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Ashfield
Ashfield maps
Historic maps of Ashfield and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Ashfield maps
Ashfield photos
We have no photos of Ashfield, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Dunblane| Bridge Of Allan| Doune| Ochtertyre| Braco| Menstrie| Alva
Ashfield area books
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Memories of Ashfield
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Perthshire memories
The
The bridge from which this photograph was taken was a "humpitty-backed" stone bridge where a pair of arches spanned the river and a smaller arch crossed the "lade". The bridge was in service from about 1840 until the new bridge was constructed in about 1954. The strange outlook is caused by the semi-damming of the Allan Water to take off water for the "Kork'n'Seal" factory which used the water to drive its machinery. The water which did not roll over the edge was carried and concentrated along the "lade" (which I think means "lead") and finally into a canal which dropped into the factory. I learned to swim in the lade. Not only was it cold (brrrr!) but it flowed swiftly and was controlled by a pair of sluice gates which regulated the flow to the machinery of the factory some 500 yards away. The "lade-mans" cottage was immediately adjacent to the sluice gates and of course we were not allowed to swim there given how dangerous it was. Of... Read more
A Magnificent View - A Chosen One.
Sixty-four years after the photograph was taken, little had changed when my father Donald Macdonald a resident of Bridge of Allan was buried at the Logie Kirk graveyard just the Ochil's side of the Craig. My Dad was a bus driver for Alexander's and on the day of his burial the roads to Logie Kirk were jammed with single and double-decker buses from Alexanders as almost the entire staff of the Stirling depot attended to pay their respects. I was there in support of my mother and little brother Ian. I was in uniform as I was stationed at RAF Wattisham in Suffolk and had just spent the night in a train to get back to see him before he died. I failed. I saluted over his grave as he had been in the RAF during the war.
This view of Bridge of Allan is a poignant reminder to me of my father. My little brother Ian was born in sight of the Craig at Airthrey Castle on 20th... Read more
The Old Hydro Hotel.
In 1952 this beautiful hotel was owned by the Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society (SCWS) and represented a weekend retreat for people who could afford it. I'm not very sure what that meant but that's how it was told to me by someone who knew. I remember it for another reason - during the winter of 54-55, I got the job of delivering the weekend morning milk for the local Coop. This involved rising at around 5 am on a usually freezing or snowing morning and travelling around hanging off the back of a "TROJAN" delivery van with up to a dozen bottles of milk in your hands and jumping off backwards when the van slowed at the appropriate corner. Even in those days I realised what a dangerous exercise this was yet, as far as I can recall, no one was ever injured! Two hours later and about 3 tons of milk lighter, we made our last delivery of the day - at the Hydro! We shunted loads of milk... Read more
Doune
I lived in Surrey but used to travel to Doune to visit Margaret & George Paterson who owned Watston Farm in Doune. Living in a city I loved going up to the farm for holidays and had my last visit to them in 1973 when I came over from Australia with my husband, son and daughter (where I moved to in 1963). I am visiting Scotland again in September 08 and look forward to revisiting Doune, Kippen and Stirling where I have happy memories of great holidays. Bette Schoots (nee Miller).
In The House of The Laird.
My parents were 'in service' to the local 'laird' who was Lord Doune, traditionally the eldest son of the Earl of Moray and owner of lands around Doune. Lord Doune owned the beautiful old mansion on the hill 1.5 miles north of Doune on the Callander road. My mother was the cook and my father the chauffeur and I sort of 'helped' here and there while I spent most of my time having adventures on the vast estate attached to the house.
When we arrived at Doune Lodge in 1948, the house was rented by Mr and Mrs Muir and their three sons and two daughters. The Muir family owned the Deanston cotton mill and all the houses that made up that town. Mr John Muir was the eldest son and heir to Sir John Muir (baronet) of Blairdrummond Castle a few miles south of Doune on the road to Stirling. Sir John died and his son moved out of Doune Lodge and took up residence in the... Read more
Porters Lodge Doune
I have been researching my great-grandfather. I found out that he was born at The Porters Lodge, Doune in 1848. His name was John Bilton and his father, Thomas Bilton, was a gamekeeper on the Doune Estate. My great-grandfather changed his name as a teenager to John Bilton Duncan. He had several brothers and sisters, all born in Doune. I wonder if the Biltons are buried in Doune and if there are any descendants still in the area. I hope to make a visit to Scotland one day and see the sights my great-grandfather loved. Although he died in Staffordshire, England, I'm sure his heart was in Scotland.
McPhersons in Doune
My grandfather who was a retired Glasgow policeman purchased a house called "Kibi" in Balkurach Street in the 1930s. I was evacuated to Doune in 1940 and stayed there most of the war years. My aunts Grace McPherson and Babs McDonald ran the grocery shop on Balkurach Street up until the early 1950s. I have no idea why the house was called "Kibi" which appears to be an Indian name and I would be most interested to find out. Other people I can remember were Loudens and Jessie Stewart, the railway signal lady during the war.
