Our latest exhibition, ‘Song of the River Steamers’ is on display at our Heritage Centre and we have been having far too much fun reading through the extensive research folders of Charles Glen. Some of the stories are amusing, some are tragic and one even involves murder! Watch the video above for a short tale of murder on the paddle-steamer …
The Largs War Memorial has Been Added to the Stories Section
Another new addition to our ‘Stories’ section is the Largs War Memorial. Dedicated on the 19th of September, 1921 the memorial features three soldiers carved from white freestone by sculptor William Kellock Brown. The statue bears the names of 85 men who were killed in the First World War and 67 who were killed in the Second World War. You …
PS Waverley has Been Added to the Stories Section
The legendary paddle steamer PS Waverley is now in the Stories section of our website! You can learn all about the history of the PS Waverley, from it’s launch on the 2nd of October, 1946 to it being withdrawn from service in 1973 and ultimately sold to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society for £1. The text, paintings, photos, programmes and …
The Witchcraft Trials in North Ayrshire
We are delighted to announce the addition of a wonderful piece of individual research relating to the whole of North Ayrshire has been added to the ‘Stories’ section of our website. ‘The Witchcraft Trials in North Ayrshire‘ is the latest submission to NA Heritage by regular contributor Heather Upfield. This well-researched piece incudes details of the victims of the witchcraft …
Duchess of Fife in War Livery
You might not know that, on the outbreak of World War II in 1939, most of the Clyde paddlers were called up for minesweeping – some of them for a second time, having played that role in World War I. Several were lost, and at the close of the hostilities only one replacement was built – The Waverley. Those that …
‘Health and Pleasure Cruise’
Our latest exhibition ‘Song of the River Steamers‘ is well underway and we are still finding gems in the collection of Charles Glen! While going through the wealth of resources and research of Charles Glen we’ve found this advertisement for a Health and Pleasure Cruise aboard the Duchess of Argyll in 1938. We do think it looks like great fun, …
‘Song of the River Steamers’ at the North Ayrshire Heritage Centre
All aboard for our new exhibition! ‘Song of the River Steamers‘ is now on display at our Heritage Centre in Saltcoats and features a wide variety of objects including models, paintings, brochures and more from the collection of Charles Glen. His collection was kindly donated to us in 2018 and was recently on display at Millport. The new exhibition is …
New ‘Cumbrae Queen’ Exhibition at the Museum of the Cumbraes
We have a new exhibition on display at Garrison House, Millport and it is all about a Cumbrae tradition that dates back to 1964: the Cumbrae Queen! For the last 60 years a different girl has been crowned Cumbrae Queen annually and the exhibition showcases the history of this tradition. Come along and enjoy video interviews with former queens and …
New and Unusual Exhibition Finished
Our exhibition ‘New and Unusual‘ has now officially ended and we are in the process of installing our new exhibition ‘Song of the Clyde River Steamers’ featuring artworks by Charles Glen, which document the history of steamers on the Clyde. We are still in the change-over phase but feel free to pop in and see the new exhibition take shape!
What Are The Odds?
Back in November 2023, Heather Upfield from Kilwinning Heritage, was in correspondence with Bob Farace from Clinton, Connecticut, USA about a painting relating to Kilwinning. In December 2023, she was in correspondence with Brett Hamm from Leduc, Alberta, Canada, about a Kilwinning-made James Blair longcase clock. Both have ancestors in Kilwinning and Dalry, and in the excitement of the post …