IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Main Street, DUMBARTON, G82 4NA

The day the picture was taken was, by coincidence, Remembrance Sunday. The memorial originally stood at the southern edge of the village, on the other side of the road from Image (aka Tontine Park). It is shown here beside Renton Primary School. The text on the curving wall behind it is not related to the war memorial, but is a translation of the Latin text on Image, which is just out of shot to the right.

The memorial is viewed here from across the main road. The building on the left is a school; for further context, see Image For more on the war memorial itself, see Image The curving wall behind the memorial relates, instead, to the neighbouring Smollett Monument, which also appears in the link in the first paragraph; see Image

For context, see Image The village of Renton itself was founded in 1762, and the monument, a Tuscan column, was erected only a few years later, in 1774. It is still in its original location; it was formerly in the school grounds, but is now outside of them, by virtue of the curving wall that can be seen on the left (the monument itself has not been moved). The Latin inscription on the monument is shown in Image; an English translation is written on the curving wall. For further information, see Image and Image

The monument that bears this inscription is one commemorating the writer Tobias Smollett (1721-1771), who was born in Dalquhurn, close to here. The Smollett Monument can be seen here: Image and Image - it is the taller of the two monuments in front of Renton Primary School, and the tablet bearing this inscription is visible in those photographs. (The other monument is a war memorial; see Image) [The village of Renton was in its infancy when the monument was erected; see Image, which has more information about the house where Smollett was born, and which also describes the surroundings of the monument at the time it was erected.] The text for the inscription is discussed in "The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides" by James Boswell. In the entry for Thursday, 28th October, Boswell recounts how Samuel Johnson was consulted on the text for the proposed inscription. Lord Kames had recommended an English text; on hearing of this, Johnson declared that only a Latin text would be appropriate; Boswell(*1) agreed, saying that the inscription "was not meant for the Highland drovers, or other such people, who pass and repass that way". Johnson went on to compose a Latin text, and, while the text shown on the inscription is sometimes credited to him alone, it differs in some respects from Johnson's version. The link in the first paragraph, above, gives further details; it also provides the first part of a translation into English. The remainder reads: "Far – alas! – from his country he lies interred, near Leghorn(*2) in Italy. In testimony of his many great virtues, this empty monument, the only pledge, alas, of his affection, is erected on the banks of the Leven, the scene of his birth and of his latest poetry, by James Smollett of Bonhill, his cousin, who should rather have expected this last tribute from him. Try to remember: this honour was not given alone to the memory of the deceased, but for the encouragement of others; deserve like him, and be alike rewarded." (I do not know who is responsible for the English translation as a whole, but it is not recent, and it can now be found in many places; for example, it is now shown near the monument itself, as is mentioned below. Johnson's own proposal for the Latin text can also be found in "The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides", cited above.) As for the monument, which was erected in 1774, it used to lie inside the fence belonging to Renton Primary School, but a recessed curving wall now allows visitors to approach the monument without entering the school grounds. These days, few would object to a text that passers-by can understand; an English translation of the Latin inscription is presented on the enclosing wall. In addition, there is some mosaic-work on the ground around the monument, representing various aspects of Tobias Smollett's life. Notes: (*1) Boswell's wife was critical of her husband's fawning over Dr Johnson: she once told her husband that she had heard of a bear being led by a man, but "never till now of a man being led by a bear". For one of Johnson's experiences on a visit to this area, see Image (*2) "Leghorn": the traditional English name for Livurno in Italy; compare the Latin original.

The tall column on the right is Image The smaller War Memorial is just to its left: see Image for a better view in context. See Image for another contributor's earlier picture of the school; click on the end-note title for other pictures.

The War Memorial is in the right foreground. To its right, but out of shot, is Image; see Image for a view in context. See Image for another contributor's earlier picture of the school; click on the end-note title for other pictures.

Some stairwells are now present; the building is to have three storeys, one more than the existing school, which was still standing, though out of shot to the right. The tip of Image can be seen on the right. Tobias Smollett was a local eighteenth-century author, and his memorial has stood in place here since 1774. As I recall, it is intended that parts of the new school building will suggest the appearance of books (in a bookcase). Three weeks later: Image

Three weeks earlier: Image A week later: Image Three months later: Image

Three months earlier: Image A week later: Image

One week earlier and from a different angle: Image