This double storey ruin at Parkneuk, Auchentibber was unknown in name to me, until lately, when Alex Rochead happened to be discussing it with Isabel Fleming of East Kilbride, who confirmed it was called Mckay’s Building or Mckay’s Land. The name was in danger of being forgotten, so it is with sincere thanks to Isabel for confirming this.
Mckays Building, Auchentibber by A Rochead
In 1891, her family, the Leitch’s lived there as shown in the census of that year. George Leitch and his wife lived there with their 8 children, so it must have been a busy household. Importantly, a clue to the owner of the building is also on the census, with Robert Mckay shown as a 50 year old also living there. Born in 1841, Robert Mckay died in 1901, single and unmarried, but it is clear that the building went on to be remembered and known as Mckay’s Land for some time thereafter. Robert is noted on the 1891 census as being “the gatekeeper”, but i don’t think this refers to the nearby Italian gardens, as they hadn’t been built at that time and it is likely that Robert was perhaps a gatekeeper of the nearby collieries or quarries.
The building sat on the roadside and had a small garden around it. Behind it was a quarry which sat between Broomhouse and McKays Building. Mckay’s Building is not shown on 1859 maps, but is on 1898 maps, confirming a window of time for its construction between 1860 and 1898. It’s still shown on 1936 maps as being lived in and used, and on that map several outbuildings, most likely toilets, are shown at the back. However, today, nobody has lived there for several decades as shown in this modern photo taken by Alex.
1891 Census Robert Mckay
My father lived in this building and probably was born there in 1919.His name was William Smith Borland and was the third oldest of 6 children . His father was David Borland, who was a miner . I think they were the last family to live there.