The Kintyre Forum

The buildings and shops in Union Street comprising Greig's Stationers and Library, McGeachy's Ironmongers, and Watson's Fruit Market. The empty space now Burnside Square.

Lochhead Maltings, now partially incorporated into Tesco's.

Old Quay Head Buildings, where Woolworths now stands.

The old gents toilets at the junction of Millknowe and Roading. Good Riddance!

I wonder if you can imagine a very busy area with thousands of people. Shops galore, pubs cinemas swimming baths, libraries wash-houses,schools police stations dinner schools churches, public halls - funeral parlours chip shops cafes bus stations builders artists scrap metal merchants - bicycle makers the canal - doctors surgeries dentists clinics - the bookies the pawns.
And most of all I miss - the shouts and laughs of the weans in the backs.
Obliterated in the name of progress. How do I feel - sad yes, quite sad.

Babette's

Think that the wee fishermans rest at Dalintober Pier was mentioned on another thread some
time ago. Used to go round there at night with my dad when mum was out at work in one of the cafes.
We would sit there for hours talking to the regulars who met up there of an evening.
How content everyone seemed to be back then.

Pete do you remember the sweetie kiosk that was next to it ?


There was a Ladies/Gents and shelter with benches on Kinloch Green, straight across from Kinloch Place.

Did the wee hut at the putting green count as a building ?

What about Cathy Thomson's wonderful sweetie shop next door to N L McMillans Ladies Outfitter (maybe gents - I can't remember). Across the road was Mary ? baby shop. She was Howie McDougal's auntie and the name might have been McDougal too. I wonder was there a connection with the Carradale McDougals.

This has maybe been mentioned before but somewhere in Longrow a lady measured and took orders for Spirella corsets. They were amazing garments and I wonder what has replaced them!

chuckiebay wrote:What about Cathy Thomson's wonderful sweetie shop next door to N L McMillans Ladies Outfitter (maybe gents - I can't remember). Across the road was Mary ? baby shop. She was Howie McDougal's auntie and the name might have been McDougal too. I wonder was there a connection with the Carradale McDougals.

This has maybe been mentioned before but somewhere in Longrow a lady measured and took orders for Spirella corsets. They were amazing garments and I wonder what has replaced them!

Probably been replaced by white track suits.

chuckiebay wrote:What about Cathy Thomson's wonderful sweetie shop next door to N L McMillans Ladies Outfitter (maybe gents - I can't remember). Across the road was Mary ? baby shop.

Hi Chuckiebay, I think you will find these buildings haven't gone but have different tenants of course

Ted's Shop at the bottom of Albyn Avenue

The tenement in Princess Street that had Mrs Martin's clothing shop and Jean Mc Callum's Grocer.

Shipyard House

Tenement block at the Glebe Street end of Well Close.

Whisky bonds in Glebe Street.

Buildings between Glue Pot and Chip Shop in Saddell Street.

Tenement buildings at the junction of Low and High Askomil. (Sailing Club site)

Daniel's warehouse Old Quay Street

Daniel's store at Glenside.

Orange Lodge hall at Stewart's green

McGrory's sweetie shop where the entrance to the clinic is now

Pavillion and tennis courts Kinloch Green

The old cottages in Shore Street behind the Rex.

The corrugated iron sheds in Hall Street where the DSS office now stands.

Claremont, at the entrance to Rieclachan. Now part of the Co-op car park.

The County Garage workshop building, which was originally part of the Argyll Distillery.

Rent office on Millknowe Road

Terraced row of cottages on Millknowe Road

Glentoran Terrace

Rex Cinema's generator building(corner of St.John St./Shore St)

Joe Black's bakehouse(not the shop)

bill wrote:Rent office on Millknowe Road

That is still there and belongs to the tenant at No 4 Albyn


Turnstiles down the old quay

Hoyne's bakehouse

Finn's shop beside the Coop at the top of Broom Brae

bill wrote:Terraced row of cottages on Millknowe Road

On the subject of old buildings, and the days of the prefabs, there are probably quite a few forum members brought up in that part of the town who will remember the meeting place for youngsters from the Albyn/Davaar/Calton areas.

Albyn Avenue, at the time of the prefabs, went in the opposite direction from today and swept down to the right to join Albyn Road, which ran from The Roading along the front of the gasworks and emerged at Millknowe.

The remains of the Albyn Distillery, which closed in 1920 were between the bottom of Albyn Avenue and the back of Millknowe Cottages as noted by Bill above. This ruin comprised a wide open and accessible walled space with a fairly flat surface, and was just the right size for a kickabout with a football. It was referred to rather quaintly by the local youngsters as “the dump”. Quite a disparaging sounding name for the place, but we thought it was better than a playpark. With the surrounding hinterland of areas of dense undergrowth between Millknowe Cottages and the row of prefabs and the vacant area just over the wall in Albyn Road behind the Argyll Bowling Club, it was an excellent base for games such as hide and seek etc., and we were generally away from the main roads. (This was before the advent of computer games, and we were able to make our own entertainment at no cost.) If we had any money (or lemonade bottles) we could nip across to Ted Fleming’s shop.

There was no concern in these days about health and safety! Although I did once fall out of a tree and break my left arm and dislocate my shoulder. J D Carra will remember that, he was there when it happened. Hope you don't have a photo JD!

Anybody else have fond memories of “the dump”?

Just thought this would fit in with the “old buildings” thread.

EMDEE wrote:Albyn Avenue, at the time of the prefabs, went in the opposite direction from today and swept down to the right to join Albyn Road, which ran from The Roading along the front of the gasworks and emerged at Millknowe.

There was a house at the Milknowe side covered in Ivy

Anyone who lived in the prefabs loved them. The kitchens were state of the art with their built in facilities. Table, fridge, gas cooker and tall cupboards. The living room even had its own glass display cabinet with drawers and the bedrooms had built in wardrobes. The toilet was seperate from the bathroom and the hall had built in cupboards and a shed outside.

All very compact and afforable housing for families getting their lives back after the war.

Only downside was that they were like ovens in the summer and absolutely Baltic in the winter and if the kitchen window was open you almost always hit your head on it when coming along the path outside.

Great wee houses, all detached with their own large garden .

Maybe JD will have some family pictures from back then of prefabs

..and yes I remember the dump

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