Life in the Rows

The Dixon Rows in Blantyre

Miners depended on the Mining Company to provide housing.  Some  developments were better than others.
In 1910 a commision reported on the housing provided to miners. It was entitled "The Housing Condition of Miners”  by the Medical Officer of Health, Dr John T. Wilson".  An exerpt appears at http://scottishmining.co.uk/  .
Exerpts related to the Mulveys and McCartneys are provided below in italics.

The Mulveys

The Mulvey Family lived in Tannochside in Uddingston.   It was company housing torn down in the 50"s for a Catepillar plant. That was torn town in the 80's and the area is now occupied by an industrial park.  At the time that Ann Mulvey made her crossing to Canada in 1923 the Mulvey family  lived at 51 Laidlaw St. 

"Archibald Russell Ltd

Tannochside Mine - Situated near Uddingston
Persons employed underground 760, above ground 172, total 932

The employees reside in the following localities:-
In mine owners' houses, situated at Tannochside 260
In rented houses, situated at Tannochside, Thorniewood, Nackerty, Uddingston, Bellshill, Baillieston, Cambuslang, Shettleston, Rutherglen, Airdrie and Coatbridge 672

The mine owners' houses situated at Tannochside number 210 and are described in 3 groups as follows:-

.........................................

3. Laidlaw Street:-
88 Two-apartment houses

• 40 being erected about 9 years ago under Building Bye-Laws, and the others about 20 years ago. Rental of old houses £8 3s, Rental of new houses £9 2s
• Brick building - Damp-proof course - Plastered on solid - Wood floors, ventilated - Internal surfaces of walls good
• No overcrowding – apartments good size
• No garden ground – wash houses – coal cellars
• 40 houses have sculleries with sinks and gravitation water, others open channels in front and stand pipes
• In connection with the above houses there are 36 WC and 30 privies with 5 ashpits attached, which gives one WC or privy to every 4 houses. Here the 40 houses erected about 9 years ago are provided with privy middens, while the older houses have been provided with WC and ashbins. The channels are kept well flushed with pit water from a 1 ½ inch pipe
• Scavenged daily at owners expense"

Today I found four YouTube Videos of life in Tannochside and some of it's erly history.  The man who made this amateur video was born on the street on which the Mulvey family lived.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2puZp4eCFU

Ann Mulvey lived with family at 51 Laidlaw when she came to North America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhT6Q2QVZuM

The families McCartney and McQuades are mentioned, but our MCartneys and McQuades lived in Blantyre.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnRSuVCcRGg

The 4th video deals with the 30's and 40's and I didn't add it.

The McCartneys

The McCartneys lived two or three miles away in Blantyre in company housing as well.  They lived in the Dixon Rows aka The Raws, named as such becasue the living there was raw and rough.  The last of the Raws was torn down in the 1950s and replaced by government housing. 


From "The Housing Condition of Miners” by the Medical Officer of Health, Dr John T. Wilson.

"William Dixon Ltd

Blantyre Mines Pits No 1, 2 and 3 are situated at High Blantyre, No 4 at Larkfield
Persons employed underground 865, above ground 210, total 1075
The employees reside in the following localities:-
In mine owners' houses, situated at Stonefield 420
In rented houses, situated at Blantyre and Hamilton 443
In houses owned by employees at Blantyre 2

The mine-owners' houses are known as Dixon's Rows and are situated at Stonefield. They consist of:
149 Two-apartment houses Rental £5 17s. to £6 10s
157 One-apartment houses Rental £3 18s to £4 11s

• Erected about 33 years ago - One storey, brick - no damp-proof course - Walls not strapped and lathed, plastered on brick - A few wood floors, unventilated; majority brick floors - Some walls slightly damp - Internal surface of walls and ceilings good
• No overcrowding – apartments large
• No garden ground available, wash houses with water, no coal cellars
• Water closets recently introduced, in the proportion of one closet to every 4 tenants
• No sinks - drainage by open channels
• Water supply from stand pipes in street, the well being at a distance varying from about 12 feet to 200 feet from the houses.
• Scavenged at owners' expense, but houses are now included in Blantyre Special Scavenging District"

The Blantyre site below offers looks inside the houses of miners from different periods.

http://www.blantyre.biz/Nostalgia-Houses.html

The 1901 census reports that infant Edward McCartney lived in his house with his father James, mother Rose, half brother John Reid, brother James and his maternal Uncle Terrance.

James Mccartney	30
Rose Mccartney	35
James Mccartney	5
John Reid	14
Edward Mccartney	1m
Terence Mcquade	38