Amble Around Annan: January 2023

In 2022 we began a series of ambles around the streets of Annan This is the first of our 2023 ambles.

🥾 Schools – through the ages
- 2-3 km (approx 2m)
- 1-2 hrs (approx)
- NOT A CIRCULAR ROUTE
- Click/tap on a photo to enlarge it and give you the pictures as a slideshow.
- Please take care near roads.

Background map downloaded from OS OpenData under 0pen Government License

We begin this Amble at the Town Hall. Annan built a church here in the 17th century (hence the graveyard next to the council offices/town hall) to stand in front of its Tolbooth. From medieval times a Tolbooth or Town House was the main municipal building of a Scottish Burgh, and usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail.

1723 saw a thatched building erected to serve as church and tolbooth, putting the original church into disuse. The new building grew, eventually having a slated roof and adding a tower and clock but the old Town House and prison cells were eventually demolished so that a more fitting Town Hall could be provided for Annan. The building of the Town Hall as we now know it began in 1875 with the modern extension added in 1980.

1824 National Library of Scotland

1859 National Library of Scotland

In 1666 Annan Burgh school was to be found near the burial ground, behind what was then the Town House. In 1616 every parish had been told that they had to have a school house, with masters paid for by heritors. Heritors were the landed proprietors of the parish, and were liable for the payment of public burdens connected with the parish, including the provision of schools.

Town Hall buildings © P&V Russell 2022

From the Town Hall cross over into Port Street and pass the imposing Bridge House.

At the beginning of the 19^th century laws meant the council were obliged to build an academy and endow it. Bridge House had previously been an inn but was bought by the Town Council in 1802 to use as the academy until they could afford to build a new one.
The first Rector of the Academy here was William Dalgliesh from Lockerbie and he had two teachers, Adam Hope (from Annan) and John Finlinson (from Wigton).
In 1819 the council decided to put the building up for auction to raise funds for a new academy building. Mr Benson of the Queensberry Hotel bought it.
There will be more about the original, and current, Academy later.

Before the Academy was in Bridge House however …

Follow Port Street ...

until you come to a house, called Scaurbank, set back in its own grounds. In 1739 the Burgh School building was taken down from Battery Street and re-erected in Common Loaning, now known as Port St., in the area where Scaurbank house is now.

The first headmaster of the Academy at this time was Robert Hendrie and it cost 1/- per quarter for children to be taught English, 1/6d per quarter for the teaching of English, Writing & Arithmetic, and 2/- per quarter for the teaching of Latin and Writing. One shilling is the equivalent of 5p today.

Continuing down Port Street we find Nicholson Street off to the left.

The 1870 Act had made education compulsory for children between 5 and 14 years of age and as Factory Acts had already reduced the hours children were allowed to work, and raised the age at which they could be employed, many of the children attending school were known as half timers.
At Welldale Hall, along Nicholson Street was Willie Wright’s school. It opened in 1871 and was for many of the half timers employed at Nicholson & Pool’s weaving mill. It was one of the most popular schools in Annan with a popular headmaster. Valuation Rolls tell us that John Nicholson was the proprietor of the school and had a hall at number 9, could this have been the school?

RoM 1987

Turn left at the end of Nicholson Street and then right into Hallmeadow Place. There is now a choice of route - turning left into Greenmeadow Gardens will take you to a flight of steps. Cut through the houses onto McMurdo Road and a left turn takes you along Elmvale Cut.

If you prefer not to go up the steps continue along Hallmeadow Place and turn left into Wood Avenue, left into McMurdo Road and then right to Elmvale Cut.

Elmvale Cut runs between Annan Railway Station and Elmvale School. Education Acts in the early 20th century saw the division of education into primary and secondary education, the raising of the school leaving age and changes in curriculum and teaching methods. New buildings were needed and Annan erected 4 new primary schools with Elmvale being the most recent, in 1980.

On reaching the main road turn left and cross the railway bridge. To the right there are 2 semi-detached houses. We think these houses were originally a school called Garbits Parish School built at Greenknowe in 1840 by the Heritors of Annan. Valuation Rolls in 1855 tell us that Mrs Johnston was the proprietor of Garbits Parish School.

1859 National Library of Scotland

Continuing along St John’s Road takes us past Annan Academy but more of the history of this later. Take the right turn opposite the sad-looking Central Hotel and then turn left at the end to walk alongside the academy car park.

Following the blue sign, turn right and follow the walkway alongside the academy and past Hecklegirth Primary School, built in 1963, to reach Solway Street.
A detour can be taken here by turning right and walking down to 63 Hecklegirth, where you will see the house that was a Dame school until 1938, known as St Nicholas School. Dame schools were small establishments for young children run by widows and unmarried women in their own home. They would educate the children for a small fee, teaching reading, arithmetic and sometimes writing, alongside practical skills such as knitting and sewing.

If you do not turn right for the detour, turn left along Solway Street and just after passing Seaforth Terrace you will see the Drill Hall on the opposite side of the road.. It was the Annan Female and Infant School, or Infant & Industrial School, opened in 1834. At the time it opened most school attendees, at whatever type of school, were boys but Mrs Dirom, wife of the famous Alexander Dirom of Mount Annan, was influential in championing the education of girls.

At the end of Solway Street turn right to walk along Scotts Street until you find St Columba's RC church. The building next to St Columba's was the school before it had new buildings erected in Shawhill Road in 1962.

As we return down Scotts Street note the Welcome Hall on the corner of Charles Street which was also used by St Columba's school.

On the opposite side of the road, on Cumberland Terrace was Miss Thwaites Ladies School. Ann Thwaites in the census of 1861 was recorded as a music teacher at 7 Cumberland Terrace.

Turn right into Charles Street and follow the road until it bears left into Rose Street. These streets were not originally connected and although we do not know exactly where on Rose Street, we believe there was a school here. Valuation Rolls tell us that in 1856 Matthew Lorimer was a teacher in a house and schoolroom on Rose Street. He was here for many years and Valuation Rolls show the school was still there in 1865.

1859 National Library of Scotland

Continue along Rose Street where there is now another detour, if required. Turn right to join Butts St and then bear right opposite Spar into Newington Road. Go past the House That Was Built In A Day, over the roundabout and then right into Hospital Rd to find Newington Primary School. Newington was the first of the new primary schools for Annan, built in 1958.
If you do not want to do the detour at this time, turn left at the end of Rose Street and return to Fish Cross. Cross over into Murray Street and then right into Ednam Street. Along here on the right is the old Academy building. It was built in 1820 (as the date stone at the top of the building tells us) and was at first a single storey building, but 1895 saw another storey added and 1908 saw it extended again.

We believe Ednam Street was still being used for certain classes until the 1970's.

1832 National Library of Scotland

Turning right at the end of Ednam Street will take us back to the High Street where on the opposite side of the road we can see the Buck Inn.
1821 had seen the demolition of the Burgh School because it was unsafe and for many years the school had no permanent home. It occupied various rooms around the town such as the assembly rooms above the Fleshmarket, (behind the Town Hall) and the ballroom at the Buck Hotel.

In 1831 Mr Herbertson, a teacher at the school, finally appealed to the Court of Session for the provision of a school and a schoolmaster’s house, which led to the building of a new school. Now known as a Parish school rather than a Burgh school 1840 saw Garbits Parish School, at Greenknowe, come into existence on Station Road, as mentioned previously.

Continue along the High Street and turn left into Bank Street. The Seminary for Young Ladies opened on Bank St with Miss Bell as headmistress. Valuation Rolls tell us Janet Ann Bell was somewhere on Bank Street from 1872 to 1881 and according to the Census for 1881 she was a music teacher.

She was later succeeded by the Misses Macmaster. Mary and Elizabeth Macmaster came from Wigtown according to the Census of 1881. Their school became so popular that new premises were needed which they had built elsewhere. Find out more later ...

Further along Bank Street there was a well-known Annan half penny school - on the site of what is now St Andrew’s church. Run by Bryce Downie, a famous pupil was Hugh Clapperton (1788-1827). He was a naval officer and explorer of West and Central Africa.

Crossing diagonally into St John’s Road takes us to where the Misses Macmaster built, in 1880, their new school. Fendie Lodge was at 11 St John’s Road and Elizabeth Macmaster was a teacher of music. The house was later renamed Ravenswood.

Continuing along St John’s Road we come again to Annan Academy.
A new public school was built here, known as Greenknowe School, in 1894, by J McIldowie, J. Tweedie, JS Millar & George Laidlaw to replace Garbits school. It was designed by Mr Carruthers from Dumfries with a distinctive bell tower.

C. McIldowie on Annan & District Old Postcards & Pictures

This is when the old Garbits building was divided into 2 houses, one of which became a teachers house, possibly for the new school.
In 1895 the Annan Female and Infant school in Solway Street amalgamated with the Welldale School and the Greenknowe School. In 1921 the majority of Annan’s children attended Greenknowe School but it then amalgamated with Annan Academy in Ednam Street and became what we now know as Annan Academy. The old buildings with the bell tower were retained as the school library when, in the 1960’s, more modern buildings were erected.

If you have any further information, documents, photos or memories about anything in this blog - or can correct any mistakes - please let us know in the comments section at the bottom or on Annan The History Town Group Facebook page.

Amble Around Annan

Monday, January 9, 2023

Annan Through the Ages - schools

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