The burn running through the Square

In the mid nineteenth Century, looking North from the Court House now Town House. Towards the Garth Hotel, part of the Garth hotel was built as the Clerks House 1769.  There was a bridge and the burn ran underneath bridge and past the Court House down past Burnfield and through South Street.

In this picture you can see the Garth the white building at the top of the road.  The grassy dip in front of the Garth Hotel is the former path where the burn would have flowed. The burn started at the the Dulaig falls, beside the caravan site.

Sir James Grant the founder of Grantown-on-Spey encouraged local industry and new farming methods.  The Grantown Linen Co was launched in John Grants property (site of Morlich House) in 1768-69.  Thomas Cornish, an English wool comber and stocking maker was installed in 1776 in the house which later became part of the Garth Hotel. Water supplied by the burn diverted through "Burnfield".  Cloth was spread on the grass to bleach. 

Grantown Schools

Waverley House at the bottom of the High Street was the West End School.  The police station now stands on the site of the 1765 foundation inn and in 1766 the first Grammar School, from here the first schoolmaster James Innes having run up large debts, did a 'moonlight flit'.  In the latter half of the last century.

Burnfield House above (now the Grantown Museum) was the school for girls and infants- known as the "weemans school" it was amalgamated with the grammar school in 1890,   My grandfather talked about going there as a child.

The Grantown Grammar school 1889 now the primary school is the 4th housing.  Until around 1969? both primary and secondary were in same school.  At the turn of the century the school was lit by gas like many other buildings the gas works were just to the East of the "school hillock"  The supply of gas was erratic and in 1898 the school rector complained of the inadequasy of the gas supply for science and cooking, " specially as they are  now on strike".  Shortly after, the business closed for some years the gas house was used as a store for the fire hose.  in 1911, electric light was installed in the school - for a cost of £56.

Extract from "A Historical Walk" by W Saddler

New Town

Grantown started life as a New Town, built on a piece of uninhabited moorland one and a half miles from Castle Grant.  The centre of the town was a rectangular piece of grass and round this the first houses were built.  If you stand at the Town House looking towards the town, look to your left and you are looking at Grantowns oldest houses. They were built in 1768 by James Haston son of Sir Ludovick head gardener at the castle, before he emgrated to North America in the 1780's.  The houses were magnificent in comparison to the turf house that he himself was born in.  The first house built was on the north side of the square the first stone laid was on the 26th June 1765.  It was the home of John Grant  a weaver from Rhothiemurchus.  Sadly this house was demolished in the early 1800's, to be replaced by the National Bank Building now called Morlich House, next to that is the Cairngorm National Park building block built in 1884.  The buiding dominating the square is now known as the Town House it was built in 1868 as a Court House.  During the local government reorganisation in the 1890's the name Grantown-on-Spey was adopted.

What is happening in Grantown-on-Spey

At the moment the town is dead quiet, I think people asre still recovering from Christmas.  Beale and Pyper are nearly finished their shop how quickly the year has flown.  A new craft shop is de to oen soon.  There are a few shops for sale 40 High Street is new on the market and quite a lot of houses to have a look follow this link http://www.massoncairns.com/

The ducks are back at the skating pond (now called the lochan, but to me always will be the skating pond) after moving to the river for their winter holidays when the pond was frozen over.   Surely this is a sign of the spring.  I love the Spring the birds singing an the flowers and buds appearing everywhere.

Talking about the skating pond has wonderful memories for me, thats where I learnt to skate.  There was a hut at the far end of the pond exactly in the middle of picture above. where we used to get into our skates. if it was dark we could go up to Mr Mortimers house for the key to turn the lights on they were in the middle on of the pond with seats roud them.  The curlers also used to have a bonspiel at the pond even up until a couple of years ago until European heath and safety law stopped it.

The trees were all broken last year with the heavy snow and frost the weight brought down lots of trees in the area. 

This is a lovely Park now opposite the Craiglynne Hotel it ued to be waste ground, the bonfire was there for a few years  cant remember the exact year.  maybe someone else can.