1919 JB Struthers at The Italian Gardens
This photo seems to be doing the rounds, but the original is owned by my family, taken by my great grandather. It has 1919 scribbled in ink on the back. It says “Kite Green, Auchentibber” marked on the back which is surely a reference to the Quoiting Green which was nearby on Sydes Brae. The gent in the photo is trying his hardest to keep still for the camera and is confirmed as pub owner JBH Struthers.
The gardens were behind the houses on Auchentibber road just as you turn off from sydes brae. The Gardens were called the “Italian Gardens” and were built in a mutually beneficial partnership between J.B. Struthers, the Auchentibber Inn landlord, and local workers. Struthers supplied the cash and the work was done by local miners, everyone finished off with a lucrative pint in the INN at the end of the night”. The gardens are no longer there but here’s what’s left of them photographed by myself in September 2013.
