned down in 1958 and was rebuilt in 1960. This continues to be a venue for concerts.



 

Next was what remains of the William White and Sons Clay Pipe Factory

 

 

From there we came to the Calton Parish Church

 

 

 

The Calton Heritage Trail continues at the site of the former Meat and Cattle Market. This will be showcased in the next blog post.



Old Calton Burial Grounds

This Calton Burial Ground was established in 1787 by the Calton Incorporation of Weavers. The cemetery is also referred to as the Weaver's Cemetery.

 

 

One month after the opening of the cemetery, there was a deadly incident involving weavers. The East India Company was importing cheap Indian muslins, causing the price of Scottish cloth to drop. This then saw the weaver's pay being cut accordingly. In June 1787, Manufacturers announced a further cut in pay. A strike ensued.

On September 3, 1787, thousands of protesting weavers gathered in Glasgow Green and resolved not to work for starvation wages. The Lord Provost of Glasgow learned of the rally. He and his magistrates showed up at the Green to intervene and quell the crowds, but were immediately pelted by rocks, thrown from the gathering crowd. The magistrates then sent soldiers of the 39th Regiment of Foot who were sent to quell the crowd of protesting workers. The soldiers fired into the crowd, killing three weavers and seriously injuring three others. Over 6,000 people attended the funeral for these men.

Weavers stone tells the tale of the three weavers (John Page, Alexander Miller and James Ainsley) who were killed during a protest for better wages.

When upgrades and maintenance were done on the cemetery in 2010, these stones were placed along a walkway to commemorate the weavers of Calton and the importance of their place in Glasgow's history

 

 

There are a number of very interesting old stones in the cemetery:

 

 

 A tomb with a view?

 

 

 

A wealth of genealogical information

 



 

 

Over the Ocean

 I recently came across my junior jet club log book for BOAC. This was to be a record of our crossings from our new lives in Canada back home to Scotland to reconnect with family. 

At some point we forgot to take the log book so the recording of memories stopped. But the actual memories linger. I was too young to recall how long the crossing actually took, but I recall having to stop and refuel. From Canada to Sciotlnd, we stopped in Iceland (on one occasion it was greenland) and on the return trip it we refuelled in Labrador. We stayed on the plane at each refuelling. Headwinds and tailwinds caused travel time to be lost or gained. 

By the time I was in my late teens and traveling solo, planes were larger and more fuel efficient and flights were non stop. There was no longer talk of headwinds or tailwinds either since the engines were now able to adjust to accommodate. Pampering the passenger became the selling point for attracting customers. Wardair with its china plates, real silverware, warm towelettes and after eight mints won out as the favoured airline to travel. 

And then it became a matter of affordability. So now we cram in like sardines, pay extra for a blanket and tolerate plastic dishes, plastic cutlery and semi-plastic food. But we are willing to pay these costs in order to get home, to re-connect with loved ones, old memories and our beloved homeland.