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Life In The Lost Villages – End Of Project Celebration Event

Dalmellington, East Ayrshire, GBR – 30 September: Allan Dorans MP and Depute Provost Claire Leitch were among organisers and participants at the End of Project event for The Lost Villages on Saturday 30 September 2023 in Dalmellington, East Ayrshire. The Lost Villages is an oral history of miners’ rows and the deindustrialisation of East Ayrshire. Photo: David Gordon for EAC

On Saturday 30th September the CCLP team attended the Life In The Lost Villages celebration event at Dalmellington Community Centre. The afternoon was organised by Yvonne McFadden and Arthur McIvor from the Scottish Oral History Centre at the University of Strathclyde. We were joined by members of the community and their families who had contributed their personal testimonies to the project. The afternoon was capped off with live performances from Seán Gray and Rab Wilson with songs and poetry inspired by life on the old miners rows. We are now working with East Ayrshire Leisure Trust to hold an exhibition at The Baird Institute in Cumnock next year and launch a book all about the project and its findings.

More photos can be found on our CCLP Facebook page Facebook

www.thelostvillages.co.uk

Scottish Oral History Centre | University of Strathclyde

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Allan Dorans, MP visit in August 2021

Allan Dorans, MP met some of our CCLP project partners and went to visit some CCLP locations last week.

” I was delighted to be invited by Colin MacDonald of the CCLP to visit some of the Coalfield Community Landscape Partnership projects and to visit a number of these, meeting the project leaders and volunteers from the Netherthird Community Gardens,  Cumnock History Group , Cumnock Tryst , EADHA Wildwoods Project, Landscape Apprentices, Lugar Heritage Centre,  Green Action Trust, the former Chalmerston open cast site ( the proposed site for an exciting mountain biking project) The Dalmellington Parish Development Trust, Dalmellington Cemetry and Loch Doon.

Over the course of two afternoons, that I met with the groups and projects, I made acquaintances with many fantastic individuals (to many to mention individually)  all of whom had a common purpose which was to contribute positively to the community, the environment, and to enable regeneration and to develop the area for the benefit of everyone.

I was extremely impressed by the work being carried out, inspired by the people and above all the vision, enthusiasm, and commitment of all the projects staff, volunteers, local Councillors, and everyone involved. I wish each one of the projects great successes and offer my full support in the future”.

Allan Dorans, MP (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)

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The Lost Villages

An Oral History of Miners’ Rows & Deindustrialisation in East Ayrshire, Scotland

Did you or your family live in the mining villages of Benquhat, Burnfoothill, Lethanhill, Darnconner, Commondyke and Glenbuck?

The Lost Villages is an oral history project led by researchers Prof Arthur McIvor and Dr Yvonne McFadden at the Scottish Oral History Centre. They are looking to recover the history of six lost mining communities by collecting the stories of the families who lived in the miners’ rows in the villages.

They want to tell the story from lived experience; from the memories of those who witnessed living in the miners’ rows and working in the coal mines and what it meant when the pits closed.

If you would like record your stories or get involved as a volunteer (training provided), please contact y.mcfadden@strath.ac.uk.

www.lost-villages.com (website coming soon)

Facebook: @LostVillagesEA

Twitter :@VillagesLost

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Ploughing up the Past Photo competition update

Head Judge Ken Fletcher, Editor of the Scottish Farmer said, “I really enjoyed the pics and some were a stark reminder of how hard farming is. I just hope that for your next series you hammer home the benefit of photography in preserving family farming life … and to not just have them on a mobile phone. Too many important snapshots of family life have been lost by NOT downloading the pictures and preserving them in a format that will stand the test of time.”

Black and white photo overall winner: Barmickhill Teatime in the Field (1940s) from Jennifer Kirkland– Indicative of the typical family farm, working hard but always stopping for a bite to eat together.

Jennifer Kirkland with her prize, afternoon tea from the Bakery Box Ochiltree

Colour photo overall winner: Bales at Little Creoch, New Cumnock from Jan Davidson – Farming can be lonely these days, but this just made me smile. Nairn Sloan and granddaughter Ella (the WellChild) have obviously worked together to do this. Shows the role that farming now plays in charitable work.

Jan Davidson’s father Nairn Sloan and her daughter with afternoon tea.
Kept in line – Andy McClounie, Garclaugh – nice framing of these sheep and it’s not easy to get them all looking so ‘cocky’ and that’s probably down to the dog just creeping into the pic
Andy McClounie with his steak pie from Nisbet’s of Mauchline

The runners up photos are on the project blog page. Please do look them up: https://farminginthecumnockarea.blogspot.com/2021/01/and-winner-is.html

Ploughing up the Past is an Ayrshire farming heritage project, led by Cumnock History Group researching the history of farms in Cumnock, Auchinleck, New Cumnock and Ochiltree

If you want to be involved then please contact them on farming@cumnockhistorygroup.org

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CCLP Newsletter No.2 November 2020

You will find our November newsletter in our Resources section. This issue has news on the following projects:

Coalfield Place Names

Connecting Communities

Life in the Lost Villages

Doon Valley Railway

Lugar Heritage Centre

A Musical Celebration of Coalfield s Heritage

Ploughing up our Past

Coalfields for Pollinators

Hedgerow Habitats

North Kyle Master Plan

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Ploughing up the Past Photo Competition

Cumnock History Group has secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to research farms in Cumnock and its neighbouring parishes of Auchinleck, New Cumnock and Ochiltree with the support of the Coalfield Communities Landscape Partnership. Our aim is to preserve our farming heritage by collecting all the information we can about our farms. You can see our progress on the Ploughing Up Our Past blog. Join in the conversation in the Ploughing Up Our Past Facebook group too.

What we are looking for are photographs showing farms and farming life. They can be recent or old, colour or black and white. All that is required is that the farming subject must be in our study area -Auchinleck, New Cumnock, Ochiltree, and Old CumnockJust tell us· Your name and address. Who the people are in your picture (if any)· If children are in a recent photo, you must have their parents’ permission· The name of the farm and parish it is in· Approximate date of photograph· Farm implements names, models etc· Breeds of animals, their names, personalities etc

There will be PRIZES!!! Please send your farm pics to farms@cumnockhistorygroup.org by 8th January 2021 with “competition” as the subject matter.

All photographs submitted may be included the final project and all will be shared online. By entering it is assumed you agree to this. Photos will be judged by an independent adjudicator after the closing date and the prizes will be delivered.

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Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere

Congratulations to our Board member Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere on securing £1.9m from the South of Scotland Enterprise agency. The 5-year funding agreement will see the Biosphere growing its core team and activities across SW Scotland significantly. Key priorities over the next five years will focus on how they can support and integrate the sustainability agenda into all our lives, benefitting communities, businesses, landowners, land managers and individuals Congratulations to our Board member Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere on securing £1.9m from the South of Scotland Enterprise agency. The 5-year funding agreement will see the Biosphere growing its core team and activities across SW Scotland significantly. Key priorities over the next five years will focus on how they can support and integrate the sustainability agenda into all our lives, benefitting communities, businesses, landowners, land managers and individuals.

They are now recruiting for a permanent full time finance and office manager. To find out more visit:
https://www.gsabiosphere.org.uk/finance-and-office…/

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Newsletter Issue No.1

We have now published our first newsletter and you can download it from our resources section on the website. Find out about some of the exciting projects that are underway and if you are interested in volunteering then please do fill in our online form and we will link you up with the relevant project.

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A Musical Celebration of the Coalfields

As part of the Musical Celebration of the Coalfields project The Cumnock Tryst have arranged FREE online workshops chaired by Sir James MacMillan.

Colin Prior Wednesday 23 September 2020 at 7.30pm This tutorial will look at ideal lighting conditions, seasonal opportunities and at some examples to change perceptions of familiar landscapes forever.

Alexander McCall Smith Wednesday 7 October 2020 at 7.30pm This tutorial will look at how to describe through words, what it is that makes us human – our character traits, ambitions, and our context, and explore language to paint a picture of a local historical figure for instance, or even a family member.

Michael Symmons Roberts Wednesday 21 October 2020 at 7.30pm This session will encourage you to explore their history in relation to your present and future, and look at the influence of the coal mines.

Pete Stollery Tuesday 10 November 2020, 7.30pm This interactive workshop is designed to get you to listen to, rather than just to hear, the sounds around you and to think about what those sounds might mean in an increasingly visual world. Headphones or earbuds recommended.

Chris Packham Tuesday 1 December 2020 at 7.30pm This session to inspire you to look at their environment in new ways; talk about the sounds you might record; the animal and plant life you could photograph or film; and answer any questions you might have.  

​To sign up please visit http://www.thecumnocktryst.com/online-workshops Priority will be given to people from Cumnock and the Doon Valley.”

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We are Recruiting

We are now recruiting for 2 Project Officers to help deliver the CCLP over the next 5 years.

One post is full time (35 hrs per week) and one is part time (21 hrs over 3 days). Go to http://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/councils/east-ayrshire-council/ to apply.