Watch, Livingstone Relic
A watch was amongst 39 relics of David Livingstone loaned to the David Livingstone Memorial Centre on Friday 17th March 1967. Dr Hubert F Wilson, the missionary’s grandson (pictured […]
Category Archives: Blantyre Oddities
British Workmen’s Public House
The British Workmen’s Public Houses, perhaps designed in the 19th Century to offer an alternative to the rowdy drinking dens of working classes. British Workmen’s Public Houses offered something else […]
Posters at DLC
Local lady, Paula Stewart noticed these posters in June 2018 hanging up in the windows at the Africa Pavilions at David Livingstone Centre. The artist appears to be ‘Ivan Polley’ noted […]
Co-op Metal Token
In May 2018, Gordon Cook showed me something of interest that he had acquired. It was a metal Co-op token, perhaps preceding the more commonly known Bakelite ones. Although in […]
Water & Fire Damaged Yarns
I recently posted about the Dye Works Fire in 1859 which burned down the yarn ‘drying out’ factory at the Madder Mill, Blantyre Works on the Clyde. In September that […]
Cure of 3 Year Cough, 1858
These days, we take medicine for granted when it comes to curing simple ailments like a cold or a cough. But, in the 19th Century when remedies weren’t so […]
200 Lantern Views of Blantyre
The Hamilton Herald and Lanarkshire Weekly Newspaper on Friday 23rd September 1892 page 4 raised the possibility of an interesting mystery in Blantyre. It said, “ILLUSTRATED LECTURE OF BLANTYRE – […]
Partridge Nest at Blantyre Works
Some excitement occurred at Blantyre Works Village when a Partridge nest was spotted in a field near the River Clyde on 20th February 1846. The field belonged to Messrs […]
Butcher Bird in Blantyre
Seeing a great grey shrike on top of a bush or small tree is the highlight of a day’s bird watching in late autumn and winter. These pearly-grey and […]