A modern photo sent in by Tracey Lees. Tracey said, “hi, i read your page on a regular basis and the other day i was out the back door of the Priestfield community hall when i noticed a few planters there all dated from 1903 . I’ve taken a pic of them but just wondering if it would be something that you would be interested in for your page. As far as i’m aware they were attached to the side of the old co-op building before the community hall was built and once the perimeter fence was installed they became part of the Priestfield halls garden.”
Pictured here is the old Rainwater overflow collection box. It would have been attached to the end of the gutters at high level on the old co-op building. It would collect excess water and store it temporarily at times of heavy rainfall, for disposal into the downpipe. They’re still common on large buildings today. Usually cast iron, the 1903 date on this particular box fits in well with the tenement construction at that location on Main Street, which are known to have been built before 1910. It may be minor, a tiny part of history, but somebody sometime has had the vision to salvage a piece of the past, and i like that. 😉