Visit to Cruck Cottage and Crichton Gardens 21-10-19

A dry, calm day dawned for our visit to Cruck Cottage and Crichton Gardens. After the awful wet weather we have been having lately the bright sunshine was wonderful to see as our driver collected everyone and set off for Torthorwald.
We were warmly greeted by Bill and Willie  as we arrived at the cottage and shepherded inside where the peat fire was burning brightly. The smell of the peat burning was wonderful and brought back many memories.

Having found everyone a seat Bill gave us a wonderful history of the cottage before introducing Willie Clow who we discovered was a local historian with a wealth of knowledge about Torthorwald and its inhabitants. He is at present - and has been for many years - writing a book about the census taken in the village. The enthusiasm of both Bill and Willie was evident in their talks which kept everyone spellbound.

Time then to look around the cottage at the artefacts that the Heritage Association have gathered to dress the cottage. There are also details displayed of how the cottage was saved and restored, and of the various events the volunteers now put on to maintain the cottage. Despite being very local many of our members had never been here before but were very impressed.

Going back outside to admire the cottage and grounds we realised we were rather chilly, despite the fire, and realised how cold it would have been living in this type of stone building for real!

A group photo rounded off our visit and with many thanks to Bill and Willie we said our goodbyes.

A delicious lunch in the Easterbrook Bistro warmed everyone up and gave us the energy to begin part two of our day. We had arranged for the Memorial Church to be open for us to look around but on such a lovely day the gardens were definitely an option too. Folk were left to their own devices for the rest of the afternoon to wander at will.

Crichton Memorial Church is a very imposing building - looking just a like cathedral! It was completed in 1897 for the Crichton Royal Hospital, then a psychiatric hospital. Elizabeth Crichton gifted them the church with its very detailed exterior and elegant interior. The outside is made of local red sandstone while the interior features local pink sandstone. The church is a conventional cross-shape with a 40 metre tower, an oak roof (by Alexander Tweedie of Annan), floors of marble and impressive stained glass windows. These are almost colour free and make quite an impression because of that. There is carved stonework, gargoyles, a brass angel lectern and a magnificent organ within the building too. As it is a non-denominational church there are various events held within the building from weddings, concerts and other events. On the day we visited they were getting ready for a graduation ceremony.

Leaving the church we set off to investigate the grounds which are huge - the whole estate is 85 acres.
We knew the gardens were worth visiting but again many of us had not actually been here before. What a mistake that was! Beautiful grounds with many specimen trees and plants, a rock garden, and rose garden. There are plenty of seats too so if you need a short rest on the way round ...

We spent a while collecting a few conkers and sweet chestnuts too - just big kids at heart!

There are also playing fields and open spaces so is suitable for absolutely anyone and everyone. It is open all year round too and the gardens are very well maintained with the gardeners doing a magnificent job.
Returning on the bus many conversations were repeating the same thing - what a good day and we must go back!

Visit to Ruthwell Savings Bank Museum and Ruthwell Church. 12th August 2019

Our trip today was to the Ruthwell Savings Bank Museum. We were welcomed by Mhairi and Kay who were going to show us around the museum, and Ruthwell Church.

The Savings bank was started by the Rev. Henry Duncan in 1810 and is still part of TSB today. The building was bought by the TSB for £1 when it was put up for sale in the 1950's, and finally opened as a museum in the 1970's.

Henry was the son of a minister, trained in commercial banking. However in those days investors had to have a deposit of £10 to open an account in a bank and Henry realised many people would have no chance of that. His poor handwriting and reprimands about it from his employers finally led to Henry  rethinking his career.

Mhairi told us that he became a Minister of the Church of Scotland and was invited to take on the small, poor and neglected parish of Ruthwell, but he was determined to set up a way of saving for the people of his parish who were mainly farm labourers.He was so successful that people travelled from far and wide to invest in his bank. The bank was open to men, women and children and an account could be started with only sixpence. Savers were given a pass book with their own unique number and the money they invested with Henry was in turn invested with a regular bank. The interest Henry received on his investors' money was then shared with his investors.

Henry was also a prolific writer and was instrumental in setting up the D&G Courier and Standard newspapers. As Editor he could use the paper to pass on his views and ideas. The principles Henry used within his Savings Bank became the norm for accounts all over the country - and world - and many banks follow his rules to this day.

He became the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, although he also became a leading light in the Disruption of the Kirk and eventually left the established church for the Free Church.
Henry was also interested in geology and drawing. He presented the first scientific paper on fossil footprints to the Royal Society and sketched many local scenes.

After delicious coffee and scones, enjoyed in the garden of the museum, Kay showed us some of the huge collection of money safes and boxes the museum has amassed.

Henry was also responsible for saving the famous Ruthwell Cross which had broken into pieces after being cast down by the Church of Scotland during the Reformation. He spent 25 years putting the pieces back together and filling in the pieces that were missing. He had to design the cross arm himself as he never found the original, and made a scale model of the cross with beeswax to fashion his idea. This copy of the cross now sits in the museum.

After a very interesting time at the museum we then moved on to Ruthwell Church to see the cross Henry saved. A beautiful little church surrounded by hundreds of graves and huge, engraved stones.  Henry is buried here but there is no record of which grave is Henry's.

Inside the recently renovated church we saw the wonderful cross. It is so tall they had to dig a deep well to fit the 18 feet tall cross into the church.It is elaborately carved with inscriptions, birds, animals and scenes showing Christ and other religious figures.

Many thanks must go to Mhairi and Kay for being such knowledgeable guides to the Museum and the Church. What a wonderful job they do to keep Henry Duncan's story alive.