The Blantyre branch of Aitkenhead Builders with James Aitkenhead at the helm was known as James Aitkenhead & Sons and it was especially busy in the 1890’s and early 20th Century. It built many of Blantrye’s buildings, including the Old Parish Church Halls in 1893. At that time Aitkenhead Builders employed 26 men and 6 boys and […]
Born in 1830 in Bothwell, James was a founding member of the Blantyre building firm Aitkenhead Builders. His wife, Annie Cant, a year his senior and a relative of the famous wealthy Carnegie family, was born in Limekilns, Dunfermline. The couple married in Glasgow in 1855 and there were 10 children born of the marriage. Two sons and two daughters stayed in […]
When we think of Speedway in Blantyre many people will think, as I did of the track and racers from July 1977 until the demise of the sport in Blantyre in September 1986. Others of a different generation, may remember certain Speedway racers on a National level like Tommy Miller or Ken McKinlay, from Blantyre, […]
“Calderview”, was a building which once stood on Hunthill Road at the corner of Stonefield Crescent. It had the address of 55, 56, 58, 60 and 62 Hunthill Road. There are no entries for Calderview on the 1905 Valuation roll, but the building is on the 1898 map, indicating that it may have been called […]
Attached are the accounts for the construction of the Old Parish Church halls at Kikrton in 1893. Listing the total bills paid and slightly over the £1,350 budget at £1,534, the halls were completed a year later than expected. Much of the work went to Blantyre people and nice to see the Hamilton Advertiser still […]
This previously unseen photo is one of the most remarkable I have seen of Blantyre. I just LOVE it. Photographed in 1905 by David Ritchie of nearby Main Street, the photo is of High Blantyre Primary School in Hunthill Road. Not a normal school day, but it’s polling day. There is so much character to […]