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.
Subscription
£10 / year
Visitors
£2 / talk
Program of Talks for 2022 - Update from 17/01/2022
Due to the current changing situation of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Lennox Heritage Society has decided that there will be no lecture program for 2022. Instead of indoor talks, the plan is to endeavour to have a more comprehensive program of outdoor events (see flyer below!)
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/
LHS Spring Outings
(updated 03/04/2022)
The Fish Yairs of Ardoch
This is a proposed trip for June 2022, and will take place around the time of the Summer Solstice and should be a great summer evening outing. For some information on the yairs, please click this link: Explore West Dunbartonshire
Anyone wishing to join us should contact us as per the details above or via Facebook.
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 returned to monthly evening lectures in September 2021. There are still 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.
Recording our heritage and events:
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.
Lennox Heritage Society Spring Outing to Glenarn Gardens May 2019
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.
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
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.
LHS Annual General Meeting 2019 / 2020
Useful links:
Contact details :
email: ewynne2@hotmail.com
Chairman : Jeremy Watson
email: jeremyatvaleofleven@hotmail.co.uk
Telephone : 01389 752877
For further information see :
THE DIARY page of the Lennox Herald.
© 2022 The Lennox Heritage Society.
Web editor: Elizabeth Wynne, email: ewynne2@hotmail.com
West Dunbartonshire's Doors Open Days
Doors Open Day WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE was held on Saturday the 11th September 2021. Please look at the national Doors Open Day website for more details. Last year, it was a rather pared down program with just 3 venues and 3 walks, but this year we hope to be back into routine with a full program (see below).
Doors Open Day 2022 in West Dunbartonshire is well advanced with venues opening up all over the county. We have several exciting events including fire and rescue displays, inspirational walks and even cycle rides. Whilst DOD generally involves gaining entrance into usually inaccessible buildings, outdoor events open the spectrum up and are all the more suitable within the remaining Covid considerations.
As some of you will want to attend more than one event, we will be arranging a few spread across the preceding week. One event to note is a guided exploration of the Carman Hillfort above Renton under the knowledgeable leadership of a qualified archaeologist.
Full details will be available on the official website, Facebook and local print media.
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.
