News from the village of Ardentinny, Argyll, Scotland.
2012 is the 20th anniversary of the construction of the concrete jetty at Coulport and its associated infrastructure. According to this article in the Herald newspaper in September 1992 villagers’ views on the development were decidedly mixed. Have attitudes changed in 2012?
This postcard kindly provided by Jan Fullman shows Glenfinart House when it was used by the Family Holiday Association in the 1950’s. If you have a vintage photograph of Ardentinny which you would like to share with our visitors. Please get in touch.
A fascinating glimpse of Glenfinart House, Ardentinny some 57 years ago with this extract from the “Friendship Holidays Association” 1956 summer brochure. A forerunner to the package holidays of the 60’s, at just £7 per week (roughly £136 at today’s prices) guests could enjoy full board (shared) accommodation beginning with high tea on the Saturday evening to breakfast a week later. Single rooms could be arranged for an extra 1/6 per night (seven and a half pence in “new money”) and it would appear that alcohol or rather “intoxicants” as is stated in the brochure, were frowned upon as none were permitted in the guest rooms or on excursions!
The village and the surrounding area appeared to offer an amazing range of leisure activities including coach trips; walking; steamer excursions; bathing; dancing; table-tennis; boating and croquet! Optional excursions were available for an extra 45/- (£2.25) per week.
The brochure was kindly provided to us by Tony Harrison whose late mother’s uncle was the founder of the Friendship Holiday Association.
Do you have any memories of Glenfinart House or the Friendship Association? If so please let us know or use the comment box below.
You can view the complete Friendship Holiday brochure here (PDF 2.8mb).
Along with my husband, I visited Ardentinny in September 2011 with the purpose of walking down Memory Lane to the late 1950s when I had spent many of my childhood holidays there.
It was certainly lovely to see the village looking so orderly and prosperous with such an apparently active and friendly community. The natural beauty remains as wonderful as my recall. Having looked at the notice board, we met briefly with Sandra Davidson in order to buy some 2012 calendars. She was one of several people from whom we learned a bit about life in Ardentinny today but the purpose of this e-mail is to ask if anyone shares our recall of earlier times.
My Aunt and Uncle owned and ran the Primrose Tearooms in Ardentinny in the 1950s. The tearooms are now known as The Heron and the building is a private residence. Leaving our normal London life behind, my Mother, my two sisters and I spent many summer holiday periods in Ardentinny helping Auntie and Uncle with the busy trade – many coaches came from Dunoon stopping at the tearooms to partake of the good Scottish fare! Uncle worked for the Forestry Commission and they lived in one of the FC houses.
I attach (above) a photo of my Aunt and Uncle and of some of the local ladies who worked for them. Can any of your readers recall these times or recognise the people? We three remember the name Jenny Moffat and we think she is sitting back right. My Aunt and Uncle were Agnes and Neil Wareham who hailed from Campbeltown prior to joining the Ardentinny community. Agnes was of Glaswegian origin, my Mother’s older sister, and Neil came from Bute. They had no children. On leaving Ardentinny they had a small grocery store in Glasgow in order to be nearer to siblings but of course all have long since passed on.
We become more nostalgic with passing years! As sisters, our teenage years spanned the 1950s and therefore our memories now fade. Are any of your readers able to help and share with us any recall of the period or information about these people since that time?
We have such happy memories of The Primrose Tearooms and Ardentinny. We were at that time Rosemary, Margaret and Phyllis and my Mother’s name was Mary. Our surname was ‘Day’.
With kind regards,
‘Pippa’ Greenwood
Matthew Gardener was born in 1854. He became the village grocer in 1891 and postmaster in 1901. This is one of several postcards he published around 1920.
Image courtesy Janet Gardner Roy.
More on the Gardeners.
A postcard from Ardentinny.
More historical images.