THE LENNOX HERITAGE

SOCIETY

About us:

The Lennox Heritage Society is a local community group that has been meeting for many years. The main aim of the group is to study and celebrate the rich culture, heritage and history of West Dunbartonshire and beyond.

We meet on a monthly basis from September to April and host talks and presentations by invited speakers. Meetings take place in the Concord Centre in central Dumbarton (next to the Denny Civic Theatre) and start at 7.30 pm. Tea, coffee and biscuits are available from about 7 pm at the cost of 40p per person.

New members are always welcome but if you prefer not to become a member, individual sessions may be attended at the cost of £2 per talk.

West Dunbartonshire's Doors Open Days

Doors Open Day WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE will be held on Saturday the 11th September 2021. Watch the local press or look at the national Doors Open Day website for more details. This year it will be a rather pared down program with just 3 venues and 3 walks, but you are sure to find them of interest. [Next year we will be back into routine with a full program].

Find a building (doorsopendays.org.uk)

West Dunbartonshire's Doors Open Days were held successfully in 2016 and 2018. If you would like another look at photos of both of these days, please click the link to our Facebook page.

Program of Talks for 2021 / 2022
Due to the ongoing uncertainty of restrictions and limitations on public meetings, the Lennox Heritage Society made the decision to cancel all lectures for the remainder of 2020 with the intention of starting up again in January 2021. This however has proved impossible so the plan is now to try and start up lectures again at the start of 2022.
In the interim, why not take a look at a very interesting and well researched project that Jeremy Watson has compiled on "Local Mysteries" ? Just click the link below.
https://scottishheritage.wordpress.com/2020/08/03/local-mysteries-of-dumbarton-the-vale-of-leven-and-environs/

Postponement of LHS Events
Updated April 2021
The two events we had planned for 2021 have been postponed until a later date. These outings were a visit to the Fairfield Heritage Centre (indoors) and the tour of Paisley (outdoors). We would hope to reschedule both events for either later on this year (but before the weather turns) or for Spring, 2022.

Other items of Interest:

Jeremy Watson's website EXPLORE WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE continues to grow.

http://www.spanglefish.com/explorewestdunbartonshire/

The Shipyard Trust has a lot of fascinating information on shipbuilding on the Clyde, including the Leven. If you register with them, you will receive their newsletters - the subject of their latest one is entitled A River Named Clota and gives some great insight into what we probably thought we knew. Click the link: The Shipyard Trust

The North Clyde Archaeology Society returns to monthly evening lectures in September. There will be some precautionary changes:

there's a larger venue at the Helensburgh Community Hub, 116 East Princes Street (formerly the Red Cross Hall) and there will be fewer lectures this season. Anyone wishing any further information please contact Jeremy.

Several of our members research, record and collate the history and heritage of our area. Occasional outings and walks are arranged. We are currently focussing on topics such as the Antonine Wall, where it passes through West Dunbartonshire and recording the Starfish decoy system in the hills above Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven.

On 7th May 2019, a small group of LHS members went on a very interesting and enjoyable trip to the beautiful Glenarn Gardens in Rhu. After a rather inauspicious wet start to the day, the sun did eventually come out for us and we were met by Glenarn's highly knowledgeable owner, Mike Thornley. Mike gave us a very comprehensive tour of the gardens as well as providing us with some of their history and information about previous owners. Glenarn Gardens have been in the care of Mike and his wife Sue since 1982 and they have completed major restoration work to bring the gardens up to the wonderful condition they are in now. Their work is, of course, very much an ongoing labour of love.

As a consequence of the conditions imposed by the current Coronavirus pandemic, the Lennox Heritage Society has been unable to hold its usual AGM for 2 years running. It is likely now that this meeting will have to wait until 2022 but in the meantime, could members please have a look at the Chairman's draft report? The report can be viewed by clicking here. Any comments or suggestions to Jeremy please.

HAVOC at HAVOC HOLE

Havoc

The sea cliff that edges Brucehill was formed of sandstone set down during the Devonian era approximately 375 – 360 million years ago, and would have been deposited at a time when the area we know as the British Isles was part of a large continent. At its lower edge is Havoc Meadow, home to a myriad of species and beyond that the tidal feeding grounds of many birds on the Clyde. Above it is the now vacant site of Notre Dame School. There is still the derelict chapel and within the horseshoe shaped site there is Craigend, nunnery.

As can be expected the site is now ripe for redevelopment and plans are now in to build houses on it.

What is not being appreciated in the application is the cliff face itself. This is an extraordinary geological feature. On its upper edge are many mature trees, several of which are quite ancient. And these form a valuable habitat and corridor for a variety of wildlife too. From a historical point of view, the most important feature is Havoc Hole. This is a fissure forming a small cave associated with Bruce and Wallace and witches and faeries.

The planning application includes severe interventions on the cliff which would greatly weaken it to a point where it is unlikely to remain standing in its current form; in fact, a note on the submission drawings include reference to it being excavated for infill material elsewhere on the site. This would mean the end of Havoc Hole and the cliff in this area and with that the end of its historical connotations and rich environmental setting. All this because the developers wish to build a SuDS rainwater attenuation pond at this point - rather than elsewhere on the site.

Your Lennox Heritage Society has lodged an objection. It is far from being alone as many others have done so too. A petition is currently running and you can add your voice directly through it.

Petition · HELP SAVE BRUCEHILL CLIFFTOP AND WOOD - Say no to Easdale developers · Change.org

by Jeremy Watson

Sep 2021

Useful links:

Jeremy's "Explore West Dunbartonshire"site

Contact details :

email: ewynne2@hotmail.com

Chairman : Jeremy Watson