The following guest blog post has been kindly written for us by Heather Upfield of Kilwinning Heritage and it discusses the history of the River Garnock, which she has chronicled in a new article which you can download and read for free by clicking HERE. Kilwinning Heritage has just published a new text about the River Garnock, as it flows …
Soldiering On
We have another exciting blog post and this time it has been written by our Collections Officer Louise and is all about a little ‘autographs’ book which was recently donated to our collection. I love an object with a story to tell and this little book that was donated this month gives us so many little snapshots of lives gone …
New Donations at the Museum of the Cumbraes
Recently the Museum of the Cumbraes welcomed two beautiful donations. The first is a model of MV Ashton, which was commissioned by Jim Thomson who then very kindly donated it to the Museum where it is now on permanent display. The second is our current exhibition Song of the Clyde: the story of the Clyde steamers. This wonderful collection was …
HMS Fortitude Is Now In The Stories Section
During World War II, Ardrossan Harbour was requisitioned by the admiralty as a naval base and was re-named HMS Fortitude. “Following the invasion of Poland, Captain Henry Francis Waight arrived in Ardrossan on 27th August 1939 to take up command of the Ardrossan Naval Base, named ‘HMS Fortitude’. Within a few days of war being declared the first minesweepers arrived …
Accidental Discoveries
Byres Road in Kilwinning probably got its name from bere, a form of rough barley grown in the past. In the 19th century the small community of the Byres at the western end of Kilwinning town centre became a weaving village with long low cottages along its length. In the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland of 1854, the Rev. John Marius …
Local People and the Whitley Bomber Crash at Saltcoats
This post is one in a series of posts on the crash of an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Z9362, which crashed into the sea 2-miles from Saltcoats Harbour on the 2nd of May, 1943. Many people in the Saltcoats area knew about the Whitley Bomber crashing into Saltcoats harbour on the night of 1st/2nd May 1943. A large crowd of people witnessed …
Our Singer Sewing Machine
Historic Environment Scotland recently put up a fascinating blog post on the history of Singer sewing machines, which you can read HERE, and it got us thinking about our own Singer sewing machine which is on permanent display at our Heritage Centre in Saltcoats. Donated in late 2021, this machine had belonged to the donators grandmother in 1919 and had …
Passing of Gordon McQueen (1952 – 2023)
We are saddened to hear of the death of legendary Scottish footballer Gordon McQueen, who was born in Kilbirnie in 1952. Gordon enjoyed successful spells with Leeds Utd and Manchester Utd. McQueen made 140 appearances for Leeds before, in February 1978, Gordon moved to Manchester Utd, fierce rivals of Leeds Utd, for £495,000. McQueen had made 140 appearances for Leeds …
Dr John Campbell Has Been Added To The ‘Stories’ Section
Dr John Campbell (1791-1873) was a doctor and surgeon who served the people of Largs for 61 years. Born in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, he attended the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh before moving to Largs. Following Dr John Campbell’s death, the people of Largs raised money by subscription to build a water fountain in his memory. By September 1874 they …
David Shedden
This post is one in a series of posts on the crash of an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Z9362, which crashed in the sea 2-miles from Saltcoats Harbour on the 2nd of May, 1943. David Shedden, Saltcoats fisherman, rescuer and World War 1 soldier David Shedden was a fisherman working out of Saltcoats harbour. After Whitley Z9362 spun out of control and …