Lomond Park

Trinity

 

Recollections

1.

Darney Devlin

Inverleith, Edinburgh

Thank you to Darney Devlin, grandson of Thomas Leishman Devlin, founder of TL Devlin, trawler owners, Granton, for sending me these recollections of Lomond Park.

Lomond Park is a private area of ground at Trinity, between Lenox Row, Zetland Place, Stirling Road and Lomond Road.  All these streets were built around the 1870s and 1880s and named after Leith ships.  Membership of the park, including keys for access to the park gates, is by subscription.

At the northern end of Lomond Park there are tennis courts and a bowling club.  When I knew the park, from around 1970 onwards, the remaining 80% of the park was open grass used for informal games of football.  Now trees have been planted and local residents are more likely to be seen there walking dogs than playing football.

Darney, recalling earlier times in the park, wrote:

Lomond Park

"There used to be a Police Box at the corner of the park.  The gates of the park were kept locked during the mornings, except during school holidays.  The gates were opened by a park keeper who kept discipline.

There were informal games of rounders, where any number of people could join in, and in the middle of the park there was a grass court where tennis was taught."

Darney Devlin, Inverleith, Edinburgh, December 15, 2006

Lomond Park can be seen on the aerial views below:

Aerial view of North-west Trinity  -  1947 ©

Zoom-in to aerial view of North-west Trinity  -  1947 ©

 

Recollections

2.

Brian Swanney

Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand

Thank you to Brian Swanney, who wrote:

Park Railings

"My dad worked as a blacksmith in his family firm and I remember him carrying out a contract job to make good the railings around Lomond Park which had rusted away in lots of places, mainly at the ground rail.

The method involved iron straps on either side of the railing clamped together with bolts and nuts and straddling over rusted ones from one sound upright to the next sound upright.

As a schoolboy, probably mid/late 1960’s, I recall being drafted in to help drill thousands of holes on a drill press in hundreds of straps of varying lengths. We then spent days on site working our way around the park fitting them into place. It was a crude and fairly ugly repair method (not one that a talented decorative scroll-worker like my dad would have taken much joy from!) but I guess it must have been what was called for in the tender.

 I wonder how well the repair lasted, or if the railings have now been replaced or removed completely *

Anyway, I earned myself a wee bit of pocket money during the holidays, and have some memories of working for my dad.

Park Railings

** There are still railings around Lomond Park, but they do not appear to be the same ones as Brian refers to above.  I see no evidence of the repairs that Brian speaks of.  I believe that the new railings may have been erected, possibly around 1990, though I may be well out in this date.

In recent years, new trees have been planted in Lomond Park.  The park seems to be in good condition now, and well maintained.  The bowling green and tennis court at the northern end of the park are still in use.

Peter Stubbs:  November 14, 2008

 

 

North Edinburgh

Cramond - Granton - Royston - Trinity -  Wardie

Maps

Granton:  transport map 1932

Granton:  small map 1870

Granton:  large map 1870

Recollections

Cramond:                        from 1940s

Cramond Island:              1970s

Granton:                           1930s   1940s   1950s   1970s

Granton, Trinity, Wardie:  1940s   1950s - 60s   Shops

Lower Granton Road        all dates

Muirhouse                         from 1930s

Pilton:                               1940 bomb

Royston:                            from 1930s

Wardie School:                 1930s    1940s   1950s

                                         1960s    1970s   1980s

History

Granton, Trinity, Wardie:  from 1544

 

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