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Viewforth A district to the west of Fountainbridge |
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Recollections 1. Colin Birrell Canada |
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Thank you to Colin Birrell who wrote |
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Coal Deliveries Charlie Halliday "Does anyone out there know if there is a picture of a man named Charlie Halliday who had an independent coal delivery business for most of his life. He used to deliver by horse and cart in the Yeaman Place and Murdoch Terrace areas. He was married to my grandfathers sister but I have never seen a picture of them. My brother used to go with Charlie, once in a while. I never met Charlie, but I've seen the picture of my brother standing beside the horse." Alan Halliday "I believe that Charlie had a son, Alan, who also helped him. Does anyone know of Alan? I'm hoping he might have got married and had children. That would be great." Colin Birrell, Canada: April 3+4, 2011 |
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Reply to Colin? If you know anything about Charlie or Alan Halliday and would like to send a message back to Colin, please email me, then I'll pass your message back to him. Thank you. Peter Stubbs: Edinburgh April 5, 2011
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Recollections 2. John Gordon Easdale, Oban, Argyle & Bute |
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The corner of Viewforth and Dundee Street This section of Dundee Street was formerly known as Viewforth Park Thank you to John Gordon for sending me the photos below of the building where his family lived from 1886. The building in these photos is on the corner of Viewforth Park and Dundee Street. Please click here to enlarge these photos. John wrote: |
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House and Shops My Family "Here is a photo of the building where my Porteous family lived. It is on the corner of Viewforth and Dundee Street. There were three shops on the ground floor and a house on the upper floor of the building. Alexander Porteous and his wife, Jessie Young, moved into the house when it was new, probably in 1867. The upper floor seems to have comprised four units accommodating, amongst others, various relatives of the Porteous and Young families, including my mother as a child during WW1." 1. ORIGINALLY: 1 Viewforth Park NOW 57-63 Dundee Street John wrote: "This building was still standing in July 2013, at the corner of a vast building site." Road leading towards centre-left edge = Viewforth. Road in foreground = Dundee Street.
© Reproduced with acknowledgement to John Gordon, Easdale. Oban, Argyle & Bute, Scotland. Photo taken 2011 2. ORIGINALLY: 1 Viewforth Park NOW 57-63 Dundee Street Zoom-in on the photo above.
© Reproduced with acknowledgement to John Gordon, Easdale. Oban, Argyle & Bute, Scotland. Photo taken 2011 Street Numbers When new, this whole building was known as 1 Viewforth Park, but, at the time of the 1886 General Election, Viewforth Park was incorporated into Dundee Street. - The three shop units became 57, 59 and 61 Dundee Street.. - The house on the upper floor became 63 Dundee Street. The Shops and Yard "There was a yard and coach house from which the Porteous family operated a carters business. The shops were private lets, but in about the late-1890s Margaret Porteous seems to have taken over the running of the dairy shop at No 61. The photo below is undated, but I expect it would have been taken in the early-1900s. 3. ORIGINALLY: 1 Viewforth Park NOW 61 Dundee Street Margaret Porteous standing outside the dairy
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Reproduced with acknowledgement to John Gordon,
Street Numbers Margaret Porteous is standing outside the dairy in this photo. The dairy's address has already changed from 1 Viewforth Park to 61 Dundee Street, BUT ambiguously, it can be seen that the only change made to the address in the dairy window is the addition of a '6', giving it an incorrect address of 61 Viewforth Park." Searching for a Photo "I'd really like to have an image of the house as built with the three shop units, so please keep me in mind if you come across one." John Gordon, Easdale, Oban, Argyle & Bute |
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Reply to John? If you know of any photo of 1 Viewforth Park, taken when the building was new, please email me, then I'll give you John's email address so that you can contact him. Thank you. Peter Stubbs: Edinburgh August 29, 2013 |
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Recollections 3. Brian (often known as Bob) McGuire near North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland |
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Thank you to Brian McGuire who wrote |
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Horne Terrace Backgreens "I was the youngest of five children, born in the top flat at No. 5 Horne Terrace. The tenement (or 'stair') flats in Horne Terrace, McNeill Street and Thistle Place (an area now renamed 'Thorneill Village') enclosed an open, common backgreen area where families would hang out their weekly wash. Each family had a recognised 'stretch' (i.e. length) between fixed, iron poles bedded into concrete and sunk into the ground. These backgreen poles had remained, although most of the 'pailings' (railings) which divided the common area into sections for use by each street, had been dismantled for the war effort." Blacksmith "Across the road from us was a working blacksmith's, James McIntosh and Sons, dating from 1840 according to their name board. There, Kenny and Duncan McIntosh ran the business though their father was still in control. Kenny was a solid figure, usually sporting a thick, brown leather apron which he used when re-shoeing the St. Cuthbert's Co-op milk horses. We youngsters enjoyed watching him pull out huge nails from the horse's hoof, then pare it into shape to accept the new shoe, formed red hot at the forge and hammered to shape on his anvil. Dogs used to gather round then, to chew on the hoof pairings! He was a fearless figure and would never hesitate to wade into the fiercest dog fight to separate the fighting animals with his bare hands. Later, the company specialised in welding and later still, one of the apprentices - Sidney - used to assemble stock cars for racing at the Meadowbank speedway track. He'd weld scaffolding tubes to car sides and mount bulldozer-type fronts to the vehicles." Nellie Millar's Shop "Opposite the blacksmith's was a corner shop - Neillie Millar's - selling greengroceries, milk, bread and cakes. We used to play ball games against the huge tin signs on her shop walls, advertising 'Craven A' cigarettes ('do not affect the throat') and 'Brooke Bond Tea'. This shop was something of an institution, serving the whole district and delivering milk and rolls to the door." Industry "At one end of Thistle Place, was Girdwood's, a busy printing company and in Dorset Place some heavy lorries operated out of 'The Woodyard' - early beginnings of the now well known road haulage business, Dobson's. Although it was highly dangerous, we boys used to enjoy 'canters' with these lorries - that is, grabbing onto the back as lorry after lorry drove down Horne Terrace, returning at the end of the day to the depot." Brian ( Bob) McGuire, near North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland: 15 Sep 2013 |
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Brian added: |
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Horne Terrace Return Visit "This year, I made a sentimental return to the street with two friends and was actually allowed access to the old, former blacksmith's shop. I took some shots inside, showing the chaos left behind when Kenny and Duncan closed up. (It's now about to be turned into flats, I understand, looking out towards the new Boroughmuir Secondary School.) I also took shots of the railings/pailings that the blacksmith made for the back greens and a nostalgic picture looking up my old stone stairwell to our top flat at number 5." Brian ( Bob) McGuire, near North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland: 12 Aug 2017 |
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Recollections 4. Brian (often known as Bob) McGuire near North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland |
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In his Recollections 3 above, Brian mentioned James McIntosh & Son, Blacksmiths. Here are some photos of the Blacksmiths that he took there on a return visit to Edinburgh in 2017. |
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Photo 1. James McIntosh & Son Blacksmiths - Exterior
© Brian ( Bob) McGuire, near North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland Photo 2. James McIntosh & Son Blacksmiths - Interior - Examples of Railings
Photos reproduced with acknowledgement to Brian ( Bob) McGuire |
