IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Helenslee Road, DUMBARTON, G82 4AN

Behind the wall, to the left of the road, are the former grounds of Keil School; see Image for the main description. However, a few of the school's properties were located on the other (eastern) side of Helenslee Road; on that side (to the right in this photograph) was Islay Kerr House, which accommodated some of the school's boarding pupils. Islay Kerr was a business associate and long-time friend of the founder of Keil School, William Mackinnon. The building was acquired for the school in 1963, and had formerly been called "Dunstane"; the architect was A.C.Denny (see the tags associated with this photograph). [According to his obituary, which was published in the Glasgow Herald issue of 10th December 1951, Islay Kerr had been largely responsible for Keil School's move from the original site at Southend (in Kintyre) to Helenslee in Dumbarton, and "it was at his suggestion that the governors bought part of an adjoining field to prevent the encroachment of a projected housing scheme on the policies of the school".] The boarding houses for pupils at Keil School were: Islay Kerr House, just mentioned; School House (these pupils stayed in the main school building, the mansion house of Helenslee itself, where a mezzanine floor included many dormitories); Mason House (see Image); and New House, latterly called Mackinnon House (see Image). Non-boarding pupils, a minority, made up an additional "day house". The origins of the names Islay Kerr House and Mackinnon House are clear from the above account. Mason House was named after Mr James Mason, an early headmaster of the school. Also formerly located on the eastern side of Helenslee Road, but now gone, was another building, which incorporated chemistry and biology classrooms.

The building shown here was originally the lodge associated with the mansion house of Helenslee; see its listed building report for further details: http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designation/LB24898 (at Historic Environment Scotland). Later, the mansion house and its grounds become part of Keil School: Image The location shown in the present photograph then became the main entrance of the school.

The photograph was taken from Helenslee Road. Some modern buildings provide context for the main subject of interest, which is the older building that lies beyond them. This was originally a stable block associated with Helenslee House; its listed building report provides further details: http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designation/LB24897 (at Historic Environment Scotland). Later, when Helenslee House and its grounds became part of Keil School (see Image), the former stable block was adapted to become the school's technical block (woodwork, metalwork, and technical drawing were taught on the ground floor; there were also, at one time, art and chemistry classrooms on the upper floor). In this period, it was referred to as New House. The building had become rather run down, and, after some modifications to the building, Mr James G. Gulliver of Campbeltown, the founder of Argyll Foods plc (later to become Safeway plc) conducted its official opening as a new house (Mackinnon House, named after the school's founder) for some of the boarding pupils. This ceremony took place on Thursday the 27th of February, 1986.

The photograph was taken from the same point as Image, but is a view in the opposite direction. Nearly 300 metres ahead, the road meets Dixon Drive.

The view is from beside Helenslee Road. Image can be seen indistinctly on the left, through the trees.

This photograph was taken from Image The name "Carmelite Monastery" is shown on the entrance gates, which are located only a short distance further up the road. The building, which is also known as Garmoyle House, was built in 1890. It is home to Carmelite Nuns. According to their own website, "The Carmelite Nuns are part of the Roman Catholic Church, belonging to the world-wide Order of the Discalced Carmelites". "Garmoyle Light-ship floats due south from the mansion, and after the particular place which gives its name to it I presume the house is named" [Donald MacLeod, "Dumbarton Ancient and Modern" (1893), Chapter XXXVII]. There is a photograph of the Garmoyle Lightship on page 98 of John F Riddell's "Clyde Navigation" (1979); the caption mentions that it was replaced by a buoy in 1905.

The photograph was taken from the junction with Image About 40 metres ahead, another junction can be seen, where a fairly short street, Helenslee Court, branches off to the left from Helenslee Crescent.

This is part of the Kirktonhill area of Dumbarton. The photograph is a view towards the junction with Image Ahead, on the left, near the junction, a tree can be seen projecting out over the pavement. On closer inspection, it appeared to be a eucalyptus. Compare Image, a view in the opposite direction from the same point.

This road, in the Kirktonhill area of Dumbarton, leads uphill towards the location of Image

Keil Gardens is the name of the road. The buildings on the left are part of a housing development, some of it still under construction, called Keil Mansions (an exception is the darker building at the back, which is the Image; it lies outwith the housing development). The grassy area on the left is the same one as appears on the right in Image (the two pictures were taken from roughly the same spot). The area occupied by the housing development was previously part of the grounds of the school; see the link just cited for further details. As mentioned there, a statue of Sir William Mackinnon used to stand on the grass here (it was brought here from Mombasa). After the school closed, the statue was relocated to Campbeltown. Another building that used to be located on that grassy area was Mason House, which was one of several buildings that accommodated the school's boarding pupils. It was named after Mr Mason, the school's first headmaster. Dumbarton Rock can be seen, on the right, in the background of the present photograph.