IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Broomhill Drive, DUMBARTON, G82 3HQ

This is a general view of the newer northern half of the cemetery. For another such view, and for further comments, see Image This northern half of the cemetery contains a Image

This is a general view of the northern half of the cemetery; for another such view, see Image This area was not part of the cemetery as it was originally laid out; it was a later extension. This newer northern section has a very different feel about it; the large and varied monuments that are so prevalent in the older part of the cemetery are fascinating and often attractive, but they were of their time. Style and taste have changed, and such structures would be very much out of place here.

Just ahead, a cul-de-sac branches off to the left; it is also reckoned as part of Whiteford Avenue. It is shown in Image To the left of the top of the nearest lamp post on the left of the road, it is just possible to pick out a dome as a grey bump on the skyline; it is a Image At the far left in the background is part of Image

The fountain stands in the northern half of Image The inscription on the near side is extremely worn in places, but the sense of the text makes it possible to fill in the gaps (compare the inscription at Image). "Erected by the London-Dumbartonshire Association President – Sir Iain Colquhoun, Bart, KT, DSO, LLD, Lord Lieutenant of Dumbartonshire to the honoured memory of those of the county who lost their lives by enemy action 1939-1945" The far side of the fountain (shown in Image) bears the very worn remnants of a crest and a Latin motto: Image [Although it is not recorded on the inscription, the memorial was unveiled in September of 1949. Sir Iain Colquhoun had been Lord-Lieutenant of the county from 1919 until his death in November 1948, but was succeeded in that role by Major General Alexander Telfer-Smollett, who performed the unveiling of the memorial.]

This is the same fountain as shown in Image, but viewed from the other side; see that item for further details. For a closer look at the detail on this side, see Image

This photograph is a close-up view of the fountain that is shown in Image; these details are indistinct unless, as in this case, the angle of the sun's illumination is favourable. The motto appears to read "Fide Fortuna Fortes". The elephant with the "castle" (or tower) on its back features in the Dumbarton arms, which "were registered in the Lyon Office in or about AD 1672. This was the year in which was passed the important Act which confers on the Lyon King of Arms the right to grant arms to 'virtuous and well-deserving persons'"; specifically, the Dumbarton arms are described as follows: "Azure, an elephant passant argent, tusked or, bearing on his back a tower proper". (See Image for another representation.) Their origin is obscure. They are said to "appear upon the burgh seal appended to the document relating to the ransom of David II, son of Robert the Bruce, at the end of his eleven years of captivity dating from the battle of Neville's Cross", that document being dated 1357. [The above details about the Dumbarton arms are from "The Dumbarton coat-of-arms" (1909), by Archibald Macdonald.]

This cul-de-sac branches off from the main body of Image It is not given a separate name.

The Denny family commemorated by the memorial in the foreground are usually called the Dennys of Castlegreen (in order to distinguish them from another prominent family of that name – see below). "In memory of Alexander Denny, merchant, Glasgow, who died 14 September, 1855, aged 70 years. Peter Denny, of Castlegreen, who died 19 February, 1856, aged 68 years. Sons of the late John Denny, of Castlegreen. James Denny, his grandson, who died 14 September, 1858, aged 44 years. Elizabeth Denny, his granddaughter, who died 4th January, 1872, aged 60 years". The Peter Denny named here was the grandson of David Denny of Corslet (as Crosslet was once called – see Image), and was the son of Provost John Denny. Peter Denny was a grain merchant. He went into a shipbuilding partnership with Daniel Rankin (Image); their company, Denny and Rankin, initially operated out of the Woodyard (see Image), and then at Castlegreen (for the location of the Castlegreen area, see the comments at Image). Peter Denny of Castlegreen was Provost of Dumbarton from 1834-44, and from 1848-51. He was a bachelor; on his death, the proceeds of his estate passed to his nephew and niece, James and Elizabeth, who are named in the inscription. The Dennys of Castlegreen are not to be confused with the Dennys of Braehead: the two families were not closely related; they were related(*), but more distantly. Both families were active in the local shipbuilding industry, and each produced a Peter Denny who was at one time Provost of Dumbarton. (For the other Peter Denny, of Helenslee, see Image) See also http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Dumbarton-Cemetery#shipbuilding-and-other-industries [Biographical details are from Donald MacLeod's "The God's Acres of Dumbarton" (1888); there are one or two minor discrepancies (in the day of the month) between the dates given there and those in the inscription itself; I have followed the inscription here.] - - • - - (*) The precise relation between the Dennys of Castlegreen and those of Braehead can be inferred from a detailed family tree that is among the clippings in Dumbarton Library, and that was compiled by Arthur F Jones: The common ancestors of both families are the Dennys of Townend. A certain Walter Denny, burgess, in Townend, had a son called Walter, who had died by 1692. This second Walter had a son called John Denny (1670-1723), farmer in Townend; this John is the common ancestor of both branches of the family, but they descend from two different wives. Below, I have listed just enough names to allow the family connection between the two branches to be inferred; there are many more siblings at each level. I cannot be sure of having copied all dates correctly, but the main aim here is to set out the generations clearly. ■ Generations leading to Denny of BRAEHEAD: (1) John Denny (1670-1723) of Townend married Margaret Brock (d.1703); she was probably his first wife. (2) Their son John Denny (1700-), farmer in Townend, married (1729) Katherine Bryce. (3) Their son John Denny, maltman, of Townend, and later of Braehead, married (1768) Agnes Lang. (4) Their son William Denny (1779-1833), shipbuilder, First of the Woodyard, married Christian McIntyre. (5) Their son Peter Denny (1821-1895) of Helenslee, Provost of Dumbarton, married (1845) Helen Leslie. (6) Their son was William Denny (1847-1887), Third of the Woodyard, who died in Buenos Aires. (William II – meaning "William, Second of the Woodyard" – was another son of William I, was the brother of Peter, and was therefore the uncle of William III. William II was the founder of the firm William Denny & Bros, shipbuilders: his memorial is shown in Image For Peter Denny of Helenslee, his brother, see Image and Image) ■ Generations leading to Denny of CASTLEGREEN: (1) The same John Denny (1670-1723) of Townend married (1704) Christian Paterson after the death of Margaret Brock; Christian was probably his second wife. (2) Their son David Denny (1709-) married (1742) Margaret Lindsay. (3) Their son John Denny (1745-), of Corslett, later of Castlegreen, Provost, married (1782) Katherine Murray. (4) Their son Patrick alias Peter Denny (1787-1856) of Castlegreen, Provost, shipbuilder, partner in the firm Denny and Rankin, is the Peter Denny of Castlegreen who is commemorated on the gravestone in the picture. The relationship between the two Peter Dennys is therefore that the great-grandfather of Peter Denny of Castlegreen is the great-great-grandfather of Peter Denny of Helenslee, namely, John Denny of Townend; the two Peters are second cousins once removed (for what it is worth, they might, because they are descendants through different wives of their common ancestor, be described as "second half-cousins once removed", but I suspect that most readers will not find that description very enlightening).

This structure is located beside the Image, at what was formerly the north-western corner of the cemetery (before the latter was extended). The memorial is 13 feet, 4 inches long, and stands 12 feet tall. The architect was John MacLeod, who was responsible for many of the memorials in this cemetery. It was carved by Mr Grassby, a Glasgow sculptor (presumably Charles Benham Grassby – he was also responsible for Image, which is located nearby, and for others; see, for example, Image). Two Provosts of Dumbarton, father and son, are commemorated here. The father, William Risk, was born at Kilmarnock. In Dundee, he traded in seeds; in 1810, he began carrying on the same trade in Dumbarton, but he soon branched out into the sale of wines and spirits. He was joined by his son in that business; the firm, William Risk and Son, continued trading until 1853. William Risk was elected Provost of Dumbarton in 1845. He died on the 7th of October, 1864, in his 80th year. His son, James Blair Risk was born and raised in Dumbarton. He became partner in a firm of drapers (France & Risk), and in his father's business, and he was also connected with the Dumbarton Brewery. Like his father, he was elected Provost of Dumbarton, and held that position from 1854 to 1860. He also served as a Justice of the Peace for the county. He did much travelling in his later years, and died in London, on the 29th of April, 1878. However, he is buried here in Dumbarton Cemetery. The central panel of the memorial bears the inscription "the burying ground of James Blair Risk of Meadowbank", and the top of the structure bears a JBR monogram, shown in Image Risk Street in Dumbarton is very probably named after William or James Blair Risk (or both): Image [For further biographical details, see Donald MacLeod's "The God's Acres of Dumbarton" (1888).]

This photograph shows the JBR monogram (for James Blair Risk) that appears at the top of Image; see that item for further information, and for a view of the whole structure.