Prior to WW1, there were many slums in Blantyre, houses of such poor condition, condemned as unfit for human habitation, which unfortunately many families lived in and endured. One such property at the time was Shuttle Row and that building and its inhabitants is the subject of our story today. In Hamilton Sheriff Court on […]
Continuing a look at Blantyre from the Air in 2021, courtesy of photos by Alex Rochead. As a special birthday treat, Alex went up on a microlight flight on 30th June. It’s something he enjoys a lot and as with his 60th birthday, he followed the Calder down through Blantyre to where it flowed into […]
Next, continuing our celebration of the renovation of the Shuttle Row building a comparison from many decades ago and to how it looks now. Gordon Cook sent over this older photo, which at one time was featured on a postcard. By coincidence, I took a similar view only a few days before he sent it […]
Continuing our story of how the David Livingstone Memorial was created in the late 1920s. An interesting account from 1940s, this time explores how all the artefacts and relics were gathered. “The Memorial in Blantyre now contains a collection of relics which for completeness and intimate personal interest can hardly be equalled anywhere in the […]
continued from Part 8. This is the story of how the David Livingstone Centre was formed in 1929. Today, we continue looking at how the beautiful Tableaux which were once in the “dark room” were funded. The precious polychromatic plaster tableaux depicting David Livingstone’s historic journey to Africa have now been painstakingly restored [pictured] ahead of […]
Let’s get back to telling the story of how the David Livingstone Centre was formed in 1929. An account written in the 1940’s is transcribed here, this time exploring how the Livingstone Gallery of ‘Tableaux’ came about. The Tableaux are pictured in 1958, in the popular “Dark Room”. James I MacNair, Chairman of the David […]
The David Livingstone Birthplace re-opens in Blantyre in just over a months time on Wednesday 28th July 2021. The extensive £9.1m renovation of the museum, cafe, shop and toilets promises to be exciting and put Blantyre firmly back on the map. As the countdown continues, here’s a sneak peak at the Birthplace room, which when […]