Rev. RALPH ERSKINE (1685-1752) – SECESSIONIST MINISTER” By George Robertson Faith, without trouble or fighting, is a suspicious faith: For true faith is a fighting, wrestling faith. Ralph Erskine, 1733. There are two statues in Dunfermline which commemorate eminent men. One can be found in Pittencrieff Park and honours the well known philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The other stands at the front of the former church at the corner of Queen Anne Street and Pilmuir Street and honours the Rev. Ralph Erskine. The story of the former is well documented but the question arises – who was the other? Before looking at Ralph’s life, perhaps it would be advisable to say something about his father, the Rev. Henry Erskine, who at the time of Ralph’s birth, was residing at Monilaws, near Cornhill, Northumberland, as this might give an indication of the influence the father had on the son. Henry Erskine was born in 1624 at Dryburgh, Berwickshire and graduated M.A. from Edinburgh University on 15th April 1645 and later ordained – date uncertain – to the church at Cornhill. Being of Puritan persuasion, when the English Parliament passed the Act of Uniformity 1662, Henry, together with around 2,000 other clergymen, refused to take the necessary oath – which would have required them to preach an Episcopalian form of religion – and he was required to vacate his church. However, at great risk to himself, he continued to preach at conventicles what he considered…
Hills Laundry
By George Beattie This business had its origins in Cowdenbeath where, in 1897, Mrs Janet Hill began a small hand-washing enterprise in Moss-side Road. A short time later, Mrs Hill was joined in the business by her husband, Charles Hill, with the enterprise then becoming known as Charles Hill & Co, Moss-side Laundry and Cleaning Works. Mr & Mrs Hill, in the early years, worked a 16 hour day in order to establish their small business. It was with remarkable foresight that Mr and Mrs Hill set up their business in the midst of what was then predominantly a mining area – though it expanded much more quickly than even they could have visualised. In those days part of the business was the cleaning and starching of stiff collars, as the people didn’t have the facilities to do them at home. Mr Hill would boast that ‘during Communion Week’, the firm would do about 1000 starched collars for the Kelty area alone’. By 1908 the laundry at Cowdenbeath employed about 30 people and cleaning processes were becoming more mechanised and more efficient. Even in the early days, there were washing machines of a type, but all the ironing was done by hand – the average woman ironing 11 or 12 shirts an hour. In 1918 Mr & Mrs Hill acquired much larger premises in the shape of Dunfermline & West Fife Laundry Ltd., which had been started in Halbeath Road, Dunfermline, in 1912 – See Note. Two years later, in May 1920, the Cowdenbeath laundry was closed and the whole…
Provost Moodie’s Little Troubles
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 this article 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. An Update on Dunfermline’s Coloured Rows by Dr. Jean Barclay In my `Did you know?` article on the Black, Blue and Red Rows of Dunfermline I asked if anyone knew where the Blue Row was situated. It is very seldom mentioned, but that it did exist is evident from the parish registers. It was in Blue Row that little James Gordon died aged two in February 1852 from unknown causes and Alexander Adamson was born to John McLaren Adamson and Jean Bell in January 1858, and no doubt many other examples could be found. Although Red Row (marked `B` on the original map) is correctly placed round the corner from Harriebrae `A` along the road called `Back of the Dam` new information has led me to reposition Black Row and given me an idea of where Blue Row was situated. I believe that Black Row should be marked `C` as part of Cusine`s Lane, which would bear out an account of 1855 which describes it as a row of `mean looking houses flanking the north side of the Dam`. I also believe that Blue Row ran northward at the west end of Black Row. A revised map makes this clear. Extracts from the minutes of the Dunfermline Police Commissioners 1854-1865 have led me to this conclusion. For example:…
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…