Cardross Childrens home Dunbarton

[Askull]

Thankyou so much..I am grateful for this information.Clearly I have been misinformed and happy that this beautiful building is still standing.Do you know where l can find more information about Cardross Park or how I might find out online.

[Highland one]

This is me outside Cardross park mansion back in 2011

[Highland one]

Askull  sorry I don't really have much more information about Cardross park home , I was there when I was a baby in 1960 to 1962 along with my brother & sister . My 3 older brothers were in a children's home nearby.. Broomhill  .I have searched online for more information on both these homes but unfortunately didn't come up with much . Cardross park Mansion / home is indeed a grand building I felt quite emotional when I visited .

[Askull]

My husband was there with his younger brother from 1959 until 1964 when they were both adopted.So you were there within that time frame. He remembers white tiles with green borders and a dorm with many beds set so closely together that you had to almost climb over to get to your allocated bed.He also remembers a Miss Pollock .Does this sound familiar to you ?

[Highland one]

Wow ! Askull that is interesting information !
I have no recollection of what the home looked like from inside but a Ms Pollock came to visit us after we were placed in a foster home in Inverness , I remember a Mr Gallacher as well . They would come to see us every 6 months . This went on until we reached 16 or 18 years old I can't quite remember . If we had been adopted there wouldn't have been any visits . My sister seems to remember a big globe of the world  inside the entrance & fields around the building .

[g forgeron]

Do you know if Roman Catholic nuns ran this home around the First World War ? I've been trying to locate the orphanage which my late father and his two younger brothers were in for a few years .

He wouldn't  talk about it, just said it was  something he wished to forget.

All he would say was that he remembered  crossing the bridge across the Leven into Dumbarton in an attempt to escape

[Askull]

About a quarter of a mile from Cardross Park Home there is a road leading onto Carman Hill.This takes you to the small village of Renton where there is a bridge which takes you to the Industrial Estate and into Dumbarton.I feel that this would be the quickest and safest route for your father to take.As there would have been very little traffic or people around apart from hillwalkers.I have no knowledge of Nun's running the Home but I will try to find out .I hope this information is helpful to you

[Askull]

Sorry..Omitted to point out that the bridge crosses the River Leven

[g forgeron]

Sorry Askull, the route you suggest is highly unlikely. At that time the Industrial Estate was the grounds of Strathleven House, owned by the Crum-Ewing family. They did not like intruders , in fact the present foot bridge over the Leven was only built after the grounds were bought and made into an industrial estate in 1947