Different approaches to research - amazing results!

Wednesday 8th December 2010

There was even more snow today, but this did not deter the members of the group from coming along to Timespan to another research session - they're a hardy lot you know!

Members of the group, Mike and Gerry Wood have approached their research in two different ways and they are both having positive results.

Mike (Originally from South Shields) has been researching the houses and past inhabitants of Shore Street, along with David Cowie.  Their research has shown that the east part of Shore Street was the first street to be built in the new village of Helmsdale around c1814.  There were several families living in this street in the past, as recorded by David Cowie, but the population declined as many of the older curing yard buildings and accompanying houses were knocked down in the last century.  

Mike has been using a computer package to create a 3D virtual model of what Shore Street looked like from the very earliest maps and images.  He has already drawn up the 3D image of the old curing yard at the west end of Shore Street (later converted into the Timespan Museum).  Mike is interested in the fish packaging processes that took place in the curing yard and plans to include this detail in his model - this really is a first for Timespan, well done!

Gerry has had some success of her own to boast about.  She is researching Lilleshall Street and has just found out the location of her Great-grandfather's house.  She used local knowledge from local resident Anne Sinclair, as well as the information on the Valuation Rolls and OS maps.  The house is now called Westgate, but it used to be owned by her Great-uncle, Charles Gordon, who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada from c1880s to the late 1920s.

Mike and Gerry Wood at today's research session

More about Helsmdale's many lanes

The group has been uncovering information about the many lanes, corners, braes, parks etc associated with the streets in Helmsdale.  A special mention has to go to David Cowie, who has been very busy researching this topic by talking to local people and typing out his research for us all to enjoy.  I didn't know Helsmdale had so many lanes!  Can you add any more to our list?  

Lane names still in use

Couper’s Lane

Current route - West to East from Lillieshall St to Trentham St

Streets connected - Lillieshall Stto Trentham St

Other names - Mound Lane, Embo St or Shore Lane

This lane allegedly continued from Trentham Street to Stafford Street and then on to East Dunrobin Street.  The OS village map dated c1874 & c1906 indicates that the lane only continued from Trentham Street East to the Westerly boundary belonging to the rear of the Belgrave Hotel.  This section of lane was in use from Trentham Street East to the Westerly boundary of what is now the Community Centre, dated c1975.(David Cowie, 04/12/10)

 Couper's Lane - looking from Trentham St to Lilleshall St 

 Couper's Lane - looking from Lilleshall St to Trentham St

Co-op Lane

Current route – North to South from Dunrobin St to Couper’s Lane

Streets connected - Dunrobin St to Couper’s Lane

Other names - Pirie’s Lane

Straw’s Lane

Current route – North to South from Dunrobin St to Couper’s Lane

Streets connected - Dunrobin St to Couper’s Lane

Frank’s Lane

Current route – North to South from Sutherland St to Dunrobin St

Streets connected - Sutherland St to Dunrobin St

Other names - Frankie’s or Barnie’s Lane

AR McLeod’s Lane

Current route – Dunrobin St North to the boundary of the Post Office Garden

Streets connected – Dunrobin Street to the rear of the current Post Office, Johnson’s Garage and Mr Ian McLeod’s shop/property.

There is a widely held view that this lane continued North and connected with both Sutherland Street and Strathanver Street.  The OS c1874 & c1906 maps do not support this, although earlier maps may support it.  (David Cowie, 04/12/10)

Long Hugh’s Lane

Current route – not in use

Previous route – Dunrobin St North to the boundary of Mr and Mrs Taylor’s property

There is a widely held view that this lane continued North and connected with both Sutherland Streetand Strathanver Street.  The OS c1874 & c1906 maps do not support this, although earlier maps may support it.  (David Cowie, 04/12/10)

Kate Ross’s Lane

Current route – Dunrobin St North to Sutherland St

Streets connected – Dunrobin St tand Sutherland St

There is a widely held view that this lane continued North and connected with both Sutherland Street and Strathanver Street.  The OS c1874 & c1906 maps do not support this, although earlier maps may support it.  (David Cowie, 04/12/10)

Nina Forbes’s Lane

Current route – Dunrobin St Northto Sutherland St

Rowan House Lane

Current route - From Dunrobin St to Sutherland St, behind the Bannockburn Hotel

Manse Lane

Current route – Access from behind the Free Church down to St. John’s Well

A walk down memory lane!

The pace has really quickened over the last week or so and the research is starting to fall into place and make sense - at last!

The snowy conditions prevented the group trip to the archive in Inverness, but the group has been busy looking at a collection of Valuation Rolls dating from c1920s to c1970s, kindly on loan from Clyne Heritage Society, based in Brora.  The group has also been allocating house numbers and house names to copies of the current OS map of Helmsdale Village - no easy task!

Talk of the project has reached the streets of Helmsdale and the group has prepared questionnaires which are ready to circulate to the local residents, accompanied by the invites to the programme of street talks/discussions to begin in the New Year.  This information will also be found in local shops and in the local news section of the Northern Times.

Some interesting stories are beginning to come to light from local residents about living and growing up in Helmsdale.  One such story comes from local resident Jim Mackay, who recalls growing up in Lillieshall Street.

“As a boy growing up in Lillieshall Street in the 1930s I remember that before I went to school in the morning I had to go and collect a bucket of mussels from our family mussel scalp down by the harbour.  I also did the same task after school as well.  My father, David Mackay, was a fisherman and when his boat came back from a days fishing around 4 or 5pm, I used to have to untangle the line in the back kitchen of our house.  There was over 200 hooks to untangle on each line and sometimes I used to cut of the hooks, which was a bit of a cheat, but we got finished sooner.  Each fisherman was responsible for four lines.  The task of baiting the lines was usually done by the Aunts in the back kitchen.  In the morning my father would take the baited lines back down to the harbour and the whole process began again.”

(Jim Mackay, 01/12/10)