Kirkintilloch & District Society of Antiquaries

Don Martin: The Railways of Kirkintilloch - Part 2: Thursday 3rd October 2019

KDSA Secretary Don Martin this year re-visits one of his favourite subjects and will present Part 2 of his overview of "The Railways of Kirkintilloch". Kirkintilloch’s railway history is certainly distinctive. It began with one of Scotland’s earliest public railways, the Monkland & Kirkintilloch, in 1826, and ended with a comprehensive blow of the Beeching axe in 1966, surely one of the most illogical closures of that era. Over these years Kirkintilloch served first as a connecting link between the railway system and the Scottish canal network (including ‘train ferries’ for mineral wagons), and later as a significant railway centre in its own right, with a range of junctions connecting different lines. Passenger traffic ended in 1964, since when Kirkintilloch has arguably been the largest town in Scotland without this facility.

In his talk, Don will concentrate on the vanished railway scene around Kirkintilloch illustrating his presentation with some of his own photographs taken in the 1960s.

A train passing under the Luggie Water Aqueduct, Kirkintilloch, 1961. (© D.Martin)

Back o'Loch Halt, Kirkintilloch, 1960. (© D.Martin)

Evening meetings of the Society are at 7.30 pm in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1LF. The annual membership subscription is £10 but visitors are welcome at all of the Society's evening meetings.

Update on Doors Open 2019: Saturday 7th September

The Society contributed to this year's Doors Open programme in East Dunbartonshire on Saturday 7th September by its presence in the Town Hall and by hosting a guided historical walk in the Auld Aisle Cemetery.

In the refurbished Town Hall, the Society provided an overview of its activities and photographs of 'old' Kirkintilloch using a display of photographs assembled by Don Martin and two projected PowerPoint presentations. Various committee members and office bearers - Rita Bennie, Liz Coroon, David Graham, Valerie McClure, Louise Nixon, Murray Reid and Ivan Ruddock - were in attendance during the day to provide information and answer visitors' questions.

The Society's stand in the Town Hall. (© I.S.Ruddock)

The display of photographs in the Town Hall. (© I.S.Ruddock)

The afternoon tour of the Auld Aisle Cemetery started with an introductory talk by Don Martin about the history of the Cemetery dating back to the 12th Century, the different spellings of Lenzie and their pronunciation together with stories about the activity of Resurrectionists who robbed graves for medical research. This was followed by visits to nine headstones of particular historical and cultural interest - a worker engaged on the construction of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, a carrier, a poet, a canal boat owner and entrepreneur, a scientist, a philanthropist, a priest and an engineer now recognised as the 'Father of Television' by the award of an Emmy - where Ros McMeekin, Don Martin and Ivan Ruddock outlined their lives and careers. At the end of the afternoon the twenty strong group was reminded of the history of the Spider Bridge, a right of way that linked Waterside with Kirkintilloch Station in Lenzie, by local businessman and photographer Edward Z Smith.

(David Graham and Ivan Ruddock)

Ros McMeekin at Beatrice Clugston's
vandalised grave. (© I.S.Ruddock)

Don Martin speaking to the group in the old part of
the Cemetery. (© I.S.Ruddock)

Ivan Ruddock summarising the life and career
of Alexander Bain. (© R.Ruddock)

Edward Z Smith (right) describing the Spider Bridge with
the assistance of Matt Wilson. (© I.S.Ruddock)

Doors Open: Saturday 7th September 2019

Doors Open Day for 2019 in East Dunbartonshire is Saturday 7th September and Kirkintilloch and District Society of Antiquaries will again be participating. The Society will have a display in Kirkintilloch Town Hall (10am - 4pm) of historic photographs and information on its activities, while at 2pm there will be a guided walk around Kirkintilloch's Auld Aisle Cemetery. During the walk, the significance of the belfry will be explained, the backgrounds of some of the personalities buried there will be given and the Spider Bridge, which used to span part of the cemetery, will be described. Intending participants on the walk should assemble at 2pm at the cemetery's main entrance at the top of Auld Aisle Road off Waterside Road.

The full programme for this year's Doors Open Day in East Dunbartonshire may be found by clicking here.

The belfry at the entrance to the Auld Aisle Cemetery. (© I.S.Ruddock)

Report on the Summer Outing: Saturday 1st June 2019

On Saturday 1st June at noon, 30 members and guests set off on the Society's annual Summer Outing – this year to Dundee to visit Discovery Point and the V&A. Arrival at the museums at 1.45pm gave us three hours to explore both locations in the good weather which lasted all day.

The V&A and RSS Discovery in Dundee. (© I.S.Ruddock)

Discovery Point features both an extensive exhibition on Polar exploration and the RSS Discovery. The latter, launched in 1901 in Dundee, was the last three masted wooden ship to be built in the United Kingdom and carried Scott and Shackleton on 1901-04 British National Antarctic Expedition. After further scientific voyages and a period as a merchant ship, it ended its days as a training base on the Thames before being brought back to Dundee in 1986 for preservation and restoration. The two elements of Discovery Point combine to tell a fascinating story that one can only get a flavour of in the couple of hours available during an afternoon visit.

Participants on the Outing in front of the
RSS Discovery. (© I.S.Ruddock)

Members were advised to make their way across to the adjacent V&A at about 3.30pm to see the building and to view the permanent Scottish Design Gallery. This gallery provides a representative cross-section of Scottish arts and crafts including silverware, furniture, fashion, engineering and the media and was of such a scale that it could be comfortably browsed in the time available on the Outing.

An enjoyable afternoon was completed with dinner at the King Robert Hotel, Bannockburn, following which the group returned to Kirkintilloch soon after the scheduled time of 8.15pm.

The Society's Data Protection Policy

At the Annual General Meeting on Thursday 11th April 2019, committee member Louise Nixon gave a short presentation on the Society's new Privacy Policy. She had recently written the document in her role as Data Protection Officer to ensure that the Society complies with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR) which relates to the handling and security of personal data.

The Privacy Policy describes members' rights under GDPR, the type of data collected by the Society, and how it is stored and used. It also discusses the Society's website, the issue of photographs taken during Society events and how a member may complain to the United Kingdom's Information Commissioner.

All members should be aware of the Policy's content and can obtain a copy by clicking here.

Annual General Meeting: Thursday 11th April 2019

This session's Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 11th April 2019 at 7.30 pm and it is an opportunity for all members to have their say in the running of the Society. The various activities since the last AGM will be reviewed, the accounts will be presented for approval and the membership of the committee - for which nominations are sought for the current vacancies - will be confirmed. As this is the last meeting in the 2018-19 programme, it is also a convenient time to make any outstanding payments for this year's Summer Outing to Dundee.

All evening meetings of the Society are at 7.30 pm in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1LF.

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