Roseneath Bay address 1840's - COMPLETED

[Fresh Fields]

Hello there.

I've found this address in a New Zealand paper, and am interested in learning more. Is it an abode that can be identified in the 1840's & 50's ?

"Flowerbank, Clyndon, Roseneath Bay, Helensburgh, Scotland"

- Alan.

[AMBLY]

Hi Alan

Not quite what you're after but maybe this is some help:

Helensburgh was (until 1975) part of Dunbartonshire.
A 'village' there in the Roseneath (Rosneath) Parish was, Clynder
I think Flowerbank was/is a house, on Back Road in Clynder

In 1901, a James ROBSON lived there and his death here:
http://members.madasafish.com/~fairenough/page83.html
He was also there in 1891 - he was a Teacher of Music..
He was in Glasgow in 1881  and I can't find anyone at that specific address any earlier that 1891.

Other references are to :
Flowerbank Back Road Clynder

It looks a lovely area!
Use Google maps UK :
http://maps.google.co.uk/

Search for Clynder, Helensburgh
Click of the Directions button
In Location A:  type in
Flowerbank, Clynder, Helensburgh
And click GET DIRECTIONS
Double Click the A pin on the map. In the box that pops up, select Street View from the more button. And you have a view of Back Road, Clynder.  Don't know which house is Flowerbank

Aerial  view here:
http://www.myhouseprice.com/property.cfm?id=Sco2393045

I think at one stage, the house was owned by Clyde Pubs Ltd and may still be operating as some kind of public establishment, perhaps like a B&B? Not sure on that one though......

Also have a name, address & ph Nr of current occupants of the house.
I'll PM you that.

This "Flowerbank" house is, I think distinct from another in Helensburgh which is closer to the sands
http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/sc-34749-95-96-clyde-street-west-flower-bank-

Cheers
AMBLY

[DonM]

I'll assume you mean Clynder which is just north of Roseneath.  If you Google Flowerbank Roseneath the house appears to be still there located on Back Road.

If you wish a tour, go to Google Map find Back Road, zoom down to street view then you can follow along the road if you are lucky there will be a sign alng the road near the drive identifying the property.  

Don

[AMBLY]

On the Google Streetview I directed to,  if you swing right at the point of landing on the road, and see the neatly clipped hedge....travel up (left when looking at the map) to the gate - it has a yellow sign on it\ ( and a fallen fence piece  on the ground beside it). Underneath the yellow sign is a white sign....it's blurry - but it might say "Flowerbank" 

I think Flowerbank might be that property set back from the road, white with gables.

Cheers
AMBLY

[Fresh Fields]

Thankyou for the quick replies.

From a marriage notice in the local NZ press, it would appear to have been the address that the lady left from, before travelling to New Zealand, where she married the man who's children she, upon arrival, house kept for. It could have been a family home, the home of relatives, a local gardener's cottage, or a place to stay, pre embarking on the sailing ships leaving for the new world.

- Alan.

[AMBLY]

Hi Alan

My though was.....often current owners know the history of the old houses they live in, especially in a small place such as Clyder. You never know, they may have old photographs  even - or have access to or knowledge of local archivist material. There's usually someone whose the local amateur historian.

I read the marriage notice (Papers Past, Early NZ Marriages etc) that her father John was of Otahuhu Road, and previously of Flowerbank &tc.?

Good luck with your search 

Cheers
AMBLY

[Fresh Fields]

Hello and thank you for your input. Your info is similar to my own previous findings.

OPR records would indicate that in the 1840's some family connections witnessed at the Row/Rhu Parish Kirk, though prior to that the family was always south of the Clyde.

The Back Road address appears the most likely, but at this time we are unable to account, for what attracted the family to be in the area.

Are there any local historians about?

- Alan.

[Fresh Fields]

Hello again. Just dial-up GOOGLED the Back Road 'Flowerbank' address. Took a while to load, but I can just visualize that rising ground title ablaze with flowering annuals. Once in NZ, the family was involved with various, large scale, horticultural endeavours. One living descendant could not get into the auto trade quick enough. He has supplied me with photos of himself, cutting daffodils for the market, as a pre-schooler. They had acres of them !

- Alan.

Correction Edit: The photos were of his older brothers helping their parents harvest.

[Fresh Fields]

As all good gardeners value bees, a quote, just found, could be the connection I’ve been looking for, from the gardens of Eastwood, Castlemilk and Cathkin, to Clynder and the nearby Campbell Villa.

Quote from Frances GROOME’S,  1882-4  “Ordnance Gazetter of Scotland”............

“Clynder, a village in Roseneath parish, W Dumbartonshire, on the W side of Gare Loch, 1 mile NNW of Roseneath village; at it are a post office under Helensburgh, an hotel, and a new iron U.P. church (1881). The uplands around are favourite sites for hives, their heather being singularly rich in nectar and pollen. In 1880 it was not uncommon for a hive brought hither from Thorliebank or Pollokshields, weighing 18 lbs., to be brought home in six or seven weeks' time weighing 57; but of the 100 or so hives set up near Clynder in 1881, the heaviest weighed only 39 lbs. gross”.............

- Alan.