On 4th October 1860, James Clark of Crossbasket, High Blantyre was one of the subscribers donating heavily to the construction of the Wallace Monument in Stirling. The Stirling Observer Newspaper thanked everybody who subscribed. The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace Monument) is a tower standing on the summit of Abbey Craig […]
Continued from Blantyre Vics Part 1 The current and present club that arose from the ashes was formed in 1900, but again as juniors. The team were reconstructed that year as a professional football team. The story is that the team was formed from a crowd of boys who hung around the corner of Rosendale, […]
An extract from my book “The History of Crossbasket Castle” by Paul Veverka On 4th October 1860, Crossbasket Estate owner, James Clark was one of the subscribers donating heavily to the construction of the Wallace Monument in Stirling. The Stirling Observer Newspaper thanked everybody who subscribed. The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the […]
John Cabbell was born about 1810 and was noted later in life primarily as a businessman, an insurance agent of Glasgow. Later to become Justice of the Peace. He was amongst a handful of owners of Crossbasket who owned the Castle for an incredibly short period of time. In John’s case, only 44 months. His […]
During March 2015, at the invite of owner Mr Clark Gibb, I spent a memorable afternoon at Mavis Mill. Along with his friend Alex from Spittal, we talked about the history of Mavis Mill and the highlight for me was to be given a tour around the substantial grounds. Clark took me to the Calder […]
How motoring has changed. This newspaper article from June 1935 was in the Dundee Evening Telegraph. Whilst it records a series of motoring offences by a Blantyre man, the interesting part, is certainly how much times have changed. The article reads, “A fine of £3 was imposed on James Clark miner, 155 Stonefield Road, Blantyre […]
I’m fortunate enough to own a couple of excellent quality prints of Crossbasket Castle. One of these is particularly interesting and in such incredible resolution, that it permits good zooming in on features that may have previously been missed. This 1870 photo shows Crossbasket Castle at the time James Clark, merchant of Glasgow owned it. […]
I’ve been extensively investigating the history of Crossbasket Castle lately, and uncovered something of particular interest. The child of former Crossbasket owner James Kerr Clark was responsible for bringing Stalin to Churchill’s table in WW2!! “Lord Inverchapel, the man who made diplomatic history by persuading Stalin to dine at the British Embassy during the war, […]