Castlehill primary school work on local history project

[Kintyre Forum News]

Budding broadcasters from Castlehill primary school work on local history project

Campbeltown Townscape Heritage initiative (THI), part of the wider CHORD project, has linked up with Castlehill primary school and Argyll FM in a living history project about the regeneration of the Old Schoolhouse, Big Kiln Street. As part of the THI’s community engagement programme a local social enterprise, Inspiralba, is delivering this oral history and digital editing project.

The pupils have linked up with the THI to investigate the history of the building, that was brought back in to use as community bunkhouse in 2012, providing low cost visitor accommodation.

The last survivor of a group of 4 buildings, it was constructed around 1851 as a direct consequence of the Disruption which split the Free Church from the Church of Scotland. The first schoolmaster was Alexander Ross, a key figure in the Disruption, who, having been dismissed by the established church was taken on by the Free Church.

Following the 1872 Education Act the building stopped being used as a school. Until it fell in to a state of disrepair in the 1980s, it had a number of uses, from a vaccination centre to a Sunday school and a nursery.

A key building for the Campbeltown THI, the building was brought back to life in 2012 with all of the work being carried out by local contractors using traditional methods and materials.

Castlehill primary is the second local school to be involved in this project, following on from Dalintober primary school’s work on the town hall.

The project has offered primary 6 pupils the chance to record their interviews with local people using Argyll FM’s professional support and facilities. The interviews are due to be broadcast on Saturday 15th March at 4pm, with a repeat on Tuesday 18th March at 8pm.

Chair of the MAKI Area Committee, Councillor Rory Colville, said of the project: ‘’The level of engagement between the council and the local community has been a cornerstone of the Campbeltown CHORD project and it is great to see another project involving our school children.

‘’I welcome any initiative which helps develop our children’s skills and confidence and helps the people of Campbeltown find out more about their heritage.’’

In preparation for the recording session, where local people share memories of the bunkhouse, pupils had to learn interviewing skills, plan their project questions, practice their interviewing techniques and choose music to accompany the programme.

Pupils learned about the range of work the THI has done in Campbeltown and about the history and significance of local buildings such as the bunkhouse.

The pupils’ work will be stored digitally by the Campbeltown THI.

For more information on the Campbeltown Backpackers Hostel accommodation see http://www.campbeltownbackpackers.co.uk/index.php

[CampbeltownTHI]

PRESS RELEASE FROM INSPIRALBA.

Promoting Campbeltown Backpackers, Castlehill Primary 7’s budding journalists and radio presenters ready to air on Argyll FM

As part of the Campbeltown Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) supported by Heritage Lottery and Argyll and Islands Leader Funding, Primary 7 pupils at Castlehill have been involved in training activities focussed on Campbeltown Backpackers. Campbeltown Backpackers is owned and operated by Kintyre Amenity Trust, who were gifted the Old Free Church School on the same site as the heritage centre which the charity run. Kintyre Amenity Trust were able to secure funding from a range of sources including Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI), Argyll and Islands Leader, Campbeltown CARS and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, to restore the iconic, B Listed building in the centre of the town.

The building was refurbished based on a need identified locally to provide quality budget hostel accommodation, this has the additional benefit of enabling the Trust to generate income as a social enterprise, which they can reinvest in the heritage centre and maintain the Backpackers. The Backpackers opened in April 2012 and has had great feedback from visitors to date.

The students were involved in a range of activities, supported by their teacher Fiona Watson, along with Francis Hunter who provided project support on behalf of local charity Inspiralba, who co-ordinated the training on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council and the THI . Activities included: Finding out about the History of the Backpackers, Undertaking Research, Preparing Questions for Interviews, Interview Skills, Recording Interviews and identifying music to accompany their programme. Kenny Johnson from Argyll FM, provided support to the class in producing their programme providing an introduction to radio presenting and community radio.

The radio programme, researched and produced by the students will be aired on Argyll FM at 4pm on Saturday 22nd March and 8pm on Tuesday 25 March. The pupils hope that their programme will assist in raising the profile of the Backpackers as a high quality budget accommodation option to attract visitors to the area.
Further information on the Backpackers is available at: http://www.campbeltownbackpackers.co.uk

Quote from Kintyre Amenity Trust. “We really enjoyed welcoming the children into the school that was alive with children of the same age 150 years ago. The Free Church of Scotland were very keen on education and the pupils went on to great things. Archibald McKinnon, the painter of ‘Campbeltown Fair’ and Duncan McEachran who became a pioneering vet in Canada are just two examples. The school paid a major part in the social history of Campbeltown.

[Shona]

Congrats on the project - very interesting.

Thought you may be like this story, as it involves the master of the school, AlexandervRoss.

A Highland Home in Cantire by Cuthbert Bede was published 1861 (there's a copy in the library). In the book, the Revd Edward Bradley (Cuthbert Bede was his pen name) recounts his stay in Kintyre in Argyllshire in 1859.

The book contains evocative descriptions of how people lived at the time. He describes Barr school as follows:

'The children were about 70 in number...all of the children were bare-footed and bare-legged, to an English eye, a peculiar feature in a parish school.

'Among the scholars was a black boy, who a fortnight before, had arrived from the West Indies, and whose tawny complexion and woolly hair looked very remarkable among the red-headed and fair-visaged Highlands.'

The black boy was named Charles Harvey, born in Spanish Town in Jamaica. When the 1861 census, Charles was 12 and boarding with school master Alexander Ross in Saddle Street.

I wonder what happened to the boy?