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Blantyre Folk

James Brownlie

Blantyre's Oldest Native. 1939.

The many friends and well-wishers of our grand old man, who is the oldest native and a most highly respected citizen, will join with us in our congratulations to Mr James Brownlie, who, on Monday first will have reached his 94th year. The worthy old veteran is the father of Mr James Brownlie, of former football fame and now joint manager of Dundee United F.C., and resides with his widowed daughter, Mrs Alexander Wardrop, at 58 Hunthill Road , High Blantyre .

He is a typical example of sturdy and hardy old Scotsman of good physique, and his mind is still clear and active as ever, and being blessed with a most retentive memory, he can re-call clearly incidents of his boy-hood, and the conditions prevailing in Blantyre at the time. His schooling was meagre in the extreme, but afterwards, by self-teaching, he became as intelligent as any ordinary man. His first school was in a “but and ben” thatched one storey house right across the road where he was born. The teacher was an aged a spinster lady, and when she died the school was closed down, and the twenty odd scholars were transferred to another school in the Kirkton, and High Blantyre, Mr Brownlie was born in the “Old Hootlet’s Nest Inn” in the Barnhill district of Blantyre, which is the oldest part of the parish, on the 22nd day of May, 1845, which at that time was owned by his father.  It is somewhat remarkable to note that his father and grandfather were also born at Blantyre and both also lived to a grand old age, and three following generations can also claim Blantyre as their birthplace. Business is still carried out in the old inn, but the former thatched roof one-story property of these days was demolished a number of years ago when an up-to-date- modern building was built.

We have to mention sympathetically an unfortunate accident which befell Mr Brownlie a month ago which has confined him indoors ever since. A weakness became visible in his legs some time ago and although able, with the aid of two sticks, to move about in the vicinity of his home before that, he had to be very careful. Two years ago he fell in his home and broke his right arm. He recovered all right, but his latest misfortune has given his family considerable anxiety, He had been walking across the floor when his legs suddenly gave way and he fell heavily on his left shoulder and broke the clavicle bone. Our correspondent paid a visit to his home a few days ago, and found him comfortable in his bed, and quite bright and cheerful.

His first words were; “Oh aye, my arm’s getting’ on alright noo and the doctor says it is knitting nicely, and he expects me to be up and going about as usual before long.”

When Br Brownlie was born there were no coal pits in the parish. In his young days, the nearest was an “in-gaun-ee” at East Kilbride , and there were a few small pits at Cambuslang, all four miles away. He remembered getting the loan of a horse and cart the day he was married in 1869, and going for a load of coals which cost him 5s a ton. The population at the time of his birth was under 2,000 people, and today it is in the vicinity of 19,000. In his young life, stone and lime stone kilns, with agriculture were the only industries for men, while the old dye works and spinning mills in the old village provided work for many young men and women from Blantyre and the surrounding district. When Mr Brownlie was eleven years of age he started to work in the dye works, but some time after he took up outdoor work, and for many years he carried on carting work, and he was a roadsman in the Blantyre district, with the County Council, for over thirty years. With his robust constitution, he was able to work away intil he was 82 years of age, when he retired.

In his early days there were only two churches in Blantyre —the old parish in High Blantyre , where he was baptised, and the old Free Church in Stonefield Road . When he was born the minister at High Blantyre was the Rev. |Robert Paterson , who was succeeded by the Rev. Stewart Wright. Then came the Rev. C.S. Turnbull, and today the Rev. Archibald Mackenzie is the minister, Up till quite lately |Mr Brownlie was a regular attender at the church services.

Before leaving the worthy old veteran I asked him how he accounted for having lived to such a grand old age.

Again he laughed right heartily and said “Sorr, I dinna ken; I’m here, and that’s all I can say about it. But next time you come back I’ll be oot o’ bed and a’ richt again.

Ref. Hamilton Advertiser. 20/5/1939. Page 5.   (Photograph included in article.)  

Wilma Bolton. 2005.

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