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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Dunbartonshire => Topic started by: TerriG on Thursday 21 June 12 14:29 BST (UK)
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Does anyone have information about Arden House during the 1950/60s? My maternal grandfather lived and worked on the estate when Lord & Lady Lumsden owned it.
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The Buchanan family sold Arden in 1964 to the Lumsden family, they lived there until 1980 when it was sold and converted into flats
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Thank you very much rosie for the interesting information. :)
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Does anyone have information about Arden House during the 1950/60s? My maternal grandfather lived and worked on the estate when Lord & Lady Lumsden owned it.
My great great grandfather worked at Arden House as the games keeper in the late 1800's. He worked for Lord Lumsden. I have some delightful family photos of them. So if they owned the estate in the 1890's, maybe they sold and then repurchased it (looking at the one response you received this would have to be the case). This seems unusual. I do know it has been converted to apartments, but the workers cottage where my great aunt was born is still there. Looking at the family photo it has the date 1887 as the birthdate for Susan Elizabeth Campbell Lumsden and she appears to be 6 or so in the photo. That brings the date to around 1893 or so.
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That is very interesting about Arden House being in the Lumsden family before the Buchanans owned it. I believe my grandad lived in one of the gardener's cottages with my mum & aunt. We visited the gardener's cottages last Easter, and the new owners very kindly showed us round. They live in one of the cottages and the others are used as holiday lets. The Carriage House is also a holiday let, and the people at the lodge also very kindly spoke to us about the people who used to live at the lodge.
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That is very interesting about Arden House being in the Lumsden family before the Buchanans owned it. I believe my grandad lived in one of the gardener's cottages with my mum & aunt. We visited the gardener's cottages last Easter, and the new owners very kindly showed us round. They live in one of the cottages and the others are used as holiday lets. The Carriage House is also a holiday let, and the people at the lodge also very kindly spoke to us about the people who used to live at the lodge.
THanks TerriG for the information. I would love to visit someday (I am in Minnesota, USA). My Great Aunt was born in one of the cottages and I spent the afternoon looking through my Victorian era photo album. Seems I have the "Downton Abbey" equivalent of servants pictures, the head cook, gardener etc. How fun you got to visit! There is a lot of info online for Arden House history and also for Lord James Lumsden (he was even Knighted in the late 1800's).
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Any idea which cottage your great aunt was born in?
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Any idea which cottage your great aunt was born in?
Her dad was the game keeper so whatever cottage they used. I assumed there was only one servant's quarters, but maybe there were several.
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Just found your post about Arden House. There is information on http://www.valeofleven.org.uk/ about the house. It says that the Buchanans sold it to the Lumsden family in 1864 and they owned it until the 1980's. They still own some land and houses on the estate which are rented out. I was born and brought up a few miles from Arden and I remember going to the annual Christmas party held in the small hall next to the house. In the 1990's when the main road was widened the South lodge was demolished and rebuilt in the grounds of the house
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Jennie77 - if you're interested in looking at photos of the Gardener's cottages there is a website - www.gardeners-cottages.com. The Carriage Lodge can be seen at www.thecarriagelodge.co.uk.
House2000 - I remember my mum saying that she had been to parties at the house when she lived at Arden - I think that would have been in the late 50s/early 60s. I think those were the best years of her life! Thanks for the link.
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TerriG - I was at the parties mid 60's to 70 so maybe at the same time as your mum!
I always thought it was Sir James and Lady Lumsden who lived in Arden House - I didn't realise he was a Lord. I remember his son also James but known as Hamish and also his wife Sheila who always went to the Christmas party. She died 2008 and Hamish died 2013.
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I think the latest my mum would have been at Arden would be 1965/66 because she moved to England & had my sister late 1967. Her name was Georgina, & she had an older sister, Joyce.
When we visited Arden last year, it was the day after Hamish died, I believe.
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My older brother and sister might remember better than me - I'll ask them. Because we stayed nearer Helensburgh we went to a school there so we only met the Arden children once a year at the party! Can I ask your mum's surname? We were the McAdam family.
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Her surname was McKean.
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We do remember McKeans living at Arden - what a small world
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Wow, that's amazing! If you'd like to see a photo of her from that time, PM me with your e-mail address & I'll send it to you, as I'm not sure if her companion in the photo is still living.
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Just been speaking to my sister, and she thinks that our mum went to parties at Lomond Castle.
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Lomond castle was a hotel about half a mile from Arden house.
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Good memories of the area
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Hi Jennie77
We live in Arden House and are really interested in collating photos of the people who used to live and work here. Is there any way you could let us look at the photos?
Thanks
Best wishes
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Hi Kayjaysea
I've PM'd Jennie77, so hopefully she will post a reply soon.
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I have emailed most of the photos I have. Do you know if there is any where on this site I could also post them?
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Hi Kayjaysea
I've PM'd Jennie77, so hopefully she will post a reply soon.
Thank you Terri for letting me know about the Arden House post. I have emailed them. Is there anywhere on this site to post photos?
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You may be able to put one on this thread, but if there are a few, maybe Kayjaysea has plans for them? When I visited Arden last year the owners of the Gardener's cottages let us look around, and they also had many photos of Arden House through the years. Maybe they would be interested in your photos to add to their collection. If you'd like I could PM you their e-mail address.
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Good memories of the area
I grew up there during the summer, spent the school holidays with my Grandparents at the North Lodge. Gran was the Cook at the "big house".
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Welcome to Rootschat Archibald.
It's funny that there were two McKean families working at Arden House. May I ask when your grandparents lived there?
Terri
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would very much love copies of any relevant photos for my wife's family history. my wife's (extended family) cousin was Henrietta Macfarlane Reid the wife of Sir James Robert Lumsden, and she lived on the Arden Estate for decades. Known as Lady Lumsden. Any photos of her in particular would be much appreciated.
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Hi Bob
Welcome to Rootschat.
I have a couple of photos which, I believe, feature Lady Lumsden. They were probably taken during the early 1960s in the garden at Arden.
If you post twice more on this topic (or any other), you will be able to send me a personal message (PM) by clicking on my name. You could then provide me with your email address so I can send you the photos (you are not allowed to put your email address on here).
Terri
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Thank you very much Terri
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I should correct my entry by saying that Henrietta Jessie Macfarlane Reid (Lady Lumsden) was really a great aunt, daughter of George Macfarlane Reid, younger brother to my wife's great grand mother Margery Dill Reid, and sister to Sir George Ranald Macfarlane Reid. I have made entries on another site, ancestry.com.au under a family tree called "Canterbury Tales" which can be picked up by a normal name search on that site, including Lumsden entries for several generations. Sir James Robert Lumsden seems to have spent a lot of his time, judging by newspaper entries, grouse shooting and running an agricultural show. According to one newspaper report he and his 2 sons went grouse shooting and the 2 sons were named in the report as J A Lumsden and G A Lumsden. I have assumed that the J A is the James who has an extensive biography available. The G A presently is a mystery, but if I keep digging around.... There I have made the necessary 2 entries!
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I realise it’s a while since anyone posted on this thread but my maternal grandparents worked in Arden House. My Grandmother, Helen Margaret Hotchkies went as housekeeper, after loosing their home in the Dalmuir blitz and my grandfather, John Hotchkies, joined her after the war, I believe, as a gardener until his death in 1959. My mother, Helen Mary Hotchkies lived at Arden house and was married from there in 1961.
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Hi, and welcome to Rootschat.
It looks as though your grandfather and mine (Peter McKean) must have worked together as gardeners.
Is your mother still alive?
Terri
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No. Sadly she died in 2012. It was after this, whilst going through her photos, that I started researching the family history. The sad thing is Mum could have told me 95% of the information that has taken me five years to put together.
I was born in Hertfordshire but spent a fair bit of time at Arden House in my first 2 years. I was christened in Luss church where my parents were married. My granny then came south to live with us (about 1968). I suspect she was no longer well enough to work. She died in 1970. I can remember visiting Arden House and Lady Lumsden twice over the years and Mum wrote to her and sent flowers every Christmas.
I have a lot of photos and old newspaper cuttings so will have a good look through for any further information.
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Having just had a quick look through Mum’s wedding gift list (she kept everything) there is an entry for Mrs McKean, Arden, sheets and pillow cases. There is another for Jim and Ada McKean in Kirkintilloch? This would have been in 1961.
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Confusingly there were 2 McKean families at Arden. I believe that Mrs McKean (not my relation) was a cook (see Archibald McKean’s post). My grandad was a widower, so it was just Peter McKean and his daughters Joyce & Georgina (my mother) who lived in the gardeners’ cottage, although he did remarry (in Balloch in 1962). He and his new wife Betty emigrated to Florida soon after. I don’t know if Betty ever lived on the Arden estate.
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Your mother and her sister must have been there at the same time as my mother and presumably attended the village school. Mum was born in 1934. Do you mind saying when your mother and Joyce were born. I understand if you’d rather not but it would give me some idea of what age group I’m looking for in pictures. I can’t recall a Joyce or Georgina being mentioned but they must have known each other.
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Joyce was born in 1945, and mum in 1947 (both are deceased now unfortunately). I don’t know where they went to primary school, but they attended a convent school in Dumbarton. They were actually born in Uddingston, but soon after my mum was born, they emigrated to Canada. My mum’s mum died in Canada in 1951, and grandad and the 2 girls returned to Scotland in 1953.
Do you have any photos from Arden House with any unidentified people in them?
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Yes, there are quite a few photos. There’s a couple of group photos of all the staff with the Lumsdens and others, taken in the grounds, some with my mother or granny and some with people I don’t recognise. I will sort them out and scan them when I get a chance and can mail them to you.
Your mother and aunt would have been quite a bit younger than my mum then. When they returned from Canada my mum would have been 19 and out working. However, she lived their until 1961 and was back and forwards until 1967 so they must have known each other.
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That’s very kind of you :). I’ll send you a personal message with my email address.
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I will try and have a look through them at the weekend :)