Every so often on Blantyre Project, articles, photos and information from different sources, collide to form a bigger, better picture of events and this is one such occasion. Taking an extract from the High Blantyre School Log, a report in the Hamilton Advertiser newspaper and a photo amidst my collection (which I’ve colourised), we’re able […]
Tramcar Line Extension, 1907
On Monday 21st January 1907, Blantyre residents were delighted to see the extended tram line from Blantyre to Cambuslang open for use. For the first time, people could travel by electric tramcars beyond Priory Bridge, in the direction of Glasgow. Extending the line into Cambuslang allowed the trams to connect to other tram networks and […]
Blantyre’s First Telephone
With over 17,000 people currently living in Blantyre, it’s safe to say between the house landlines, business lines and mobile phones, there’s literally thousands of telephones in the town which we all now take for granted. I recently discovered what looks possible as being the first ever telephone in Blantyre. In February 1907, at a […]
Spotted Fever in Blantyre, 1907
In February 1907, a somewhat uneasy feeling began to manifest in Blantyre when it became known that two cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis or “spotted fever” had claimed the lives of two Blantyre residents. In one case, that of a boy, aged 9 from Chamber’s Buildings on Glasgow Road, he was taken to the hospital in […]
Ellen Duncan at Calderside
Age Dating the Old Tree
I was a little sorry to recently see the old tree in the middle of the David Livingstone Playing Grounds had been felled. This must have happened in March or April 2022 and its willow-like appearance could be seen in many photographs over the decades. However, the tree was isolated, alone in the middle of […]
Blantyre Hospital Repairs
Did you know before the Blantyre Cottage Hospital on Bardykes Road, Blantyre had another Hospital at the end of Cemetery Road, High Blantyre. Photos of the former hospital are elusive, but this map from 1910 shows its location just off Victoria Street near what would now be the junction of Burnbrae Road. In November 1906, […]