278 November 2017 - Gryffe Advertizer

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LOCAL
history
Lime Working
The best-known and most valuable mineral which was worked in Central
Scotland was coal. Beyond coal, the mineral ghost of Renfrewshire was
limestone. Lime had always been used in building, for mortar, harling
(roughcast) and plaster. However, from the eighteenth century, much larger
amounts of lime were sought for improvements to farmland. By adding
burnt and powdered lime to the soil, crop yield could be greatly increased.
Limestone was particularly important in regions with heavy clay soils, such
as Renfrewshire. The lime was added liberally to both arable and pastoral
land, at the rate of up to thirty carts per acre.
Limestone is found in thicker seams than coal, and was usually quarried
from the surface. Thus traces of former workings are more abundant than
with deeper coal mines. Unlike the white chalky lime found in the south of
England, Renfrewshire lime is a hard, brittle, dark grey rock. It was formed
under shallow seas in the Carboniferous period and often contains shells
and crinoids (stems of sea lilies). Lime quarries were highly valued by fossil
collectors who raided them for fish and reptile remains. Before good roads
were built, the coal to fuel the lime kilns had to be found locally. Despite
the relatively thin and indifferent quality of the coal in the Gryfe area, it was
ideal for lime burning. In many cases it was expressly stated that the coal
was only to be worked for lime burning.
In the 1790s, Kilbarchan parish had seven coal mines, all but one owned
by the Milliken family. At each of these mines, the main use of the coal
was to fuel lime kilns. The most familiar lime kilns were large stone-built
draw kilns. Less well known, but just as common, were clamp kilns.
These were long hollows dug into a slope in which the limestone was
repeatedly burnt. Until recently, virtually no lime working sites were officially
recorded in Renfrewshire. New fieldwork has now identified more than
a hundred. Hints of early working come from place names such as Lime
Craig Park (Johnstone), Kilnknowie (Corseford), and Limekilns Plantation
(Lochwinnoch).
© 2017 Stuart Nisbet, Renfrewshire Local History Forum
The Forum’s next archaeology lecture will take place in the Shawl Gallery in
Paisley Museum at 7. 30 pm on Thursday, 9th November. Our speaker is Ian
Hill of HARP Archaeology. His topic is In the Footsteps of the Grand Tours:
The 18th Century in Perthshire. Visitors are most welcome to attend.
the advertizer
Supreme Sacrifice Bridge of
Weir and the Great War
100 years ago this month – November 1917
2nd Lieutenant George Fisher, 4th Suffolk
Regiment
Two young men are memorialised on village
church memorials, yet not on the main
memorial. One of those is George Fisher. His
parents William Fisher, a Paisley stockbroker,
and Anna Brown were married in Bridge of
Weir in 1888 then emigrated to South Africa.
George returned to Bridge of Weir in 1911
when he was 19 to study law and lodged
with his widowed aunt Wilhelmina and her
five children aged 6 to 21, another lodger
and a domestic servant, in Cruachan, Bonar
Crescent – no doubt a lively household.
George later moved to London and joined
the Inns of Court Officers Training Corps as a
Private in 1916. He received his commission in February 1917, serving
in “C” Company and arrived in France on 12th April, fighting at Arras, the
Flanders coast, and later in Third Ypres (Passchendaele) in the Battles of
Menin Court Ridge and Polygon Wood.
George Fisher survived those engagements. After Polygon Wood, the
33rd Division was withdrawn and took over the newly captured line East of
Messines. Owing to the heavy nature of the ground, for the river Douave
had flooded its banks, this was a place of practical inactivity, except for
considerable shelling in the evening. The Division was moved North of
Ypres and on 6th November it relieved the 3rd Canadian Division in the
Passchendaele Salient.
The battalion war diary of 17th November records:
“TRENCHES. 17 Nov 1917. Part of Transport moves back WEST of
YPRES. Bn moves off at 2.45pm and relieves 87th Canadians at ABRAHAM
HEIGHTS (left support Bn). Relief complete about 6.30pm. Advanced
party sent to front line about 8pm and suffered the following casualties just
outside left front Bn HQ (Hillside). 2 Lieut G.W. FISHER killed. 2 Lieut O.C.
MITCHELL wounded. 1 O.R. Killed. 3 O.R.s wounded.”
Not a pitched battle, but for those concerned, just as deadly. George is
buried in the Tyne Cot Cemetery, north east of Ypres.
His mother returned to the UK from Cape Town on 10th January 1921 with
another son. Her application for her dead son’s medals gave an address
of 58 Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead and she died in Hendon, Middlesex in 1940.
Anna’s sister Wilhelmina died at Cruachan on 3rd February 1944, leaving
the house to her daughter Anna.
This was the same Anna Brown, the fiancée and executrix of the will of Fred
Barr, who had been killed in 1915. Anna was never to marry.
Read more about George Fisher’s life and untimely death at http://www.
bridgeofweirmemorial.co.uk and in the book “Supreme Sacrifi ce: A Small
Village and the Great War available from www.birlinn.co.uk or Abbey Books,
2 Well Street, Paisley, and other major bookshops or online.
Gordon Masterton
Johnstone History Society
Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday November 14th in Masonic Hall
in Collier Street.This month our speaker will be Fiona Hayes from Glasgow
Museums and her subject will be “Women in Glasgow in WW1” the ladies
in the audience should find this especially interesting. All members and
visitors will be made very welcome.We had a good attendance at our
October meeting and were given a very informative and also entertaining
talk by Colin Mackie. We had the first of our bi-monthly raffles and our
thanks is given to all who donated prizes.
The Museum which is in Morrisons just beyond the Cafe opens Wednesday
Friday and Saturday from 10.30am till 4 pm. We stock a wide selection
of books ,maps and leaflets to purchase, these are also available online
at www.johnstonehistory.org any purchases can be paid for via PayPal.
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