Old Photograph Tryst Road Stenhousemuir Scotland

Old photograph of cottages, houses and people on Tryst Road in Stenhousemuir located two miles North West of Falkirk, Scotland. The " stone house " from which the village took its name was a Roman building on the north of the Carron River Valley known in later centuries as King Arthur's oven. Stenhousemuir became home to the Falkirk Tryst one of the largest gatherings of livestock farmers and buyers from all over Scotland and beyond. These Trysts lasted from 1785 until the late 19th century.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Photograph Stripeside Denny Scotland

Old photograph of the bridge, houses and people in Stripeside by Denny located seven miles West Falkirk, Scotland. There was a lint mill here becoming a chemical works in 1837 to be called Custonhall Chemical Works in 1865 owned by James Benny.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Photograph Constitutional Club Johnstone Scotland

Old photograph of the Constitutional Club in Johnstone located three miles West of Paisley, Scotland.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Photograph Crawick Scotland

Old photograph of Crawick by Sanquhar north of Dumfries, Scotland The village of Crawick had once been known as a haven for witches. One story is that the parish minister’s cows began making milk that would not churn. He sent one of his servants to tie a branch from a rowan tree over the doorway of the witch’s house in Crawick, which ended the curse. Work came in the village came in the form of a carpet factory, along the Crawick Water. At first, it consisted of a few separate looms, but by the 1830s, there was a large factory, boasting 54 looms at its height. The carpets made here were world renowned for their durability and orders came from as far away as South America. A large proportion of their total production was shipped to Valparaíso, Chile. The location along the Crawick River was also the home of John Rigg’s forge. In the late 18th century, he had been persuaded to move here from Dalston in Cumbria, England, to supply tools for the coalfields. He made a damhead opposite the village of Crawick and used the water to power his factory. The water separated the parishes of Sanquhar and Kirkconnel, and although the forge was on the Kirkconnel side, Sanquhar always laid claim to it. The forge produced shovels and other tools into the 20th century. Between 1885 and 1916, Crawick even had its own post office, known as Crawick Bridge; it also had gas powered street lights two years before the rest of the town of Sanquhar. All of this came to a sad end when one of the owners of the factory died, and the others squabbled. By 1860, the factory was shut down. Many of the weavers moved to larger cities to keep their trade. The forge, and the nearby colliery, kept people employed until the 20th century. During the period just before World War II many people moved away, and the little hamlet was all but deserted. Only a few homes stand there now, the occupants little aware of the industries that once thrived there.


All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.

Old Photograph George Spence Melvin Scotland

Old photograph of George Spence Melvin who was born in Old Machar in Aberdeen, Scotland. Known as G.S. Melvin, he was born 20 February 1886, and died 2 December 1946. He was a famous Scottish pantomime dame and comedian. He became famous for his song " I'm Happy When I'm Hiking " which in the 1930s was adopted as the hikers' anthem. He drowned in the river Thames at Datchet in Buckinghamshire, now Berkshire, England, whilst appearing at the Drury Lane Theatre



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.