Pictured here on 2nd June 1953 outside the first row at Bairds Rows, near Craighead, is Coronation day. Local families having a real good outside party, celebrating the royal occasion, with a bonfire in full force. All the children in the Rows were awarded a badge of some sort – like a wee rosette which was […]
I was recently shown a nice little book dating from 1921 telling the story of the David Livingstone Memorial Church. Scanned kindly for me by Betty McLean, there is enough information within it to be posting for a long time. The book is also peppered with many little anecdotes and interesting snippets of information that […]
Between 1900 – 1910, a row of 12 brick miners houses were built, back to back, next to the Blantyre Police Station at Victoria Street (now where Asda Warehouse stands). This block of houses led into a more open area known as Victoria Place and was commonly known locally as “The Honeymoon“. An attractive name […]
From the Sunday Post 5th September 1926. “On inquiry at the Royal Infirmary tonight, The Sunday Post learned that the Lithuanian miner and his wife, who were seriously wounded in a sensational affair at Blantyre, are fairly comfortable. The couple are Kazimeras Skudauckas, who has nasty wound in the throat, and his wife, Ore, who […]
In 1914, the Housing Commission visited Merry’s Rows to assess the living standards. They concluded and wrote a report detailing: We visited these two rows of miners’ houses on 24th March 1913. They are situated near to the Glasgow Road, in the Parish of Blantyre, and are owned by Merry & Cunninghame, coalmasters. They consist […]
By 1935, Blantyre’s Calder Street was quickly becoming a well known and established thoroughfare. By that time it was home to the red sandstone secondary school and at the junction with Victoria Street, the police station was another prominent building. The street led from the Church (where the current Asda entrance is), past the library […]
The following report shows the harsh stance the owners of the colliery took, when miners were affecting their business, by prolonging strikes. This news paper report from 1886, shows clearly that the owners of the colliery pits were fully prepared to take extreme measures, by kicking out the miners and their families from the homes […]