Edinburgh History - Fountainbridge

Lena Mary Conway
(nee Moran)

1927-33

Lesley Conway wrote:

"My mother, Lena Mary Conway (nee Moran), was born in Fountainbridge on 6 December 1927. She is now the eldest living member of the Moran clan.

She now lives in Sydney, Australia, after first immigrating to Melbourne, Australia in 1960."

Lena Mary Conway's memories (recorded for her by her daughter, Lesley Conway, now living in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia):

My Fountainbridge Home

"I was born at 10 Freer Street, Fountainbridge, a but and ben with one room and a bedroom upstairs. It consisted of a kitchen with a fireplace with the other room, being the bedroom.

Due to a lack of space, my parents' bed went across the doorway. I can remember crawling under their bed to get into the bed I shared with elder siblings, Peter, Rose and Isa."

Primary School

"I went to Tollcross Primary School. I remember my first day at school, getting up in the pitch black and being given a cup of tea to drink whilst sitting at one end of the fender in front of the fire."

Vaccination

"My earliest memory is of getting a vaccination when I was about two years old. It turned septic and was still purple when I married, some twenty years later."

Granny Malone

"Granny Malone lived on the corner of Grove Street at number 90, right at the top, above the pawn shop stair. Her full name was Rose Ann Malone (nee Kane). She was a fruit vendor, selling her wares from a cart.

All the bairns would go to Granny Malone’s on a Sunday morning. The grandparents would be watching for them coming and as soon as they saw them would shout: 'Here come the bairns!'.

Granny Malone and Grandad use to lift the bairns over the bunker to look out the window. Granny Malone used to go to the “jug bar” for a wee snifter."

Grandad

"Grandad (Johnny) Malone was a nice man, small and slight with nice features. He died when I was eight.

He only had one leg and told the bairns he had had an accident at a school he was helping to build. In actual fact, he was blind drunk and fell asleep with his leg in the fire – he was burnt to the bone and got gangrene."

Granny's Brother

"Granny Malone’s brother, Pat Kane, lived in Brandfield Street just off Grove Street. He was cross-eyed. His wife’s name was Peggy, and they had very clever bairns! One of them became a pilot."

Cousin Cathy

"Auntie Susie and Uncle Alfie used to live in Fountainbridge, just down the road from the Palais de Danse, with their daughter, my cousin Cathy McGraw.

I used to ride Cathy’s fairy trike, “Hi-Ho Silver!” while she got stuck riding the wooden chest.

Cathy and I would go to the pictures at the Regal on a Saturday and stay at her house every weekend, from about age 6 right up until being a teenager.

Cathy would give me her slippers as soon as I arrived and generally treated me like a queen. No wonder I liked going over there!"

Christmas

"For Christmas one year, I got black stockings, as well as the usual orange and apple in my stocking. I was that excited! Another year, the gift was a school case.

Only the two youngest of the Moran clan received presents, so presents at Christmas were the exception rather than the rule – how different, today."

Work

"My mother worked at the North British Rubber mill as a golf ball maker.

At this time, there were five breweries in Fountainbridge. I didn’t notice the smell but visitors would comment on the smell of rubber and hops mixed with the smell of sweeties from McKay's sweetie works.

One of my Dad's jobs, when he was working, was in the brewery and he used to go to work with a hot water bottle strapped to his belly and come home at night, with the bottle filled with beer. They also used sugar cane in the brewery and he would sometimes come home with a piece of clear sugar cane and hand it out as a sweetie."

Asa Wassa

"I can remember Asa Wassa (or as we called him, Isi Wazzy), the rag and bone man. Even after we moved to Niddrie, my mother often gave me a bundle of rags to take to Asa in exchange for a few pennies. I recall his premises as being opposite McKay's sweetie works."

Food and Drink

"We used to like the 'soor dook', the buttermilk from the milkman. He used to come around with a horse and cart, which contained a big vat of milk that you used to ladle out.

I was sent out to get the horse’s droppings and also sent up Arthur's Seat for 'sheep's purls' for the garden.

I used to get Smiths Crisps with a wee waxed paper of salt which you mixed in yourself. A treat used to be peas and vinegar from Kings in Fountainbridge."

Move to Niddrie

"In about 1933, when I was 6, the Moran clan – Peter and Molly, along with Peter, Rose, Isa, me, John, Ronald and Patricia, left Freer Street, Fountainbridge, for Niddrie where we stayed for about the next 12 years."

Sean Connery

"Tam (Sean) Connery was brought up in Fountainbridge. He was great palls with my eldest brother, Peter.

At some stage in the 1940s or '50s, after we had moved away from Fountainbridge, my husband, George, got Tam a game of football for Fountainbridge.

Later, in 1960, George and I were on our way to catch the train from Waverley, heading for Southampton Dock to emigrate to Australia, and we met Tam at Tollcross. We stopped to speak to him. He was the last person that we spoke to before leaving Edinburgh!"

Lesley Conway recording the memories of her mother Lena Mary Conway: April 25, 2007

Liz Gatley, England

and Doreen Campbell (nee Brown)

Thank you to Liz Gatley who wrote:

Murdoch Terrace

"My Great-grandmother, Elizabeth Imrie, nee Clark, lived at 12 Murdoch Terrace, Fountainbridge from 1908 until 1963. Her husband worked at the rubber mill. The flat consisted of one bedroom, a lounge come kitchen and a loo.

Here is a photograph of Elizabeth Imrie with her granddaughter, Doreen Brown, taken on the back green at Murdoch Terrace, around the 1950s.

Elizabeth Imrie and her granddaughter, Doreen Brown on the back green of Elizabeth's tenement at Murdoch Terrace, Edinburgh - around the 1950s

Everything in the house at Murdoch Terrace was highly polished and immaculate. My Great-grandmother had Victorian values. Women in the family were not allowed to smoke in her presence, and drinking was frowned upon."

Liz also sent me recollections from Elizabeth Imrie's Granddaughter, Doreen Campbell, nee Brown, the girl in the photograph above.

Doreen wrote

Smells

"What I most remember about Murdoch Terrace were the smells. The wash house was a few steps up the street. Women used to trundle past pushing old prams laden with washing, with their hair in curlers & turbans on their heads.

Then at the foot of the street was the rubber mill, where they made anything from Dunlop tyres to plimsolls. Next to that was the Scottish & Newcastle brewery. The smell from that was enough to put you off drink for life.

All these smells, put together, were really awful - no such thing as fresh air!"

Liz Gatley, England,: February 8+9+16, 2008

Recollections

Margaret Burns (nee Malone)

Midlothian, Scotland

Thank you to Margaret Burns who wrote:

Grove Street

"My Granny Malone had a system that all her children were paired up with a neice or nephew. My dad, Pat Malone, was paired up with his nephew John Moran."

Milk Round

"My dad was born in 1919 and I think John was maybe born 8 years after. My dad stayed at 90 Grove Street, and had a job with the milk horses in Grove Street. When he was about 14 or 15 (or maybe younger) he went out on the milk round.

John was told by Granny Malone that it was his job as well. John had all the running to do as my dad sat on the cart with the horse. However John at this age thought it was wonderful that his Uncle Pat let him work with him and, yes, they always did have a good relationship."

Sean Connery

"Peter Moran was best friend of Sean (Tam) Connery and use to visit him in London. Once, when Peter was down in London, a 'Red Carpet' event came up and Tam took Peter along.

People were shouting and Peter said to Tam - 'What do I do?' Tam said 'Sign autographs and enjoy'. So someone out there has an autograph of the famous Peter Moran!!!!"

Granny Malone

"Every Sunday all the grandchildren were at Granny Malone's. Each week, Granny Malone told one of her children to take charge and to see to the feeding and to cleaning up the dishes.

When it was my father's turn, the nieces and nephews had their soup then had to wash their own bowls before the next course was served in the same bowl. It was then washed by whoever was allocated the bowl before their pudding was served. So my father only had one lot of dishes to wash!"

Families

"There were about 9 from the Moran clan alone, as well as the Malones, McGraws and Taylors. Molly Moran (nee Malone) was the eldest of the Malones and my dad was one of the youngest. Molly's eldest was born in 1922 and my dad in 1919!"

Still Drinking?

"Years later, Molly was visiting Grove Street. My mum and dad were married and, yes, living in 90 Grove street as well. My dad, who at the time had a black lab 'Lassie' was taking Molly to the bus stop for her to go home.

My dad enjoyed a drink at the time. Molly asked him if he was still drinking as much. My dad, being the young brother, said 'Of course not Molly, I'm now married and have responsibilities." However, Lassie had other ideas and stopped off at every pub on the way to the bus stop!"

Stables

"When I was a young girl, living in Niddrie Mill, my dad would take me every so often to the stables in Grove Street to see the horses on all the different floors. It was wonderful - the smell and all the beautiful and well-cared-for horses. Maybe that's why I now have 5 horses."

Wartime

"Granny Malone received a telegram when my dad was in the war, telling her that he was missing in action, presumed killed as someone had seen him shot dead. So they all thought the worst until the family went to the pictures on a Saturday afternoon and saw a news reel showing prisoners of war.

Someone spotted my dad as a prisoner of war. They ran back to Grove Street and brought Granny Malone to the picture house at Fountainbridge, where the manager re-ran the news reel and Granny Malone confirmed that it was my dad. He was in Stalag 41B.

When he came home there was a big 'Welcome Home' party in a building on George the IV Bridge."

Margaret Burns (nee Malone), Midlothian, Scotland:
Message posted in EdinPhoto Guest Book: May 10, 2009

Recollections

Derek Barker

Scotland

Here is a message that Derek Barker left in the EdinPhoto guest book:

Derek wrote:

John Clark Barker or McMillan

101 Grove Street

"I'd like to hear from anyone who can remember my father. He was born at 101 Grove Street in 1927. He was John Clark Barker but I believe he may have carried the name McMillan way back then.

He had an older brother, Eddie who was captured at Dunkirk. He also had a younger brother and sister. Their names were, Alex and Lottie. His mother name was Elizabeth McMillan."

Derek Barker, Scotland: Message posted in EdinPhoto Guest Book: January 28, 2010

Reply to Derek

If you'd like to send a reply to Derek, please add the reply after his message, posed in the guestbook today. Thank you.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: January 28, 2010

Recollections

David Cain

Lilliesleaf, Melrose, Borders, Scotland

David Cain wrote:

Question

Mrs MacFadyen

"My granny, Helen Cain, lived in Grove Street from 1911 until she died in 1969. Her son, my father, Jim, was brought up there, as were his sisters Elsie, and little Helen who died in the Sick Kids from cancer aged only 3.

They lived with a Mrs MacFadyen (not sure which spelling variant) who ran a restaurant for working men, and took in lodgers. Apparently, she was quite a strong-minded lady, but she took my granny and family under her wing. My dad knew her as Granny MacFadyen.

I have a photo of my dad in plus-fours, probably taken in Grove Street, sometime in the 1920's, which I shall try to find. If anyone can fill me in on details of 'Granny MacFadyen' I should be more than grateful"

David Cain, Lilliesleaf, Melrose, Borders, Scotland: March 1, 2010

Reply to David

If you'd like to send a reply to David, please email me, then I'll forward your message to him. Thank you

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: March 1, 2010