DID YOU KNOW… About Provost Moodie’s Little Troubles? by Dr. Jean Barclay You`ll all know Moodie Street where Andrew Carnegie was born and where his Birthplace Museum now stands. Called the New Road after it was opened in 1781, it was renamed Moodie Street in 1809 after James Moodie, who was Provost of Dunfermline from 1792 to 1807. As head of the Council and chief magistrate, the Provost was an important personage. In `When we were boys` published in 1911, but looking back to earlier times, R. S. Mackie recalls an old saying `Ance a Bailie, aye a Bailie; ance a Provost, aye my lord` and adds that `We heard of Provost Moodie, and of Provost Kinnis, and Provost Birrell and others long after the date of their magisterial service`. Provost Moodie also became Master of the St. John`s Masonic Lodge of Dunfermline and held other responsible positions but, as you will see, this pillar of society would prove something of a headache for the strict and upright elders of the Kirk Session. James Moodie was born in Dunfermline in 1763 to John Moodie (or Mudie) and Clementina Stewart. James had two sisters Helen and Margaret and three half siblings, John, Janet and Robert, born to John, senior, and Margaret Donald, whom he married in 1769 three years after the death of Clementina. James Moodie`s father John seems to have risen in the world. At the baptisms of James and Helen he was designated a shoemaker; at Margaret`s baptism in1766 he was a tailor and at John`s in…
The Black and Blue Rows
In “Update on Dunfermline’s Coloured Rows“, Jean Barclay provides new evidence which appears to solve the problem of the location of the long demolished Blue Row. In the mid 19th Century the Red, Black and Blue Rows were a set of streets north of the Mill Dam, mostly inhabited by workers in the textile industry.
John Jackson, Coachbuilders
John Jackson and Sons, Coachbuilders Dunfermline’s Industrial Past By George Beattie John Jackson was born in the hamlet of Shiresmill, near Blairhall, Fife, in 1885. He founded a firm which, for 70 years, built high quality vehicle bodies in Dunfermline. On leaving school he served an apprenticeship as a joiner and wheelwright with Kilgour and Sons, St. Leonard’s Street, Dunfermline and, in 1908, he acquired small premises at High Beveridgewell, Dunfermline, where he founded his own business, initially concentrating on the wheelwright side of his profession. He had little capital but had an abundance of enthusiasm and this, allied to his professionalism, saw him rapidly secure work covering all sections of coach-building. In the 1911 census, John and his wife, Margaret, who were married the previous year, are shown as residing at 12 Low Beveridgewell, Dunfermline. The business soon outgrew the High Beveridgewell workshop and a move to larger premises at 109 Mill Street, Dunfermline, saw the business continue to flourish. Mr Jackson had by then acquired a reputation as a highly proficient craftsman as he became increasingly involved in designing and building bodies for various types of horse-drawn and motorised forms of transport. The motor vehicles, by manufacturers such as Albion, Leyland, Dennis, Dodge, Reo, Morris and Commer, would be supplied in basic chassis form and John Jackson would design and build the cab and body to customer requirements. During the…
Doubts Cast over Bruce Seals
In her article on the “Cokete Seal”, published in June, Jean Barclay described this interesting item, which is being held from being exported, due to it’s potential historic importance. A recent article in the Dunfermline Press points out some uncertainty among experts about it’s age, but lets us know the latest position from the authorities. An update can now be seen at the end of the article THE CHEQUERED HISTORY OF DUNFERMLINE`S COKETE SEAL.
Re-burial of King Robert the Bruce
It is well known that King Robert the Bruce is buried in Dunfermline Abbey, but the story of the discovery of his remains in the 19th Century and the ceremonies surrounding his re-burial are not so well known. In this article Sue Mowat presents to us a fascinating newspaper article from the time and tells us about the large gathering of Scotland’s “great and good” who were present on the day. Robert the Bruce Buried Again By Sue Mowat This story really begins in January 1807, when the Heritors of the parish (local landowners) and representatives of the Town Council met in the session house of the kirk (the old nave) to discuss the state of the building, which was `incommodious and in bad repair`. At first they thought they would just have repairs done and the pulpit and seating re-arranged. A competition for a suitable plan was won by the architect William Stark and in July a committee of the Heritors was formed to get the alterations carried out. Less than a month later however the southwest tower collapsed, emphasising the perilous state of the building and by October the Heritors were considering an estimate for repairs (£3310 3s. 10d) along with one for building a new church (£3700 16s. 2d). It will surprise no-one who has experience of committees that nothing further was done about a new building and over the next eight years, apart from the essential rebuilding of the tower, money was wasted on a series of ineffectual repairs. Finally, in February…