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| Holmwood House |
Grey Granite has been reading, 'Around the White Horse', the memoirs of Mrs C.J.Thomson, Miss Charlotte Jane Gavin of Holmwood House, Strichen. The original was written in 1888, just 23 years after the railway arrived in Strichen and is a fascinating account of village life .Born in 1811, Miss Gavin was the sixth daughter of Dr Alexander Gavin of Strichen. In addition to his six daughters Dr Alexander had five sons, all the children were regarded as being well educated, the girls first by a governess, then when they were older, at a school in Aberdeen. The boys all attended the parish school until they were thirteen when they went to University in Aberdeen. The family was considered to be part of Strichen 'society' .
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| Today the front garden of Holmwood is carpeted in crocus and snowdrops, poultry roams the garden. |
Miss Gavin describes the benefits of the railway to the community, 'This pleasant view (to the West of the town) down the valley of the Ugie is cut off now by the railway embankment, built in 1865, but in exchange for the amenity of a pleasant prospect, there are the practical advantages of easy ingress and egress to and from the village with facilities for traffic which largely promote the prosperity of the people.
There are two banks in the village and a monthly market. The railway does good service on these occasions, bringing the country folk by noon and carrying them off again to their homes by four o'clock p.m.; so that scenes of drunkenness a thing of the past; all is quiet before evening as if no market had been.'
Miss Gavin records that when Captain Fraser of Strichen House returned from the travels of his youth he married a French wife, Miss Leslie of Bohine, a Roman Catholic. Although a Protestant himself, 'he endowed the Roman Catholic Church with a nice house for the priest and several acres of land as a glebe'. This house, on Brewery Road, built in 1751, is now known as 'The Cloisters' and is just visible from the Line.
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| The Cloisters glimpsed from the Line. The building on the left was a originally a chapel. |
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| The ruins of the chapel for Strichen House, seen from the Line opposite Borrohill Wood |
Dr Anne has actually been in the Cloisters. She was interviewing Alexis for the Behavioural Unit in Peterhead back in the early 90s. She met Mrs Bandeen.
ReplyDeleteHello Gray Granite, It was great to find your Blog today as I grew up in Strichen and imagine my surprise to find your post "Around the White Horse". I grew up in Holmwood in the 60's and 70's and my Sister and parents are still there. I also have a copy of Mrs Thompson's memoirs and read it periodically. I find it to be a facinating read! Keep up the work. I have enjoyed reading through your posts and love how the seasons change the landscape.
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