Robert Burns & Highland Mary Statue

There's quite a story behind a wonderful statue of Robert Burns and Highland Mary!  This drawing was taken from the original statue which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1880.  The sculptor was Hamilton P MacCarthy of London.

It beautifully shows Scottish poet Robert Burns with his love Highland Mary.  They had a brief affair in the spring of 1786.  She moved to Greenock and died here in October of that year.  There is a memorial to her in Greenock Cemetery.  Burns wrote several lovely poems and songs in her honour.

The statue had been commissioned by Walter Macfarlane (1817-1885) who owned the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow.  In 1933 the statue was sold and eventually ended up in the possession of James Anderson of Greenock.  In the 1940s he offered the statue to Greenock Burns Club, but unhappy with where the Club and Greenock Corporation wished to place the statue, the matter was dropped.

Nothing more seems to have been heard about the statue until 1952 when James Anderson's nephew, who had inherited much of his estate, offered the statue to Bathgate Town Council who readily accepted his offer and placed the statue in Kirkton Park there.  Unfortunately over the years, the statue suffered at the hands of vandals and was eventually placed in a storage shed in the park for safety.

Photo - West Lothian Council

In 2007 some enterprising individuals got together and raised funds to have the statue refurbished.  In 2011 the statue was taken from storage at Kirkton Park to the workshop of Graciela Ainsworth, a specialist in conservation and restoration of artefacts. There it was to cleaned and new parts provided to replace those lost through vandalism.

In 2012 the statue was unveiled at its new home in the garden of the Bathgate Partnership Centre, now known as the Jim Walker Partnership Centre, where it can still be seen.  West Lothian Council issued a leaflet all about the statue and its restoration which you can download here.

The original sculptor, Hamilton P MacCarthy moved to Canada in 1886 and produced wonderful works, many for public spaces.  One of those can be found in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British Columbia - another Robert Burns and Highland Mary statue.  It is absolutely beautiful and cared for by the Friends of Beacon Hill Park.  Read more at their website here.

Photo - Friends of Beacon Hill Park

What a great story about twin statues divided by thousands of miles and both celebrating the love of Robert Burns for Highland Mary!  You can also watch a short film all about Highland Mary and her links with Greenock by the Greenockian on YouTube.

Free West Church, Greenock

This beautiful church once stood at the corner of Ardgowan Street and Kelly Street in Greenock.  It was demolished in 1992.  These drawings show how the church looked – almost. The tower was never actually constructed.

Designed by John Honeyman (1831-1914), the foundation stone was laid on 12 June 1861.  The church was to be called the Free West Church and was being financed by the congregation whose old building was just across the street.  That building they sold and would become the home of the Methodist congregation. 

A large crowd attended the laying of the foundation stone which was also the date of the 10^th anniversary of their minister, Rev John Nelson (1820-1878) who had succeeded their former minister the Rev Dr Patrick Macfarlan.   (Read more about the Disruption in the Church of Scotland (and why certain churches were called "free") and its effect in Greenock here.)

The building was opened for worship on 13 November 1862 and was described as having - “besides the church, a large and lofty hall, a ladies’ waiting room, a vestry, and retiring rooms”.  Unusually it did not have obvious side aisles, but along both sides of the building were corridors along which were doors which admitted worshipers to the individual pews.  You can see a photographs of this strange set up, as well as some wonderful photographs of the church here.

The description goes on “The extreme length of the interior, inclusive of the apse, is 84 feet, and the width, exclusive of the side corridors in 42 feet.  The height from the floor to the wall head is 40 feet and to the ceiling 48 feet.  The building could seat 950 worshippers. Originally it was intended to build a spire at the south west corner of the church, but at the time of construction it reached just to the eaves, with the option of completing it at a later date. 

The stained glass windows were designed by the architect and finished by John Cairney of Glasgow and the “medieval gas brackets and pillars” supplied by Finlay & Weir of Cathcart Street, Greenock.  Other contractors who worked on the building were - Thomas Watson (builder) Glasgow, Daniel Anderson (joiner), Peter McKay (slater), McLean & Barclay (plumbers), John Buchanan (gasfitter) and Tannock & Son (plasterers). 

Photo - Greenock Burns Club

The Rev John Nelson was succeeded in 1878 by Rev Hugh Macmillan (1833-1903) who served as Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland in 1897.  In 1900 the Free Church of Scotland joined with the United Presbyterian Church to become the United Free Church.  The congregation were then known as the West United Free Church, Greenock.   In 1902, the Rev Hugh Macmillan was succeeded by Rev James J Macaulay. 

Another name change took place in 1929 when the United Free Church joined with the Church of Scotland.  The church on Ardgowan Street changed its name to St Mark’s Church.  That wasn’t the end of name changes, though.  In 1955 the church merged with Greenbank Church (corner of Kelly Street and Newton Street) to become St Mark’s Greenbank Church.  In 1987 the congregation united with that of the Old Kirk on Nelson Street to become St Luke’s Church.  (Now known as Westburn Church.)  The building was demolished in 1992 and flats built in its place.

Read more about other Greenock Churches and their history here.

John Galt - Inventor

In 1835 John Galt (1779-1839) was living in his sister's house in West Blackhall Street, Greenock.  Badly incapacitated from a number of strokes, this did not stop Galt's imagination from devising what can only be described as an early form of exercise machine.

Picture Source - Watt Institution, Greenock

A quote from a "Greenock Paper" found in the publication "Museum of Foreign Literature and Science" (Volume 26) 1835 reads:- 

“John Galt’s Hobby-Horse – Mr. Galt, being incapable of locomotion, has lately invented a machine which gives him exercise somewhat similar to riding.  It is of the form of a cross, the transverse beam moving on a pivot like a balance.  From each arm hangs a stirrup-iron, and on the top of the upright are two pullies, through which two cords are reeved, fastened to the extremities of the transverse beam.  The unfastened ends hang down in front, with bell-pull handles.  When using it, the invalid is seated on an elbow-chair, his feet placed in the stirrups, while he grasps the handles, and gives it motion by drawing the cords, raising and depressing the ends of the transverse beam."

This contraption could have been what Galt described in his Literary Life and Miscellanies Volume 1 when he wrote-

 “At last I hit, as I supposed, on a more agreeable diminution of leisure than dictating stories, and an old youthful habit was invited to return.  I imagined that there was not such a waste of thought in mechanical experiments, as in literature; and accordingly I resorted to this very questionable kind of indulgence.  Having formed in my own mind the model of a machine that promised some amusement, I resolved to make one, and with that view ordered cuts of leaden pipes, and boxes to be made, and anticipated the pleasure I should derive from the experiment.”

Unfortunately for Galt, while his mental inventiveness was still to the fore, his physical strength was waning.  He writes, "... alas, I forgot the weight of the lead, and when I came to handle my materials, I found myself, in some instances, unable to lift them, though they did not exceed many pounds”.  He employed a man to assemble the machine.

From a young age Galt had been interested in how things worked.  In his Autobiography he writes -

"While yet at school I had a bias for mechanics ... Among other things I attempted to make a hurdy-gurdy, in a box, and was magnificent in shows."  He says that his best work was "an Eolian harp, which was occasionally shown off in the staircase window, especially when my mother happened to be absent, for its mournful melody put her in the vapours, as she said, and I was obliged to give away the "wind organ" to a schoolfellow."  It is not surprising, an Aeolian harp is played by the wind and must have filled the house with very eerie sounds. 

These are just a few of the instances which show the inventiveness and curiosity of John Galt - traits which stayed with him throughout his life.

Here are some other posts about John Galt that you may enjoy (just click on the blue links) -

The Greenock Galts - information about John Galt's family and their life in Greenock.
The Galt Marbles - John Galt was in Athens when the Parthenon marbles were being shipped to Britain.
The poem that left John Galt speechless - a cheeky poem about Galt by Renfrew poet Andrew Park.
John Galt's Women - the Countess of Blessington - a great friend of John Galt with a fascinating past.
John Galt - Founder of the City of Guelph - all about the beautiful City of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

The Sailor Poet

Robert L Malone worked as a clerk in the long-room in Greenock Custom House.  He was also a poet.  Before settling in Greenock, Malone had been a naval officer and many of his poems reflect his experiences in that sphere.

Robert Lamont Malone was born in Anstruther, Fife in 1811.  His parents were William Malone and Elizabeth Lamont.  The family had lived for a while in Rothesay before moving to Anstruther.  His father was a naval officer and later a customs official.  

Following his father's example, he entered the navy in 1826 serving on HMS Rattlesnake and HMS Pelican in the Mediterranean and South America.  However, due to ill health he left the navy and began writing poetry.

He moved to Greenock with his sisters Mary Ann and Amelia and became a clerk with HM Customs working in the Long Room at Greenock Custom House. 

In 1845 he issued a volume of poetry entitled The Sailor's Dream and Other Poems which achieved some success.  Some of his poems were published in the Greenock Advertiser.  

Several of his songs were published in Whistle Binkie, an anthology of Scottish poem and song published from 1832 until 1890, David Robertson of Glasgow was its first publisher.  Many of his poems reflect his love of Scotland like this verse from The Thistle of Scotland -

Far lovelier flowers glow, the woodlands adorning,
And breathing perfume over woodland and lea;
But there breathes not a bud on the freshness of morning,
Like the thistle - the thistle of Scotland for me.

Robert L Malone died at 3 Hamilton Street, Greenock on 6 July 1850.  After his death Greenockian Colin RaeBrown wrote a poem In Memory of Robert L Malone which was published in the The Glasgow Courier on  6 August 1850.