IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Lamont Crescent, DUMBARTON, G82 4PA

I have shown this memorial because it is specifically mentioned in the listing text (see the end-note for the link); for the other one mentioned there, see Image (misspelled "Hathieson" in the listing text). The Murray Memorial is there described as "Ruskinian Gothic" with an "exotic lotus leaf finial", which, in this picture, can be seen beside the base of the memorial. The listing also states that the structure commemorates "William Murray, died 1872", but that date applies instead to his wife (see below). The memorial stands beside the kirkyard's southern boundary wall. The base of the structure bears the names of the memorial sculptors: "McArthur and McLaren, Renton". The main inscription is as follows, where quirks of word-spacing are reproduced as on the stone; the reading of some figures may be uncertain: "Erected by William Murray in memory of Janet Campbell, his wife, died 17th September 1872, aged 52 years. Hugh Murray, his son, died 13th January 1871, aged 25 years. Alexander Murray, his son, who died at Hongkong, 17th July 1877, aged 30 years. Also two of his grand children, John, and Janet, who died in infancy. The above William Murray, died 10th July 1889, aged 74 years. David Murray, his son, died 5th June 1890, aged 30 years. Also William, and Isabella, who died in infancy." An additional panel below this reads: "Janet Murray, his daughter, died 18th Jan'y 1895, aged 36 years."

The large memorial at the centre of the photo has no identifying text, at least not to identify who is being commemorated. The only text to be seen is under the two niches: the name "Young" is under the one on the left, and "McArthur & McLaren" under the one on the right; these were presumably the monumental sculptors. Unfortunately, their work is gone, and the niches are empty. The upright stone just to the right of the large structure was erected by Isabella McFarlane to commemorate her father, Peter McFarlane, and her mother, Janet Auchinvole. Based solely on its neighbour, I can only speculate that the larger structure at the centre of the photograph commemorates David Auchinvole, J.P., but this is no more than a guess on my part. David Auchinvole was a joiner to trade, a lessee of the Leven fishings at Dalquhurn, and keen on shooting and curling (see page 35 of Donald MacLeod's 1891 work "Historic Families ... of the Lennox" for these details, and more; as mentioned there, Image, back when it was Carman Loch, used to be used for curling).

The postbox has an E VII R cipher and is located at the junction of Cardross Road (right foreground) and Main Street.

Several of the old gravestones in the kirkyard of the ruined Millburn Church are of historic interest. For example, two nieces of Highland Mary are buried here. The present photograph shows the resting place of one of them, namely, Mary Anderson; for the other, Ann Anderson, see Image The gravestone of Mary Robertson is located in the part of the kirkyard that is to the south of the ruined church; that area is shown in Image As that picture reveals, the church is in a sorry state; see Image for another view, and for an explanation. For an earlier picture, showing the building intact, see Image This gravestone is likewise in poor condition. The part in front was clearly the top of the stone, and the date visible on it is 1859. The name Mary Robertson can also be seen there. She died in October 1830. The remainder of the stone is lying prone behind it, and the last of the names listed there is Mary Anderson. The text is rather worn, but, as recorded in "Dunbartonshire Monumental Inscriptions (pre 1855)" [1979; John Fowler Mitchell & Sheila Mitchell], she died on the 27th of July, 1877, aged 72. This Mary Anderson was a niece of "Highland Mary", Margaret Campbell(*), on whom see the Image Highland Mary's sister Annie married James Anderson. Their two youngest daughters were Mary, who married Thomas Robertson, and who is the Mary Anderson named on this stone, and Ann, who married Matthew Turnbull: Image For more on the Anderson sisters, see the article about the church on page 11 of the "Lennox Herald" issue of the 23rd of January, 2009, and the follow-up correspondence in the issues of the 6th of March and the 13th of March of the same year. (*) Highland Mary's name is usually given as Mary Campbell, but as Ian McIntyre writes on page 79 of his "Robert Burns: A Life" (2009), "James Mackay ... established, by trawling through the Dunoon register of births, now in New Register House, Edinburgh, that the girl's name was not Mary but Margaret". He also notes in passing that the two names are more similar in Gaelic than in English.

See also Image I have shown the gravestone because it is specifically mentioned in the listing text (see the end-note for the link), although the surname is there misspelled "Hathieson". The structure is three-sided (compare Image in Dumbarton Cemetery; it is similar in form, and it bears some of the same Masonic symbols). (For the other memorial mentioned in the listing text, see Image) Donald MacLeod, in his "Historic Families ... of the Lennox" (1891), devotes about two pages to a certain John Matheson Jnr., mentioning (once in that account, and again a couple of pages later) that he died in 1878. Almost a page of that account is the text of a poem written by John Matheson Jnr "fully thirty years ago", and it is mentioned that a book called "England to Delhi" was published by him in 1870. MacLeod devotes a further four pages to Brigadier General Sir Donald Matheson KCB, who was then still living, and who is described as the "son of the late John Matheson Esqr" (father of the aforementioned John Jnr?). Note that the John Jnr commemorated in the inscription on this memorial died in 1892; he was therefore alive when MacLeod's book was written. He is perhaps the son of the John Jnr of the book. West-facing inscription: "John Matheson Junr, in memory of his daughter Agnes Kinloch who died 2nd Novr 1887 aged 7 years. The above John Matheson, died 27th Aug 1892 aged 43 years. Agnes Kinloch Matheson, died 14th May 1895 aged 7 years. David George Matheson, died 19th June 1913 aged 31 years." SSE-facing inscription: "Sacred to the memory of John Matheson, joiner, who died 18th June 1874 aged 58 years and Margaret McLaws his wife who died 19th October 1882 aged 60 years. Their eldest son William W Matheson, Chief Engineer, Chilian Navy, died at Liverpool 16th August 1885 aged 39 years. Walter, died at Redfern Augt 1903 aged 47 years. Also George and Helen, died in infancy." [The above is given just as it appears on the stone: "joiner" is correct, and is not my typo for "junior", and, although "Chilean" is now standard, "Chilian Navy" was by far the more common spelling at the time when this memorial was erected.] The NNE-facing side and some additional tablets attached to the memorial commemorate more recent deaths. As usual, I leave these for any interested parties to read for themselves.

The memorial is in the form of an obelisk, but with three sides. On the upper part, the compasses and square are flanked by a saw and a hammer; the symbol below them is harder to make out, but is probably a crown. See Image for the whole structure. Many of the stones in the kirkyard bear similar symbols; compare Image

The stone is near the south-west corner of Image Those named in the inscription include John Parlane Kinloch, M.D., D.P.H., M.R.C.P., Chief Medical Officer of Health for Scotland, who died on the 31st of January 1932, aged 46. He was from the West of Scotland, graduated from Glasgow University, and thereafter took the Diploma in Public Health (D.P.H.) at Cambridge, and qualified as M.D. at Glasgow (the other abbreviation in the inscription, "M.R.C.P.", stands for "Member of the Royal College of Physicians"). He served in Glasgow's Victoria Infirmary; at the Queen Charlotte Lying-in Hospital, in London; and as a pupil-assistant in the Glasgow Public Health Department. He was later a resident medical officer at Ruchill Fever Hospital (Image) until 1914, at which time he was appointed Deputy Medical Officer of Health at Aberdeen, and Lecturer in Public Health at the city's university. Holding the rank of Captain in the RAMC (T) – Royal Army Medical Corps (Territorial) – he commanded a mobile hygienic field laboratory in France in 1918. [The information in this paragraph is from the Glasgow Herald issue of 7th November 1928, which see for more details]. Dr John Parlane Kinloch was appointed Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health for Scotland in 1928 (that is the main subject of the Glasgow Herald article just cited). Following his death in 1932, he was succeeded in that office by Dr James Law Brownlie.

This is a view from the southern to the northern boundary wall, in the area to the west of Image Variations on the square and compasses theme appear on many of the stones in the kirkyard; see, for example, Image (Some of the friendly societies that became established in this area are listed towards the end of the item Image)

For other views, see Image (an older view where the spire is intact), Image, and Image Click on the end-note title for related images.

For a similar view in snow, see Image An older view, Image, shows the spire intact. Click on the end-note title for other pictures.