Tillicoultry, Falls c.1880

Photo ref: T363301

I remember spending many happy hours in the glen, which to me was a wonderfully magical place. In those days to gain access to it you had to pass through a rustic wooden shelter with a bench on either side. I believe it has long since been demolished. Halfway down Upper Mill Street was a newsagent’s shop, which in the 1950’s was owned by a Polish gentleman who presumably had settled in Tillicoultry immediately after the Second World War.

My grandmother’s next-door neighbour in Upper Mill Street was an elderly lady called Miss Hunter who lived with her brother. I remember Miss Hunter always wore a mobcap, headgear that even in those days seemed quaint and old-fashioned. My grandmother’s married name was Coulter and one of her sons was called Ernest who worked at the quarry above the mill. His wife was called Cissie and both lived in ...see more

My elderly grandmother lived in the last cottage at the top of Upper Mill Street opposite the Clock Mill. A brief description during the 1950’s might be of some historical interest. A small bedroom faced the front door, which was the only entrance and exit to the cottage. Immediately on entering, another door on the left led into the living room where along the facing wall was a huge black-grated ...see more

I remember a large house that stood at the top of Upper Mill Street between the Clock Mill and my grandmother’s cottage; the family living in this house, I remember, all had red hair. The house was demolished in the early 1950’s and the site made into gardens. A mobile fish and chip van used to do its rounds in those days, and I still recall the stench of black smoke belching out of a tin chimney on its ...see more