Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners, Penicuik

Posted on March 14, 2013 by kenb

: Free Gardeners Lodge, Penicuik 1908

The Black Collection is a remarkable record about Penicuik and surrounding area from 1880 to 1930. It is named after James Black and his son Robert, who assembled a mass of material about life in Penicuik. The collection includes research and lecture notes, newspaper cuttings, notebooks, postcards, photograph albums and many other items.

Amongst the collection is a large ammount of material about the Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners, Penicuik. The Ancient Order of Free Gardeners was a fraternal society that was founded in Scotland in the middle of the seventeenth century. It later spread to England and Ireland although it was principally a Scottish phenomenon. Like numerous other friendly societies of the time, its principal aim was to share knowledge amongst those working in a particular profession and also to provide mutual aid and insurance for its membership. In the nineteenth century, the latter activity became predominant. The Free Gardeners always remained independent of Freemasonry, but the history and organisation of the two orders show numerous similarities. By the end of the twentieth century, the Gardeners had become almost entirely extinct.

Free Gardeners Lodge, Penicuik 1909

The Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners, Penicuik was formed in June 1822 from members of an earlier order called the Hand Papermakers’ Society (Penicuik was a centre of the paper making industry). The Gardeners were a highly visible presence in Penicuik and held annual walks and feasts, church services, concerts, sales of work and excursions. The Order had very specific rules and members were entitled to wear special regalia, sashes and badges. It would appear that in Penicuik at any rate membership was not very restrictive and open to almost everybody (except, of course, women).

Gardeners demonstration on Bridge Street, Penicuik 1909

Robert E Black, who compiled the Black collection, was an enthusiastic member of the Penicuik Gardeners and at one time acted as secretary of the local branch. His collection contains a good deal of material about the local Order, including dinner menus, press cuttings, concert programmes and photographs of members. As secretary of the Gardeners, he wrote a short history of the Order in Penicuik which was published in 1910. His collection is a treasure trove for any researcher with an interest in this little known but important aspect of Scottish culture.

Page from scrapbook on the Free Gardeners, Penicuik

Christmas Truce 1914

Posted on December 10, 2012 by kenb

Christmas Day Truce

On Christmas day 1914, opposing sides stopped fighting and met for a temporary truce in no-man’s-land. In this letter taken from the Midlothian Journal of 29 January 1915, a Loanhead soldier in the Scots Guards recounts his experiences.

It may interest you to know the manner in which we spent Christmas and New Year in these parts. On Christmas Eve whilst sitting in the trenches we heard a shout from the enemy’s trenches situated about 100 yards from us, “Englishmen, Englishmen.” On answering, two Germans proposed to come half way unarmed to speak to an equal number of us, as they wished to try and arrange a truce for Christmas Day. Two of our men immediately left the trench and met them half way.

The Germans commenced negotiations by offering our envoys cigars and then shook hands. They said, “If you do not fire to-morrow, our Christmas, we not fire New Year’s Day, when you Scotsmen hold feast.” They apparently knew well that the Scots Guards held the trenches opposite to them. A temporary truce was arranged until our people came back to consult the remainder, and as everyone was in favour of spending a peaceful Christmas Day, our ministers plenipotentiary were sent back to arrange the truce (quite unofficial) for the morning. At nightfall lights were hoisted in the German trenches about every 100 yards, in the shape of Maltese crosses, and Christmas carols were sung by both sides very heartily, and I assure you there were some splendid singers amongst the Germans. One in particular sang the hymn, “Nearer my God to Thee,” in English in a voice which would not have disgraced a first class choir.

On Christmas morning it was a strange sight to see men who, the day before, had been straining their eyes for an exposed head to send a bullet through it, climbing over the parapet of the trench and meeting parties of our friends the enemy quite freely, fraternising, exchanging “souvenirs,” a magic word in France, and acting altogether “Hail fellow, well met,” with men who they honestly intended to kill next day if possible.

The truce held good for that day, and at dusk with many hearty handshakes the parties separated to their own trenches, and at daybreak John Bull’s motto, “Business as usual,” was faithfully observed. I am sorry to say our “friends” the Huns did not keep their word for New Year’s Day, as they shot two of our poor chaps who were getting water from a spring, dead. During the conversations on Christmas Day, a great many of the enemy, Bavarians, I think, who spoke good English, declared they were “fed up” and if it lasted much longer they were going to finish it themselves. They asked us why we did not give in, as they had Russia beaten and France was nothing, we were the only obstacle. With the aid of a few English newspapers we managed to disillusion them somewhat. It appears all news as to the true state of affairs is being kept from them.

Our lives here at present are not all milk and honey, the trenches as a rule are from six inches to two feet deep in mud, which is made, I think, of nine tenths glue, one tenth clay, and to see the frantic struggles of some poor Tommy loaded with a big box of biscuits to extricate himself from the sticky mess, would remind you of the efforts of a gigantic blue bottle (khaki coloured) to free himself from one of our most adhesive patent fly papers.

Jamie Gorrie: a Penicuik Character

Posted on December 3, 2010 by kenb

Jamie Gorrie

Amongst the cllection is an obituary to Jamie Gorrie, a well known Penicuik character.

Jamie Gorrie: a Penicuik Character
From the Midlothian Journal 24 January 1890

Jamie Gorrie’s Tree Fallen

Every native of Penicuik will hear with regret that the recent storm has demolished “Jamie Gorrie’s tree.” This fir tree, which is situated in the Bog Wood, on Sir George D. Clerk’s estate has been for nearly half a century the favourite pleasure haunt of the children of the village and round its base they have played together while the boys and even girls vied with each other in reaching the highest point and cutting their names in the wood. The result was that a considerable portion near the top was covered with names of boys and girls, who are now grown up and many of them gone to different parts of the world. The tree is 77 feet in length and two feet from the base measures 4 feet 2 inches in circumference.

From the appearance of the tree as it lies it would seem that its fall is due not to the weakness of the roots but to the fact that the children have been making fires at the side of it with the result that for nearly two feet from the base the tree is like a shell having been burned so much, and the wonder is that it has stood so long. The “Jamie Gorrie” tree in addition to being an interesting pleasure spot for the village children had the reputation of being the highest fir tree in the wood and the one most easily climbed – the branches spreading from the tree at regular intervals like a ladder, and from this cause there is scarcely a man or child in the village who cannot boast of having climbed it. Visiting it on Monday when the snow was lying deep on the ground and everything had the appearance of winter, we could not but think of the many who will hear of the tree being blown down with regret contrasting strongly with the sentiments of one of our local poets, who wrote recently in the Journal about the Penicuik bairns:

Simmer’s come again my lads,
Hurra! hurra! hurra!
Simmer’s come again my lads,
Hurra! hurra! hurra!
Awa’ wi’ buits or shoon
For freely we maun rin
By muir, or dalce, or linn,
O sae braw! O sae braw!
The ‘Bog’ we’ll hunt wi’ glee,
When we come frae the schule,
An’ roon’ the ‘Gorric Tree’
We’ll see nae dunce nor fuIe;
Or doon the ‘sunny knowe,’
Where the wee primroses grow,
We’ll play the auld row-chow
Frae the tap o’ the hill.

About a year ago an old man visited the village and asked to be directed towards “Jamie Gorrie’s tree.” On being shown, he remarked “I maun see hit ye ken, for its the only freend I can mind o’ an’ its thirty ‘ear since I saw’t an’ played aboot it.” Such no doubt will be the exclamation of many who are now for various reasons unable to see the old relic of the past.

“Jamie Gorrie” after whom the tree was called was a painter to trade, but having sustained an accident his brain became affected and for years he was the character of the village, running messages and doing odd jobs for a living. He was generally in a happy mood, but sometimes when he was threatened with punishment he would take refuge in this tree from his tormentors, and thence the name has originated. When the band was out he always accompanied it – ready to assist in the carrying of the drum. Gardeners Walks and Whupmen Plays were his great days, and he aIso attended all the funerals in the district. He played the whistle and triangle, and was often smart in answering those who tried to raise a laugh out of him.

Gladstone’s Midlothian Campaign

Posted on September 28, 2010 by kenb

William Ewart Gladstone

Midlothian Local Studies holds a large scrapbook of political and satirical cartoons from William Ewart Gladstone’s famous Midlothian Campaign of 1879-1880.

The Midlothian Campaign marked the return of William Gladstone as a politician and ultimately to his second term as Prime Minister. Gladstone’s first administration had run from 1868 to 1874. After his electoral defeat in 1874, Gladstone resigned as leader of the Liberal Party, but from 1876 he began a comeback based on opposition to Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria. Around this time, a series of news stories appeared in the British press about the brutal suppression of the Bulgarian April Uprising by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. British public reaction was generally one of dismay, but the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli continued to support the Ottomans, an ally of Britain in the Crimean War and a bulwark against possible Russian expansion.

By 1878, William Gladstone was publishing articles in favour of ending British economic support for Turkey. His dogged focus on the issue gradually dragged it to the forefront of public attention. By 1879, Gladstone had been accepted as Liberal Party candidate for the Scottish constituency of Edinburghshire, popularly known as Midlothian. He committed himself in person to campaign for the Midlothian seat against the Tory Lord Dalkeith.

The Midlothian Campaign of 1879-1880 is often cited as the first modern political campaign in Britain. In many ways, it focused on Gladstone as a celebrity with the Earl of Rosebery as his campaign manager. Gladstone used the newly developed railway system to move rapidly around both the country and the county, giving a series of passionate speeches in different towns and cities. These in turn were widely reported and debated in the national press. The campaign also produced numerous souvenirs, such as badges, political prints, pamphlets and china figurines. Gladstone’s meetings attracted huge audiences, even though the franchise was very restricted at this time. Midlothian, for example, had only 3620 voters. Gladstone’s enthusiasm and eloquence are credited with swaying a large number of undecided voters to support the Liberals in the General Election of 1880, thus ousting Disraeli’s last Conservative government.

The scrapbook held in Midlothian Local Studies is a collection of cartoons that both support and ridicule William Gladstone. Here are two examples from the scrapbook.

Gladstone as the Gentle Shepherd

This cartoon is titled ‘Scene from the Gentle Shepherd’ after the well-known play by Allan Ramsay. Gladstone is the man in the kilt and Rosebery is the dog leading him down the road to Midlothian. Mrs Lightheart, Mrs Curiosity and Mrs Blunt discuss them on the corner. ‘It’s maybe the dog’s fault.’ They discuss letting it go and suspect that Gladstone may throw himself on ‘parish’ welfare if not re-elected.

Gladstone and the Russian Bear

The second cartoon shows Gladstone dancing whilst chained to a trumpet-playing bear. The implication is that he is dancing to the tune of the ‘Russian bear’ on a map of Eastern Europe. The text states: ‘The Tables Turned or Who Dances Now?’ The Afghanistan War (1878-1881) was taking place at this time. It began when Britain sought to extend control from India to discourage Russian advancement into central Asia. It is also worth noting that dancing bears were a common feature of street entertainment in British towns and cities.

Wheelbarrow Men

Posted on July 14, 2010 by kenb

Bob Carlisle and his Peep Show

The collection includes research and lecture notes, newspaper cuttings, notebooks, postcards, photograph albums and many other items. It is particularly strong on papermaking, the Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners, the Penicuik Rifle Volunteers, and Penicuik and the First World War.

The main part of the collection is a series of carefully compiled scrapbooks on life in Penicuik. The subjects range from local industries, sport, clubs and societies, and biographies of Penicuik people.

In the 1970s, the Black Collection was gifted to Midlothian Library Service by James Black’s grandson, William. The originals have been indexed and microfilmed, and these can be consulted in Penicuik Library or in Local Studies at Loanhead.

Amongst the collection is a small, 3-page scrapbook about the curious phenomena of ‘Wheelbarrow Men’.

Originally Wheelbarrow Men were carters or delivery men, who carried goods from one place to another on their wheelbarrows. They were too poor to own a horse to pull their wheelbarrows so instead relied on their own strength and power.

With the arrival of the railways and improved transport the role of the Wheelbarrow Man changed into one of entertainment and novelty. Wheelbarrow Men promoted themselves as being able to travel huge distances by their own efforts whilst relying on charity and donations to survive. The idea seems to have originated in the United States of America where there are records of several Wheelbarrow Men who tried to walk across the entire continent pushing their wheelbarrow.

The scrapbook in the Black Collection mentions several intrepid Wheelbarrow Men who became quite familiar characters in late nineteenth-century Scotland. Amongst these were ‘Cochrane’ the Dundee Street porter who in February 1887 walked from Dundee to London and back again in 45 days, pushing his wheelbarrow all of the way. The report states: ‘He received very little encouragement in England, and was barefooted and almost starving ere he got back to Scotland. Since he crossed the border on his return matters have improved.’

Another prominent Wheelbarrow Men was Michael Heriot, who in June 1887 walked from Cramond to London and back again in 28 days. Herriot’s feat was doubly remarkable as he had only one arm, the other having been replaced by an iron hook after an accident. Heriot also met with little success or sympathy in England. The newspaper report states: ‘The reception accorded him did not meet his expectations, or even his requirements, and for several days he was without even some of the necessities of life.’

Gambling and betting were an important factor in the story of the Wheelbarrow Men. They survived by taking bets that they could accomplish various feats. In some cases they were encouraged by wealthy sponsors who challenged them to achieve certain tasks. This in turn created a circle of betting about their progress and whether or not they would succeed.

The scrapbook contains an account of the life of Bob Carlisle, a famous Wheelbarrow Man of the late nineteenth-century. Carlisle claimed to have been the first man to introduce the idea into Britain from the United States. Carlisle was a native of Edinburgh but was brought up in Haddington. When a young man he heard of an American visitor called Weston, who took bets that he could walk two thousand miles in one thousand hours on the turnpike roads of England. Carlisle resolved to do something similar and his first stunt was to walk one thousand miles around the roads of Cornwall. Subsequently he made his living by undertaking mammoth walks around the country pushing his wheelbarrow. On at least one walk, from Glasgow to London, he was accompanied by his wife.

Carlisle was certainly a colourful character with an eventful life. He had been in the Navy and a merchant seaman, and worked in the travelling circus as a clown and a lion-tamer.

However by the time of the newspaper report in 1906 the days of the Wheelbarrow Men were starting to fade. To earn extra income Carlisle built a tiny house on the top of his wheelbarrow and put on a miniature peep-show for paying customers.

The World’s Oldest Pit Woman

Posted on June 21, 2010 by kenb

Amongst the Collection is a scrapbook about Coal and Ironstone Mining in the Lothians, which includes a newspaper cutting from February 1910 about Isabella Somerville, who was described as the Oldest Pit Woman in the World.

Bell Somers, as she was better known, was born at Old Craighall in Midlothian sometime around 1824. She had her first job at the age of six-years-old when she was employed as a ‘slype drawer’ at Edmonston Colliery near Edinburgh. A slype was a curved wooden box on iron runners which was used for taking coal away from the cutting-face. Bell was attached to the slype with an iron chain and she had to drag it along on her hands and knees through the mine to the bottom of the shaft.

Bell then worked at Pinkie Colliery in East Lothian where she learned to ‘howk’ coal, push it on hutches and carry it in creels to the surface.

She also worked at Harlaw Muir Colliery near Carlops in the Scottish Borders. Here she had to carry the coal away from the coalface and up a ladder to the surface where it was collected by horse-and-cart.

She worked at Harlaw Muir Colliery until women were expelled from the mines in 1843.

Bell was married to one Sergeant John Harrison.

The employment of child labour now strikes us as appallingly cruel and barbaric but apparently it didn’t do Bell very much harm. According to the report: ‘She is still hale and hearty, living in Tranent.’ She died in 1915. Nobody really knew her correct age but she was certainly well into her 90s.

lothianlives.org.uk

Every record tells a story…What's your story? Explore the local council archives of Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Category Archives: Newspapers

Christmas Truce 1914

Gladstone’s Midlothian Campaign