IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Sunderland Avenue, DUMBARTON, G82 5AB

The wooded knoll shown here is located within the Image (and appears in that photograph); see that item for further information. On OS maps from the first edition (c.1860) onwards, the knoll is called Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat is similar to the nearby Image, but is smaller. For a view from a different angle, see Image As noted in the article linked from the end-note, a monument to Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (often referred to as "Don Roberto") used to stand on the near side of this knoll; that monument was later moved to Gartmore. See Image for more on that topic. The monument was unveiled here in a ceremony that took place on the 28th of August, 1937 (it is described in the Lennox Herald, in the issues of the 28th of August and the 4th of September, 1937, from which the following description is drawn). It is about 12 feet high, was designed by Alexander Wright, F.R.I.A.S., is made of local whinstone, and was built by Messrs Jameson and McCallion of Dumbarton. Its central feature is a bronze portrait bust of Mr Cunninghame Graham, by Alexander Proudfoot, R.S.A. Above this is a bronze tablet, by the Argentine sculptor Emilio J. Sarniguet, depicting the head of Robert's criollo horse Pampa; Robert kept Pampa for over twenty years, and did not suffer a single fall. The portrait bust of Robert himself is flanked by two stones, the one on the left sent by Argentine admirers of Robert, and bearing the word "Argentina". On the right is a similar stone from Uruguay. Below the portrait bust is an inscribed tablet, noting, amongst other things, that Robert died in Argentina, and that he was interred on Inchmahome (Image). The tablet is of Leoch stone, and was carved by Messrs Gray and Co., monumental sculptors, Glasgow. On one of the top corners of the memorial is the coat of arms of the Cunninghame Graham family, and, on the other, a Scots thistle. An anchor-shaped design on the memorial is the symbol that Robert used as a horse-brand.

The wooded knoll shown here is located within the Image, and is named Arthur's Seat on large-scale OS maps. For further information, see Image In the background of the present photograph, on the left, is Image (also shown in another contributor's earlier picture: Image).

This knoll, located at the north-eastern corner of the Image, has many rock outcrops on its sides. It used to be thought (mainly on account of its name) that the hill had been the residence of King Robert the Bruce in his later years. That traditional association is no longer in favour, but it does explain the presence of Image nearby. Castle Hill gives the Castlehill area of Dumbarton its name. I took another photograph from much the same spot, less than a month later; on that occasion the hill looked considerably less bleak: Image A similar knoll not far to the west is called Image; again, see Image The name Castle Hill is an old one: a charter made in 1542 grants to Archibald Campbell, master of the King's wine-cellar, the "terras de Kirktoun de Cardros, Dalmowok, Weltoun et molendinum earundem, terras de Castelhill, Hole, et Hawthornehill, vic. Dunbertane", etc.; that is, the lands of Kirkton of Cardross, Dalmoak, Walton, and their mill, the lands of Hole and Hawthornhill in the Shire (Sheriffdom) of Dumbarton [charter #2630 in RMS Vol. 2]. "Kirkton": near Image, the ancient Cardross Parish church, in what is now Levengrove Park. "Dalmoak", "Walton", "Hawthornhill": these names (all originally of farms; see Image) are still in use, and they can be found on the map. "Hole" (sometimes "Hoill"): for Easter or Foul Hole, sometimes called Hoill of Cardross, see Image; Wester Hole was near Ardoch, and was sometimes called Hoill of Ardoch.

See Image for the opposite view, down the slope. Someone pointed out to me in a conversation about half an hour later that there is a causeway-like path down this side (which is what my picture was intended to capture). See the comments at https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Mains-of-Cardross-and-Castle-Hill#castle-hill for further discussion; in brief, there is no physical evidence that there was ever a building on this knoll, but the presence of what looks like a path on this side had been noted about a century ago.

The Castlehill area of Dumbarton is named after this hill, which is located at the north-eastern corner of the Image For further details, and for the history that was associated (by tradition) with Castle Hill, see Image, which was taken about three weeks earlier.

They are shown from the other side of Castlehill Road. Right of centre, against the wall, is a piece of metalwork, shown in detail in Image; it features carved dragons. Although the name of the takeaway also contains the word "Dragon", I am told that the metalwork itself is earlier, and was present when the premises were called "The Keep" (which is the name that is obscured by the bus stop sign). [Update: By mid-2022, the outside of the building looked very different, and, amongst other changes, the metalwork had been removed.]

It only takes a few seconds to climb this knoll, shown from a distance in Image, which gives the Castlehill area of Dumbarton its name. Part of that area of housing is in the right background.

The name of the park commemorates Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (1852-1936), an adventurer and politician who was a steadfast advocate of Scottish Home Rule. At the eastern entrance of the park (shown in Image) is a stone which bears the text "Cunninghame Graham Memorial Park 'the Mony'" (see Image for a view of that stone). "Mony" here refers to a monument. It does not refer to the small stone just mentioned, but, rather, to a large monument to Cunninghame Graham which used to stand within the park. It was located beside the wooded knoll (Arthur's Seat) that can be seen ahead, to the left of the path, in the present photograph; the monument was unveiled there in 1937, and remained at that spot until 1981, when it was moved to Gartmore (Image). See Image for a description of the monument. The large building in the background is Image (earlier picture Image), which is all quiet on this occasion (during the school holidays). OLSP arose from the merger of Notre Dame (a girls' school – see Image) and St Patrick's (a boys' school). By the start of 2018, OLSP had moved to a new site at the top of Bellsmyre: Image Similar to Arthur's Seat, but larger, is an eminence called Image, which is located in the wooded north-eastern corner of the park; part of that area is visible at the right-hand edge of the photo; see Image for another view. Castle Hill gave the Castlehill area of Dumbarton its name; see also Image

Bar on Castlehill Road. A sign outside the entrance to the Saloon bar reads: NO HORSES TO BE LEFT UNTIED Next door is the New Dragon Inn - a Chinese and Thai takeaway.

[Update: by mid-2022, the outside of the building had been redecorated, and this metalwork had been removed. Among the new decor was a "No Horses to be Left Untied" sign beside the saloon door.] See Image for context. The setting is the west side of Castlehill Road, in front of a building that had been occupied for several decades by a Chinese takeaway with "Dragon" in its name; note the dragons in the lower half of the picture. The Latin motto at the top of the ironwork is "Virtute Tutus" ("by virtue secure" or equivalent).