ourpasthistory.com » Scotland
Morison Duncan Hall
by Nancy Young
In November 1944 my parents, Dave and Nan Wilson, my brother Allan, sister Margaret and myself moved from Kellie Castle Farm, Arncroach to Priory Farm at Gallowhill Cottage. My father was a farm grieve and I had lived all of my childhood until then on farms. We lived there for a year and then moved to the house at Morison Duncan Hall. My mum became the hall-keeper sometime in 1945 and my dad then worked at Balmerino Farm. He used his big red Farmall Tractor to get there and back and every night it was parked behind the Hall at the back door.
The Hall itself was much as it is now except that it seemed in better condition then. The paint was fresh and clean. Wire grills were on the windows to the east to prevent footballs breaking the grass. The grass was well kept by my dad, using an ordinary push mower, with the sloping banks to the right of the pillared gateway a favourite place to sit or sunbathe. The school had a large garden, which reached to the gate in the school wall and there were swings on the green near the road.
At the top of the garden there was a garden shed, where the youth club hut now stands. A little henhouse was alongside and my mum kept a dozen hens. The lilac buses and a huge veronica bush sheltered the bottom right had corner. My father cultivated the garden every year with potatoes and other vegetables.
I loved Gauldry from the start, although it was much smaller than it is now, and life at the Hall was varied and never boring. This was before Gauldry had electricity or running water. Most people drew water from a deep well in their garden with a bucket on a long rope. We thought we were lucky because we had a hand pump in the house which drew water from the well which was situated to the right of the kitchen window at the corner of the path which goes round the east end of the building, whether this well was perhaps not as deep as the others were I don’t know, but it did sometimes threaten to dry up in the summer. When this happened we used rain water from a big square metal tank at the back door for washing and household purposes and the water from the well for drinking only.
I do remember when the electricity was put in the Hall and the electricians were there for quite a time and that when the lights were switched on it was a great event. The water arrived after we left sometime after 1952.
The Hall was a busy place with something “on” most nights of the week; there was the Men’s club on Mondays with carpet bowls, table tennis and draights and darts etc, Scottish Country dancing on Tuesdays were well attended by all ages, The Misses Wedderspoon were the teachers. Two sisters, Agnes and Jean - who put us through our paces. The music was provided with a wind up gramaphone. Mrs Henderson and Mrs Moir succeeded them in later years. We did send a team of dancers to dens Park when the World Pipe Band Championship took place there.
There was a Dramatic Club which practised weekly for concerts for the village with sketches, songs and recitations.
The WRI had there meetings once a month on a Wednesday. The enetered drama and various entertainment competitions, competing against other rurals in Fife and were winners too. There were a few young members then, I became a member as a 13 year old.
In winter there were whist drives every Friday and when there was a shortage of players at a particular table I was often sent in to make up the numbers. I was not an experienced whist player – just a 12 year old trying my best – but obviously not good enough! The experience put me off card games for the rest of my life; I still detest playing cards. The whist nights were very often followed by a dance, the music being provided by 2 local bands – Markie Johnstone’s band and Gordon Ogilvie’s band and sometimes Dave Christie would play his pipes. We were too young, my brother, sister and I to go to these events and were often in bed by the time the dancing began. However there was a cupboard at the top of the stairs; which gave access to the loft above the Hall itself and we often crept in there to look through the grills in the ceilings at the dancers below.
There was even the occasional wedding reception on a Saturday afternoon – no alcohol allowed however.
One summer in particular a group of travelling players took up resindence in the Hall anterooms for a whole week, and put on nightly shows, culminating in a pantomime on the Saturday, my sister and I were given a small part on that night. The group made their meals on a portable stove and slept on camp beds.
Every night after everyone left my mum swept the Hall clean. In the morning the two fireplaces, one at each end, were emptied of ashes and relaid for the next evening “do”. They were lit at 4.30 pm so that the Hall was warm and cosy by 7 pm. The oil lamps, 8 in all in the Hall itself, were taken down, refilled, trimmed, the glasses cleaned and put back again. The Hall was then set out with the forms to sit on. These were kept under the stage along with heavy trestle tables and the carpet for the bowls. The front door was always used and the side door locked.
My brother, sister and I often made up our own concerts. Oh the luxury of being allowed to "play" the piano. I could only play by ear but it was good fun. Mum and Dad would sit happily listening to our efforts.
There was no kitchen then and the kitchen belonging ot the house was used for making up sandwiches and washing up. An old black range in the living room heated the water and cooked the meals. Sticking a slice of bread on a long brass toasting fork against the bars of the fire produced delicious toast. My sister and I sat on cusions on the floor to dry out our long hair.
Although there was a bath in the bathroom it was filled from a huge boiler in the corner of the kitchen. This had a fire underneath to heat the water so the kitchen became very hot. When there were lots of dishes to wash after a party or wedding reception the boiler was lit so that there was plenty of hot water. I enjoyed the bustle and chat in the kitchen on these occasions. It was taken for granted that you helped.
I attended Gauldry school and passed the 11+ exam. Mr Rodger was Headmaster. From there I moved to Newport Junior Secondary in 1946. This school was down graded 2 years later and we had to go to Bell Baxter or Madras.
In 1947, as some of you will know , there was the great snowstorm. I was stuck in Newport living with an Aunt for 6 weeks and was very homesick. In that storm Gauldry was completely cut off. No council workmen came to the rescue, men got out shovels and dug a was clear down the Gutchers Brae so that a horse and cart could go to Wormit to pick up stores, papers and the mail. Even when I was able to return to Gauldry, deep banks of snow lined the sides of the road for weeks. Mr Speed at the Smithy opposite the school made metal runners for the boys in the village who had made themselves sledges. There was a great sledge run down the field at the side of the Shambleton Wood.
Many of the children rode bikes. I worked for 6 weeks at the potatoes to buy a brand new Hercules bike at Gordon's shop in Newport (Now Jim Fairlie's shop) . It cost £46, a lot of money then. We cycled for miles around the village area, Balmerino beacj was popular in summer as was the Shambleton Wood.
Wild strawberries grew there in abundance and whole families picked them for jam which was delicious. We knew where all the gooseberry and raspberry bushes were and I still do to this day. Tadpoles could be got down the Den at the pond and I have since taken my grandchildren on the same errand.
We went to Sunday School every week - this was at Gauldry Church vestry in the afternoon. We walked to Balmerino Church in the morning. We were supposed to have a choir made up of the girls in the village but as often as not there would only be 2 or 3 of us on the platform. In those days I had a good singing voice - alas these days I do not.
We had a Guide Company. This was held at Ballmerino Parish Church Hall on Monday evenings. We walked there with torches down the Stoney Brae, I remember in particukar frosty moonlit nights. Miss Jean Wedderspoon was our Guider and many useful skills were learnt there. We went to Guide Camp with Newport Guides to places such as Crieff, Killiecrankie and Carnbo. We even won the Rose Bowl for the best patrol one year.
Our family holiday was to Leven every year. We had an aunt who lived in Links Road overlooking the esplanade - 1 minute from the beach. The highlight was going to see the Pierrots Show on the Saturdays.
Because my father worked on Birkhill Estate, we as children were invited along with other tenants' children to the annual Christmas Party. This was a magical affair held at Birkhill House. The Scrimegour-Wedderburn family, (now Lord Dundee - the family did not have a title in those days, they went to court to fight for it in later years), put on a pantomime each year which was usually topical of the year and there was lots of good food and Santa appeared with a gift for each child.
The village had a successful football team with stalwarts such as Sandy Rankine, Doug and Jim Stanford and of course George Stewart. Their changing hut was at the top of the park and is now long gone.
There were three shops in the village. Mr Chalmers at the Post Office, Mrs Taylors shop in Teapot Row which was demolished later and is now where Pitmossie Place stands. Miss Thoms had a small shop in one of her rooms in the house opposite the school. She sold fizzy drinks - like Cremola Foam and biscuits to school children.
There was a village bobby who lived in lodgings at Woodend House and went about on a bike. I have forgotten his name however.
The District Nurse, Nurse Thoms, lived in the house where Calum Webster now lives. I remember going there for 10 weeks with a sore knee after I went over the handlebars of my bike after thet had just resurfaced the main road.
My brother and my Dad delivered the Sunday papers. They were delivered to the Hall and laid out on the Hall floor and made up into bundles from a list. My brother delivered Gauldry papers on his bike. My father delivered those at balmerino when he went to pick up our flagon of milk.
These are some of the memories I have of live in Gauldry and in particular of living at Morison Duncan Hall. A happy time and looked back on with affection.
Nancy Young
written in Summer 1998
Photo of Morison Duncan Hall by Stan Farrow
Stan Farrow Photography
Comment
Navigate for more: Balmerino - Postcards of the area