Helensburgh
Helensburgh photos (26 available)
Helensburgh maps (1 available)
Map of Dunbartonshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Dunbartonshire
Helensburgh books (2 available)
Oban - A History and Celebration
Hardback
So You Think You Know? Oban
Hardback
- 5 photos on Helensburgh appear in 3 Frith books - View photos of Helensburgh
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Helensburgh and Dunbartonshire
Helensburgh memories
Read and share memories of Helensburgh and Dunbartonshire inspired by Frith photos
on the seafront
i went to school at the hermitage acadamy for about a year because my dad was in the navy at the time stationed at rosneath. my parents and i used to walk along the seafront and have tea and ice cream in tony,s ice cream parlour. there are wonderful views over the gareloch here ,you can see rosneath point from the front.
Contributed by nigel holgate
Dunbartonshire memories
on the seafront
i went to school at the hermitage acadamy for about a year because my dad was in the navy at the time stationed at rosneath. my parents and i used to walk along the seafront and have tea and ice cream in tony,s ice cream parlour. there are wonderful views over the gareloch here ,you can see rosneath point from the front.
A memory of Helensburgh contributed by nigel holgate
I lived at Rosneath, Ferry Inn
My father was in the Navy and we lived at Ferry Inn during 1952. There were three other families living there, the Thorntons and the Burtons. The Burtons were related to Shackleton, the explorer. My father and his colleagues travelled to and from HMS Jupiter by launch and we children used to meet them in a dinghy, although they needed only to step ashore wothout our help. We saw the Battleship King George V. as it made its last journey and the days spent there were idyllic for children. Sometimes we played in the grounds of the deserted Princess Louisa's house and often, of an evening, I would accompany my father and Norman Burton as they shot rabbits which were delicious. ...read more here
A memory of Rosneath contributed by First name Last name
13 years old
I moved here with my Mum and Dad in 1953 for a year. My Dad was in the navy then,and served in the base there. We lived in Heather Cottage in the Clachan, opposite the Post Office.
Mr and Mrs Macarthur owned the cottage and we lived upstairs. I used to play with their son Eric in the garden.
We had great fun when it snowed sledging down the hill behind the house.
I also made friends with the rector of the manse,s son only I've forgotten his name. I went to school at the Hermitage Acadamy in Helensburgh. By bus it is about 12 miles. We also used to go fishing off the pier ...read more here
A memory of Rosneath contributed by nigel holgate
Extracts From Helensburgh & Dunbartonshire books
The coming of the railways put Helensburgh into the Glasgow commuter belt, whilst its steamer connections helped it to develop as a holiday centre. In the distance and slightly to the left of the clock tower is the obelisk erected to the memory of Henry Bell, who built the first steam-powered vessel to sail on the Clyde. Another famous son of the town was J Logie Baird, the inventor of television.
An extract from from"Scotland Photographic Memories".
Helensburgh was described as ‘a favourite watering place situated at the mouth of the Gareloch, laid out with the mathematical regularity of an American city’.
An extract from from"Scotland Photographic Memories".
Sir James Colquhoun of Luss developed Helensburgh in the late 18th century as a residential district for those who could afford not to have to live any nearer to Glasgow than was absolutely necessary. Helensburgh’s leading hotels were the Queen’s and the Imperial. During the main season, rooms cost from 3s 6d a day and dinner was 4s, which was slightly less than what the top Glasgow hotels were charging.
An extract from from"Scotland Photographic Memories".
A large number of country houses, many of which were called castles by their owners, have either been demolished or are shadows of their former selves. For instance, Woolmet finished up in the middle of what became a coalfield; the land surrounding both Kincraig and Melville was given over to caravans; and the Strathleven estate became an industrial estate. Ardencaple was demolished in 1957.
An extract from from"Scottish Castles".
A former warship, the ‘Empress’, rides at anchor off Gareloch, where she was stationed
for many years as an Industrial Training Ship for homeless and destitute boys. There
were a number of these ships at various locations, including the ‘Mount Edgcumbe’ (ex
HMS ‘Winchester’) at Saltash. ‘Empress’ was not the only wooden wall in Scottish
waters. The 46-gun frigate HMS ‘Unicorn’, laid down during the Napoleonic Wars, was
still building when hostilities ceased. Building work continued after a fashion, and she
was finally launched in 1824, whereupon she went immediately into reserve at
Chatham. Later she served as a floating gunpowder store at Woolwich before being
selected for conversion into a drill ship. On 1 January 1874, fifty years after she was
launched, ‘Unicorn’ was finally commissioned as a RNR drill ship at Dundee.
An extract from from"Victorian and Edwardian Maritime Album".