1915 Barnhill looking west
From John Dunsmuir Collection, this photo of Barnhill was taken around 1915. Looking West to the Calder, the scene is very quiet with three ladies posing for the camera. On the left, the little white houses led down to the Nursery at the corner of Broompark Road and Hunthill Road. The smiddy is just out the picture in the foreground. On the right at 108 Broompark Road is a tenement building no longer there. Paths led into a little meadow behind it.
There was also a “wee farm” around this area (separate from Barnhill Farm around the corner). On the subject of this little farm, Alex Rochead who has a particular interest in local farms, told me recently, “The 1885 valuation roll for Barnhill shows Robert Main living at Barnhill in a ‘House Stable Meadow Farm’. I looked up the 1895 valuation roll and found Robert Main living at Barnhill in a property that comprises of a ‘House, Stable, Land and meadow’. The 1858 map shows the houses at Barnhill have a fair bit of land at the rear.” Robert Main married Janet Cowie in 1860 before moving to the Barnhill area. If anybody has any photos or more information about the wee farm building, then please contact me and I’ll update the story. Thanks.