Did You Know… …that an elegant granite fountain used to stand in Queen Anne St? It stood from 1860 to 1924, was given to the town by an Aberdeen medical doctor and shared it’s name with a former village to the north of Dunfermline. In “The Lassodie Fountain“, George Robertson explains what it was and why it was put there.
Andrew Carnegie and the Dinosaur
Dippy the Dinosaur and Andrew Carnegie by Dr. Jean Barclay DID YOU KNOW… that there is a vital link between Dippy the Dinosaur and Andrew Carnegie? Dippy the dinosaur has been much in the news lately because, having been a scene stealer at the Natural History Museum in London since 1905, it is now being replaced in the grand central hall by a blue whale skeleton and, like the old monarchs, is going on progress to eight venues around Britain. But did you know that it is thanks to Andrew Carnegie that Dippy exists in the first place? Dippy is a diplodocus (meaning double beamed because of its very long neck and tail) a class of dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago. Experts were aware of the existence of such a dinosaur giant but imagine the excitement when the fossilised bones of one were uncovered by workmen in Wyoming in 1898. Andrew Carnegie heard about the find and decided to fund the excavation, at least in part with the view to obtaining the skeleton for his new museum in Pittsburgh. Because it was slightly different from specimens described before, the dinosaur was named Diplodocus carnegii in honour of its new owner and promoter. Apparently it was affectionately named `Dippy` from the start by Carnegie`s friends. Not long afterwards Carnegie was entertaining Edward VII at Skibo Castle (as one does) when the King spotted a photograph of the diplodocus on the wall. He told his host how much he would like one for the Natural History Museum…
Frank the Tramp and the Minister’s Dinner
Did You Know… ..about Frank the tramp who stole the Minister’s dinner? In “The Tramp and the Minister’s Dinner“, Jean Barclay tells us about support for the poor in 18th Century Scotland and in particular about Frank Weir, a well-known beggar in Dunfermline, and how he helped himself to a meal (or two).
Battle of Kinghorn
Did You Know.. ..that in 1796 Dunfermline`s Provost and some of his councillors were kidnapped and held captive in the black hole in Inverkeithing? In “The Battle of Kinghorn” Jean Barclay tells the story of the tumultuous events of a Parliamentary Election in Dunfermline in 1796.
Dunfermline’s Prison
“PRISON – WHIT PRISON?” By George Robertson DID YOU KNOW…. that there was a prison in Dunfermline until 1950? Take a walk down Dunfermline High Street today and ask anyone where Dunfermline Prison was and it is almost certain, in the majority of cases, you will be met with a shrug of the shoulders, a blank look and the reply – “Prison – whit prison?” Perhaps the reply is to be expected since the prison referred to, having been in use for over 100 years, ceased to exist around 50 years ago. Having established that there was a prison, the questions to be answered now are why was there a prison in Dunfermline and where was it situated. The 1839 Prison Act was the culmination of much agitation by Prison Reformers such as Elizabeth Fry, who wished to see an improvement in the conditions under which prisoners were held. Dunfermline was no exception to this necessary improvement as prisoners were kept in the Old Town House, the forerunner of our current City Chambers, under conditions which were probably no better than anywhere else in the country and consequently, in the early 1840’s work began on a new prison in what is now Leys Park Road. The architect for the building was Thomas Brown, Jnr., of Edinburgh, who had been appointed Architect to the Prison Board of Scotland during 1838. By January 1845, the prison building work had been completed at a cost of approximately £2070 and by the end of the year it had housed 262 prisoners, all serving…