text:
Roof garden

A roof garden is a garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, recreational opportunities, and in large scale it may even have ecological benefits. The practice of cultivating food on the rooftop of buildings is sometimes referred to as rooftop farming. Rooftop farming is usually done using green roof, hydroponics, aeroponics or air-dynaponics systems or container gardens.

History
Humans have grown plants atop structures since the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia (4th millennium BC–600 BC) had plantings of trees and shrubs on aboveground terraces. An example in Roman times was the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, which had an elevated terrace where plants were grown. A roof garden has also been discovered around an audience hall in Roman-Byzantine Caesarea. The medieval Egyptian city of Fustat had a number of high-rise buildings that Nasir Khusraw in the early 11th century described as rising up to 14 stories, with roof gardens on the top story complete with ox-drawn water wheels for irrigating them.

Among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are often depicted as tall structures holding vegetation; even immense trees.

In New York City between 1880 and Prohibition large rooftop gardens built included the Hotel Astor (New York City), the American Theater on Eighth Avenue, the garden atop Stanford White's 1890 Madison Square Garden, and the Paradise Roof Garden opened by Oscar Hammerstein I in 1900.

Commercial greenhouses on rooftops have existed at least since 1969, when Terrestris rooftop nursery opened on 60th st. in New York City.

In the 2010s, large commercial hydroponic rooftop farms were started by Gotham Greens, Lufa Farms, and others.

Environmental impact
Roof gardens are most often found in urban environments. Plants have the ability to reduce the overall heat absorption of the building which then reduces energy consumption for cooling. "The primary cause of heat build-up in cities is insolation, the absorption of solar radiation by roads and buildings in the city and the storage of this heat in the building material and its subsequent re-radiation. Plant surfaces however, as a result of transpiration, do not rise more than 4 - 5 C-change above the ambient and are sometimes cooler." This then translates into a cooling of the environment between 3.6 - 11.3 C-change, depending on the area on earth (in hotter areas, the environmental temperature will cool more). The study was performed by the University of Cardiff.

A study at the National Research Council of Canada showed the differences between roofs with gardens and roofs without gardens against temperature. The study shows temperature effects on different layers of each roof at different times of the day. Roof gardens are obviously very beneficial in reducing the effects of temperature against roofs without gardens. “If widely adopted, rooftop gardens could reduce the urban heat island, which would decrease smog episodes, problems associated with heat stress and further lower energy consumption.”

Aside from rooftop gardens providing resistance to thermal radiation, rooftop gardens are also beneficial in reducing rain run off. A roof garden can delay run off; reduce the rate and volume of run off. “As cities grow, permeable substrates are replaced by impervious structures such as buildings and paved roads. Storm water run-off and combined sewage overflow events are now major problems for many cities in North America. A key solution is to reduce peak flow by delaying (e.g., control flow drain on roofs) or retaining run-off (e.g., rain detention basins). Rooftop gardens can delay peak flow and retain the run-off for later use by the plants.”

Urban agriculture
“In an accessible rooftop garden, space becomes available for localized small-scale urban agriculture, a source of local food production. An urban garden can supplement the diets of the community it feeds with fresh produce and provide a tangible tie to food production.” At Trent University, there is currently a working rooftop garden which provides food to the student café and local citizens.

Available gardening areas in cities are often seriously lacking, which is likely the key impetus for many roof gardens. The garden may be on the roof of an autonomous building which takes care of its own water and waste. Hydroponics and other alternative methods can expand the possibilities of roof top gardening by reducing, for example, the need for soil or its tremendous weight. Plantings in containers are used extensively in roof top gardens. Planting in containers prevents added stress to the roof's waterproofing. One high-profile example of a building with a roof garden is Chicago City Hall.

For those who live in small apartments with little space, square foot gardening, or (when even less space is available) green walls (vertical gardening) can be a solution. These use much less space than traditional gardening. These also encourage environmentally responsible practices, eliminating tilling, reducing or eliminating pesticides, and weeding, and encouraging the recycling of wastes through composting.

Importance to urban planning
Becoming green is a high priority for urban planners. The environmental and aesthetic benefits to cities are the prime motivation. It was calculated that the temperature in Tokyo could be lowered by 0.11 - 0.84 C-change if 50% of all available rooftop space were planted with greenery. This would lead to savings of approximately 100 million yen.

Singapore is active in green urban development. "Roof gardens present possibilities for carrying the notions of nature and open space further in tall building development." When surveyed, 80% of Singapore residents voted for more roof gardens to be implemented in the city's plans. Recreational reasons, such as leisure and relaxation, beautifying the environment, and greenery and nature, received the most votes. Planting roof gardens on the tops of buildings is a way to make cities more efficient.

A roof garden can be distinguished from a green roof, although the two terms are often used interchangeably. The term roof garden is well suited to roof spaces that incorporate recreation, and entertaining and provide additional outdoor living space for the building's residents. It may include planters, plants, dining and lounging furniture, outdoor structures such as pergolas and sheds, and automated irrigation and lighting systems.

Although they may provide aesthetic and recreational benefits a green roof is not necessarily designed for this purpose. A green roof may not provide any recreational space and be constructed with an emphasis on improving the insulation or improving the overall energy efficiency and reducing the cooling and heating costs within a building.

Green roofs may be extensive or intensive. The terms are used to describe the type of planting required. The panels that comprise a green roof are generally no more than a few centimeters up to 30 cm (a few inches up to a foot) in depth, since weight is an important factor when covering an entire roof surface. The plants that go into a green roof are usually sedum or other shallow-rooted plants that will tolerate the hot, dry, windy conditions that prevail in most rooftop gardens. With a green roof, "the plants' layer can shield off as much as 87% of solar radiation while a bare roof receives 100% direct exposure".

The planters on a roof garden may be designed for a variety of functions and vary greatly in depth to satisfy aesthetic and recreational purposes. These planters can hold a range of ornamental plants: anything from trees, shrubs, vines, or an assortment of flowers. As aesthetics and recreation are the priority they may not provide the environmental and energy benefits of a green roof.

In popular culture

 * American jazz singer Al Jarreau composed a song named "Roof Garden", released on his 1981 album.
 * Apu Nahasapeemapetilon of the TV show The Simpsons has a rooftop garden visited by Paul McCartney and his wife.
 * In BBC's 1990 television miniseries House of Cards, the main character, Member of Parliament (MP) Francis Urquhart, murders journalist Mattie Storin by throwing her off the Palace of Westminster's rooftop garden.

title: Roof garden


text:
Bo'ness

Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falkirk council area, 17 mi northwest of Edinburgh and 6+3/4 mi east of Falkirk. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, the population of the Bo'ness locality was 15,100.

Until the 20th century, Bo'ness was the site of various industrial activities, including coal mining, saltmaking and pottery production. With its location beside the Forth, the town and its harbour grew in importance in the industrial revolution and later continued to grow into the Victorian era. Since the late 20th century, deindustrialisation has changed the nature of the town, with the coal mine closing in 1982 and the waterfront area now being primarily used for leisure purposes. However, some industry remains in the town including an ironworks and a timberyard/sawmill beside the Forth. The centre of the town contains several listed buildings and is part of a conservation area. The town is the home of the Museum of Scottish Railways and also a regional motor museum.

Toponymy
The name Borrowstoun, from the Old English for 'Beornweard's farmstead', refers to a hamlet a short way inland from Borrowstounness. The suffix ness, 'headland', serves to differentiate the two. The name was corrupted via association with burgh, and then eventually contracted to Bo'ness.

Roman
Bo'ness has important historical links to the Roman period and marks the eastern extent of the Antonine Wall (at Carriden in the north-east of Bo'ness) which stretched from Bo'ness to Old Kilpatrick on the west coast of Scotland. The Antonine Wall was named as an extension to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2007. A Roman fortlet can still be seen at Kinneil to the west of Bo'ness.

Roman artefacts, some with inscriptions, have been found in the eastern part of the town at Carriden. A Roman fort called Veluniate, long since lost to history, once stood on the site now occupied by the grounds of Carriden House. Indeed, it is said that stones from the fort were used in the building of the mansion house.

Several artefacts have been uncovered over the years by the local farming community, including the Bridgeness Slab with many of them now on display in the National Museum of Scotland or at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. A replica was unveiled by Bo'ness Community Council and Falkirk Council on 7 September 2012 in Kinningars Park. A video about its history and manufacture is available online. Other Roman sites have been identified at Muirhouses (known locally as 'The Murrays') and Kinglass on the south-east side of the town.

Commerce, industry and shipbreaking
The town was a recognised port from the 16th century. Coal was shipped from Bo'ness to supply Edinburgh Castle in 1548. A harbour was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1707. The harbour, built in stages in the 18th century, was extended and complemented by a dry dock in 1881 (works designed by civil engineers Thomas Meik and Patrick Meik). The commercial port (heavily used for the transport of coal and pit props) eventually closed in 1959, badly affected by silting and the gradual downturn of the Scottish coal mining industry. Plans currently exist for the regeneration of the docks area including reopening the port as a marina though these are on hold indefinitely. Shipowning and maritime businesses in the town is evidenced by the ownership of SS Kinneil, a ship owned by the Lovart Company of Bo’ness, that later sank in a collision off Denmark. Bo'ness was granted the right of exports and customs dues in 1672 and the office was transferred from Blackness. A large Customs House for the harbour was completed in 1880 on Union Street and still stands today as private dwellings.

Bo'ness was a site for coal mining from medieval times. Clay mining was carried out on a smaller scale. The shore was the site of industrial salt making, evaporating seawater over coal fires. The ruins of several fisheries (fish storage houses) along the shoreline evidences long gone commercial fishing activity. The town was also home to several sizable potteries, one product being the black 'wally dugs' which sat in pairs over many fireplaces. Metalworking is still carried out, and examples of the Bo'ness Iron Company's work are to be found in many places.

Kinneil Colliery was a large coal mine on the western edge of the town, that at its peak employed over 1,200 people. Production at the mine began in the late 19th century, expanded significantly after 1951 and was eventually merged with the Valleyfield Colliery via a tunnel underneath the Forth, connecting the two collieries. The mine closed in 1982 due to ‘severe geological conditions’. Today the above ground site is a nature reserve open to the public.

When the town's commissioners bought the land for the Bo'ness Town Hall and park in the 1890s, the town's prosperity was on the rise. By its completion, the story was not so encouraging. Plans for the town hall and original library were approved however by the Dean of Guild Court on 14 October 1902. The building was officially opened on 14 September 1904. As part of the ceremony, a memorial stone was laid beneath which was placed a glass jar containing a copy of The Scotsman The Glasgow Herald, Bo'ness Journal and Linlithgow Gazette, a list of councillors and a copy of the council minutes.

In the twentieth century Bo'ness was one of several Scottish ports involved in the shipbreaking industry. The shipbreaking yard was established by the Forth Ship Breaking Company (1902–20), which was then taken over by P&W Maclellan who continued operating until about 1970. On a high spring tide the ship destined to be broken up would be manoeuvred to the far (north) side of the river and then steamed across with all speed to drive her as far as possible up the beach. A fo’c’stle crew would lower the ship's anchors as soon as she came to rest to stop her sliding back into the river. The bows would come almost up to Bridgeness Road. Among many ships scrapped at the yard were the ocean liners SS Belgenland (1914) and SS Metagama, cargo ship SS Empire Advocate, and warships HMS Lagos (D44), HMS Liverpool (C11), Newark, HMS Petard (G56), Ramsey, HMS Scorpion (D64) and HMS Wheatland.

The Bo'ness Journal and Linlithgow Gazette was a newspaper published in the town. It is now The Linlithgow Journal and Gazette. The newspaper officers were at 37–43 North Street which was built in 1884 and today is a category B listed building in the town.

Economy
Ballantine Bo'ness Iron Company and Ballantine Engineering is an ironworks company in Bo’ness. The company was founded in 1856 and has produced ironworks for bridges in the UK, including the fascia panels of Westminster Bridge and North Bridge in Edinburgh. The company went into administration in 2013 but was revived with government support as ‘Ballantine Castings’ in 2014. In 2019, the company produced ironwork replacements for the roof of the Palace of Westminster and Elizabeth Tower. Other industry in the town includes Walker timberyard and sawmill which is in Bo'ness beside the Forth on the Carriden Industrial Estate.

One of the main local employers is the Ineos petrochemical facility (formerly BP) in nearby Grangemouth.

Culture and community
Bo'ness is now primarily a commuter town, with many of its residents travelling to work in Edinburgh, Glasgow or Falkirk. Present-day attractions in the town include the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, the Birkhill Fireclay Mine and the local motor museum. Kinneil House, built by the powerful Hamilton family in the 15th century, lies on the western edge of the town.

Bo'ness is also home to the recently refurbished Hippodrome Cinema, which is the oldest picture house in Scotland. The building, along with many other buildings in Bo'ness, was designed by Matthew Steele, a local resident and architect. The Hippodrome was built in 1912. Some footage of it survives from 1950 during the Bo'ness Children's Fair Festival. The Bo'ness Children's Fair Festival continues to this day, covered by Valley FM, a local radio station that broadcasts for a limited number of days each year to cover the festival.

Bo'ness also has their own theatre name The Barony Theatre, Bo'ness which was transformed into a theatre in the 20th Century, prior to this it was known as a primary school 'Borowstoun Primary'. Annually, their band of players 'The Barony Players' put on acclaimed plays such as The Steamie, Gregory's Girl, Dad's Army and The Crucible. They also host visiting companies who produce in their venue such as the annual pantomime which is always a sell out success.

The town's war memorial is on a hill overlooking the Forth on Stewart Avenue. The war memorial is in the form of a large granite obelisk and was unveiled on 12 July 1924, with later plaques added after the Second World War. The town also has a commemorative clock and lantern, erected in 1985 through donations from the Linlithgow and Bo'ness Rotary Club.

The current Bo'ness library is in a restored early 18th century building (previously the West Pier Tavern) on Scotland Street. The previous Carnegie library was in the Town Hall but moved to its current home in 1980 once conversions were completed.

Churches
There are a number of churches, including Bo'ness Old Kirk, Carriden Parish Church, St Andrew's Parish Church, Craigmailen United Free Church, St. Catharine's Episcopal Church, Bo'ness Apostolic Church, Bo'ness Baptist Church, The Bo'ness Salvation Army and St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church. Rev Albert Bogle, minister at the town's St Andrew's Church, was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2012 to 2013. Craigmailen United Free Church is a Victorian Gothic church constructed between 1883 and 1885 and designed by the architects McKissack & Rowan. Bo'ness Old Kirk is a Victorian church that was completed in the Corbiehall area of the town in 1888 and that replaced a much older church building.

Landmarks
Kinneil House is a historic house to the west of Bo'ness now in the care of Historic Scotland. It sits within a public park, which also incorporates a section of the Roman Antonine Wall. Kinneil was mentioned by Bede, who wrote that it was named Pennfahel ('Wall's end') in Pictish and Penneltun in Old English. It was also Pengwawl in old Welsh. In the grounds of Kinneil House is the ruin of the small cottage where James Watt worked on his experimental steam engine and the steam cylinder of a Newcomen engine. The remains of an engine house are in Kinningars Park, off Harbour Road.

Dymock's Building is a Category A listed 17th century former merchant's house, finished in orange harling. The house was restored in the late 1990s under the management of the National Trust for Scotland and the Pollock Hammond partnership. It is now used as social housing, being split into 8 separate dwellings.

Education
Bo'ness has a single secondary school, Bo'ness Academy. There are five primary schools: Kinneil, Deanburn, Bo'ness Public School, St Mary's, and the Grange School.

Sport
Bo'ness is home to the football club Bo'ness United, and also to Bo'ness United Ladies and Bo'ness United Under 16s. A large fire damaged Bo'ness United's football ground in June 2019. It was the home to Bo'ness F.C. until 1932.

Bo'ness Academy has a rugby team. Bo'ness RFC has had its first ever rugby club established in September 2011. Bo'ness Cycling Club was reformed in 2010 as Velo Sport Bo'ness. Jim Smellie was 11 times Scottish Cycling Champion, and some of the trophies collected over the years can be viewed at Kinneil House Museum.

Bo'ness has also played an important role in British motorsport. Hillclimb events, including the first ever round of the British Hill Climb Championship and several thereafter, were held on a course on the Kinneil estate most years from 1932 until 1966. Since 2008, an annual Revival event for classic road-going and competition cars has been held on approximately the same course. Bo'ness Hill Climb is a hillclimbing course on the Kinneil Estate (site of the historic Kinneil House).

Parks
Bo'ness has several community parks and recreation grounds. Douglas Park is one of the largest parks in Bo'ness, it has views looking across the River Forth and includes a children's play area, football fields and a pavilion. The park was the site of a geophysics survey in 2020 that identified two prehistoric round barrows underneath the park. Glebe Park is a small formal park in the town centre adjacent to Bo'ness Town Hall, with a Bandstand at its centre that was constructed in 1902 by the Walter McFarlane & Co Saracen Foundry and which is now on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland.

Notable people

 * George Baird, minister
 * The Very Reverend William White Anderson, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 1888-1956
 * John Begg, architect
 * Euan Morton, actor, singer
 * Henry Cadell, geologist
 * George Denholm, Battle of Britain fighter pilot
 * George W. Easton, athlete
 * James Gardiner (British Army officer), redcoat
 * Jo Gibb, actor
 * Gary Wales (actor), Actor, Grew up in the town.
 * Christine Grant, athletics director, University of Iowa
 * James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton
 * Margaret Kidd, advocate
 * Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall, children's writer
 * Michael Potter, minister and prisoner on the Bass Rock
 * James Brunton Stephens, Australian poet
 * Harcus Strachan, Canadian soldier, and winner of the Victoria Cross
 * William Young (1761–1847), Royal Navy
 * Charles Clough, a prominent geologist and mapmaker who was struck by a train to the south-west of Bo’ness; he subsequently died four days later in August 1916

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Bo'ness


text:
Class (film)

Class is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lewis John Carlino, starring Rob Lowe, Jacqueline Bisset, Andrew McCarthy, and Cliff Robertson. In addition to being Lowe's second film (released four months after The Outsiders), it marked the film debuts of McCarthy, John Cusack, Virginia Madsen, Casey Siemaszko, and Lolita Davidovich.

Plot
Upon first arriving at prep school, Jonathan Ogner is mocked for wearing his school uniform. Then, going up to his dorm he meets his roommate, who introduces himself as Squire Franklin Burroughs IV but tells him to call him "Skip". Skip then takes off his bath robe, revealing a red bra and panties, then explains to the shocked Jonathan that it is tradition for seniors to parade around campus wearing only girls' underwear.

Jonathan does not have any, so Skip gives him a set from his dresser. They head out of the dorm together until they get to the final door where Skip stays behind and locks the door. The other students laugh and mock Jonathan for wearing girls' underwear. Mortified, Jonathan tries to get back inside. After discovering all the doors are locked, he climbs a trellis leading into his room where he finds Skip rolling on the floor laughing.

Skip tries to tell Jonathan it was a practical joke and to laugh it off, but Jonathan is too embarrassed. Later, during lunchtime in the cafeteria, the other students again taunt Jonathan as he tries to eat. When Skip invites him over to his table to sit with him and his friends, Jonathan turns to reveal that he is crying. Skip is now deeply remorseful for pulling the prank on Jonathan as he flees the cafeteria.

When Skip returns to their room to apologize to Jonathan, he finds him hanging with a rope around his neck in an apparent suicide. Going to get help, on his return to the room, Skip and the gathering crowd find not Jonathan but a mannequin with a picture of the dean's face attached to its head. The crowd crack up hysterically at Skip as the dean says he wants to see him and Jonathan in his office. As the crowd disperses, Skip finds Jonathan very much alive and laughing hysterically in the closet. He grudgingly accepts the prank reversal and they become fast friends. Afterwards they share secrets, and Jonathan confesses he cheated on the SAT.

After several failed attempts to find Jonathan a date, Skip vows to help him have a successful sexual encounter. He sends Jonathan to Chicago to gain sexual experience before their reputations are ruined. He is picked up by Ellen, a beautiful older woman, and has an affair with her. He falls in love with her, although she considers it to be just a fling. Jonathan lied, claiming to be a Ph.D. student. When he proclaims his love to Ellen during one of their sessions, she has second thoughts about continuing. Her decision is finalized when she discovers Jonathan is both much younger than he had claimed and that he also attends the same school as her son.

Over Christmas break, Skip invites Jonathan to spend Christmas with him and his family at the Burroughs estate. Here, Jonathan discovers that Ellen is Skip's mother and is married. He tries to end the affair, but she contacts him several times. Eventually, he agrees to meet to talk. Lying to Skip, he claims to need time alone. When Jonathan and Ellen meet, they have sex again. Attempting to cheer up his friend, Skip and friends go to the hotel room. There they discover Jonathan in bed with Skip's mother, upsetting Skip. Later, the friends have a fist fight, but later reconcile.

Production
Principal photography for the film took place in Chicago and the surrounding area between September and November 1982. Suffield House, a private mansion in Lake Forest, played the part of Skip Burroughs' family estate, given the fictitious address of 65 Spring Creek Road, Barrington Hills. Lake Forest College was used for numerous scenes; including the hockey scenes, the exterior dorm scenes, and, most notably, the lunchroom scenes.

Bisset replaced Lesley Ann Warren for the role of Ellen Burroughs. Bisset was disappointed that scenes involving her character's backstory were cut. These included a scene at the end where her son visited her in a mental hospital. "When you're in a comedy ... It's always difficult to develop a character because they always cut for comedy, the comic effect. I lost a couple of scenes that would have explained my character better. She was more interesting in the original script. Why does she do what she does? She's a very unhappy woman. She doesn't have any relationship at home. Cliff tells her in the bedroom that she's a Burroughs and as long as she's a Burroughs she must behave. That's not much of a relationship to have with your husband. So she's a bit off balance, greatly in need of a childlike component in her life. She's been completely buckled down by Cliff. There's absolutely no fantasy aspect to her life. She's condemned to being an adult... The director sees it much more as a rites-of-passage film", Bisset said.

McCarthy attended an open call held at New York University and wound up with the lead part in the film.

Lowe said, "It was a very atypical role for me. So it's a little uncomfortable when I'm too readily associated with it. 'Oh yeah, him, he was in Class.' It was such an extroverted role, and most of my work has been just the opposite. I like the movie. I think it was fun, not the vile concoction a lot of people seem to think it was." Madsen dislikes talking about her experience making the film, stating in a 2013 interview, "Those guys were assholes. They were really shitty to me. It was bad. Bad memories." Rob Lowe said her comment was justifiable, pointing out "her big part in that movie required her shirt to get ripped off, and looking back, it couldn't be a more egregious, vintage, lowbrow, 1980s Porky's-esque, shoehorned-in moment... I can imagine it was not much fun to do that big sequence with a bunch of laughing, ogling frat-boy actors. I mean, can you imagine putting up with me, [John] Cusack, Alan Ruck, and Andrew McCarthy at 18?"

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a 29% rating based on reviews from 14 critics.

Variety said "Class is anything but classy....[It] seems something like an unofficial remake of one of Bisset's first Hollywood efforts, the 1969 The First Time".

Vincent Canby wrote "The movie can't make up its mind whether it's a lighthearted comedy, set in what appears to be a posh New England–style prep school just outside Chicago, or a romantic drama about a teen-age boy who has a torrid affair with his roommate's mother. Either way it's pretty awful."

Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and said it was a "prep-school retread of The Graduate that knows some of its scenes are funny and some are serious, but never figures out quite how they should go together;" the film is "entertaining when it's not dealing with its real subject matter, painful when it is, and agonizing when it confuses rigid mortification with humor."

title: Class (film)


text:
Dumbarton

Dumbarton (Dumbairton, Dumbartoun or Dumbertan; Dùn Breatann or Dùn Breatainn, meaning 'fort of the Britons' ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.

Dumbarton was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Strathclyde, and later the county town of Dunbartonshire. Dumbarton Castle, on top of Dumbarton Rock, dominates the area. Dumbarton was a royal burgh between 1222 and 1975.

Dumbarton emerged from the 19th century as a centre for shipbuilding, glassmaking, and whisky production. However, these industries have since declined, and Dumbarton today is increasingly a commuter town for Glasgow 13 mi east-southeast of it. Dumbarton F.C. is the local football club. Dumbarton is home to BBC Scotland's drama studio.

History
Dumbarton history goes back at least as far as the Iron Age and probably much earlier. It has been suggested that in Roman times Dumbarton was the "place of importance" named as Alauna in Ptolemy's historic map. Dumbarton is also sometimes associated with the little-known, and hard to place, Roman province of Valentia. However, more recent studies favour locations in England or Wales for this province. In post-Roman times the settlement at Dumbarton was known as Alcluith, there is a record in Irish chronicles of the death of Guret, rex Alo Cluathe ("king of Clyde Rock"), in AD 658.

The fortress of Dumbarton was the stronghold of the kingdom of Alclud, and the centre of Breton power in northern Britain, for more than two centuries from the mid-seventh century, until the Vikings destroyed the fortress after a four-month siege in 870. The loss of the British power base led to the emergence of the new kingdom of Strathclyde, or Cumbria, with a major centre at Govan. The title "king of the Britons of Srath Clúade" was first used in 872. Dumbarton was later the county town of the county of Dunbartonshire, formerly known as Dumbartonshire. The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic Dùn Breatainn meaning "fort of the Brythons (Britons)", and serves as a reminder that the earliest historical inhabitants of Clydesdale spoke an early form of the Welsh language.

Alexander II granted the status of royal burgh in 1222.

In September 1605 Chancellor Dunfermline reported to King James VI that inundations of the sea were likely to destroy and take away the whole town. It was estimated that the flood defences would cost 30,000 pounds Scots, the cost being levied nationwide.

A bridge over the River Leven had been proposed in 1682. The Old Dumbarton Bridge was eventually built in 1765 by John Brown of Dumbarton, at the site of a ferry crossing. It was constructed at the behest of the Duke of Argyll, who was anxious to obtain access to Glasgow from his estate at Rosneath. The bridge, with five segmental arches with rounded cutwaters, resulted in the extension of Dumbarton to West Bridgend. The bridge was substantially developed in 1884 and 1934. It is now B-listed and was refurbished in 2006.

Hartfield House was completed in 1853.

During World War II Dumbarton was heavily bombed by the German air force. The Germans were targeting the shipyards, and the area in the vicinity of the yards was consequently hit, with Clyde and Leven Street being severely damaged. In an attempt to lure the German aircraft away from the shipyards, decoy lights were routinely placed on the Kilpatrick hills above the town, lights were set out on reservoirs to mimic those of the shipyards reflecting on the waters of the Leven and Clyde. The ploy was sometimes successful in diverting the bombers and many bombs fell harmlessly onto the moors and lochs. The Auchenreoch Muir 'Starfish' site above Dumbarton was part of a system of decoy fires operated by the RAF that used pyrotechnics to simulate the appearance of the incendiaries dropped by the German pathfinder aircraft, thereby diverting the bombers from their intended targets. 23 bomb craters are still identifiable in the area around the surviving control bunker as evidence of the success of the diversion.

The one time village and estate of Dumbuck now lie partly within the boundary of Dumbarton, while the remaining portion comprising the associated Dumbuck Hill and its large incorporated quarry (Dumbuck Quarry) are treated here together with the neighbouring village of Milton, as the next adjacent generally recognised locality today. In the Dumbarton portion, the Category B-listed Dumbuck House, originally constructed for Colonel Andrew Geils, was the original estate house and was converted into a hotel in the 20th century; more recently it has been permitted to fall into disrepair and its future is currently uncertain. For additional information regarding the Dumbuck estate, including mention of the somewhat bizarre Kosmoid Company that occupied the estate for a short while, refer the article on Andrew Geils. Information on the well known "Dumbuck Crannog" archaeological feature is presently included in the Wikipedia article for Milton Island.

Castle

Dumbarton Castle sits on Dumbarton Rock, a volcanic plug dating back 334 million years, at the east bank mouth of the River Leven, where it flows into the Clyde estuary.

The Castle has an illustrious history and many well-known figures from Scottish and British history have visited it. The castle was a royal fortress long before Dumbarton became a royal burgh; its ownership went from Scottish to English and back again. The castle was an important place during the Wars of Independence and was used to imprison William Wallace for a short time after his capture by the English. It was from here that Mary, Queen of Scots, was conveyed to France for safety as a child. Mary was trying to reach Dumbarton Castle when she suffered her final defeat at Langside. In later times, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II visited the castle.

Today, Dumbarton Rock is a Scheduled Ancient Monument; it has legal protection in order to maintain and conserve the site for the future. As such any sort of work on the rock is strictly regulated by the Scottish Government and activities such as climbing on the rock are forbidden. From the top of the castle can be seen both the River Clyde and Leven Grove Park.

Levengrove Park
Levengrove Park was developed in 1885 on grounds of the former Levengrove Estate by the Denny and McMillan families who owned shipbuilding companies with yards located adjacent to the Castle, and gifted to the town.

A grave site in the park sits as the resting place for the viscera of former Scottish king Robert the Bruce. Removal of these "viscera" for local burial was commonplace at the time, when a person's remains were to be transported a long distance for their own burial.

Geography and governance
From 1975 Dumbarton lent its name to a local government district in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. In 1996 the administrative functions of this district transferred to the West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute unitary councils (see Subdivisions of Scotland). West Dunbartonshire Council is based in modern offices within the old Dumbarton Burgh Hall in Church Street.

There is a Dumbarton constituency of the Scottish Parliament and a former Dumbarton constituency of the House of Commons.

Districts
There are a number of distinct areas within the town:
 * Barnhill
 * Bellsmyre
 * Brucehill
 * Castlehill
 * Dumbarton East incl. Newtown
 * Garshake
 * Kirktonhill
 * Levengrove
 * Oxhill
 * Silverton
 * Townend
 * Westcliff
 * West Bridgend

Education
Two secondary schools are located in Dumbarton, namely Dumbarton Academy and Our Lady & St Patrick's High School. The town is also served by eight primary schools; Aitkenbar Primary, St. Michael's Primary, Knoxland Primary, Braehead Primary, St. Peter's Primary, St. Patrick's Primary and Dalreoch Primary.

Shipbuilding
From the mid 18th century to the early 19th century Dumbarton's main industry was glassmaking. As the glass industry declined the town became a major centre for shipbuilding and remained so well into the 20th century. There were many shipbuilding yards, although a number of them were later absorbed by larger yards. A great many ships were built in the town, the most famous of which is probably the Cutty Sark which was built by Scott & Linton, she was one of the final Tea Clippers to be built, and one of the fastest. The ship is the last survivor of its type and can be seen today at dry dock in Greenwich, London.

William Denny and Brothers
The last major Dumbarton shipyard was William Denny and Brothers which closed in 1963, and the remaining smaller yards followed over the next few decades. Until recently, the old Denny's shipyard tender The Second Snark was still in use on the Firth of Clyde as a passenger ferry and cruise boat. Denny's was an innovative company that had a reputation for research and development; high-pressure turbines and hull stabilisation were two areas where they were highly respected. They even built an early design of helicopter in 1909 and in their final years they were involved in hovercraft development in the form of the Denny D2 Hoverbus. A film clip of this vessel on its maiden trip to Oban exists in the Scottish Film Archive.

The last surviving part of the Denny's shipbuilding company is the Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank which forms part of the Scottish Maritime Museum. This was the first commercial ship model testing tank built in the world and it retains many original features today: a water tank as long as a football pitch, clay moulding beds for casting wax model ship hulls and the original Victorian machinery used for shaping models.

During the Second World War Blackburn Aircraft were to produce Sunderland flying boats from a factory adjacent to Denny's shipyard.

There is still a shipyard on the river Leven, Sandpoint Marina. A statue of the shipbuilder and shipowner, Peter Denny, stands outside the Municipal Buildings.

Whisky

Whisky production also grew to become a major industry in the town. In 1936 Canadian distilling company Hiram Walker bought over the Glasgow-based distiller George Ballantine & Son Ltd. In 1938 they built a large whisky distillery on the river Leven (on the site of the Archibald McMillan shipyard). As a result, the town became known as a major centre of the whisky industry in the mid to late 20th century. Hiram Walker itself was acquired by Allied Breweries in 1988 to form Allied Distillers, itself becoming part of Allied Domecq before eventually being taken over in 2005 by the French-based alcohol giant Pernod Ricard. The large Dumbarton distillery had been mothballed since 2002 and not long after the Pernod-Ricard takeover the giant red-brick buildings of the Dumbarton 'Ballantine's' distillery which had dominated the town for over sixty years were earmarked for demolition and redevelopment, the remains of the distillery were demolished throughout January and February 2017. The large bonded warehouse complex to the east of the town and the bottling complex to the north-west were retained.

Other whisky-related site closures such as the Inverleven distillery which closed in 1991 and the J&B Scotch Whisky bottling plant and bond in the north of the town have contributed to the decline in Dumbarton's importance to the drink industry. However, part of the J&B bond has found a new life as a film set for television productions such as 'River City' and 'Still Game'.

Ballantine's Whisky became well known for the rather unusual 'security' guards used at their bonded warehouse complex at Dumbuck in Dumbarton; these are a large flock of white Chinese geese that were first introduced in 1959. Starting with just six individuals, this has risen to close to 100 birds today. They have the nickname 'The Scotch watch' and have been widely used in promotional material for the Ballantine's blended whisky. The geese are part of the tradition of the facility, and are both a tourist attraction and advertising icon. The Goosekeeper at the time (as of 1996) was Arthur Carroll, but as of 1997 they have been replaced by CCTV cameras.

Other industries
With the decline of the whisky industry, Dumbarton is becoming more a commuter town for those who work in nearby Glasgow and other locations. The Faslane naval base is a major employer for the area. The Strathleven Industrial Estate near Dumbarton was once the location of several major manufacturers such as Burroughs (Adding Machines) and Westclox. Technology overtook these companies and they closed down with the loss of many jobs.

The estate has also been the home of Polaroid UK since 1965. This was the largest Polaroid plant outside the US and at its peak it employed about 1800 people. Failing to recognise the impact of digital photography was its downfall and while they still have a presence in Dumbarton, fewer than 100 people are now employed there (mainly in the manufacture of sunglass lenses). The generator supplier Aggreko plc has had a facility in the town since the 1970s, in 2012 it opened a new, larger facility at the former J&B plant.

Transport
Dumbarton is situated on the main A82 road, linking Glasgow to the western Scottish Highlands. Dumbarton is a short distance from Balloch pier, where cruises can be taken on Loch Lomond. Dumbarton is also served by three railway stations: Dumbarton Central, Dumbarton East and Dalreoch railway station. All three stations are situated on the North Clyde Line, which provides a direct link from Helensburgh in the west, through Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley in the east.

Media
Nation Radio Scotland, the local commercial radio station for West Dunbartonshire is based in the town, having moved from Clydebank in 2016. It formerly was named Dumbarton Festival Radio, Castle Rock FM until 2003, and then Your Radio until 2020.

The town has two local weekly newspapers, The Lennox Herald and The Dumbarton Reporter.

Sports
There were at one stage two league football clubs from the town, Dumbarton Harp F.C and Dumbarton F.C (Also known as 'Sons of the Rock'). Dumbarton F.C. are the only league club in Dumbarton still in operation, playing in the Scottish Professional Football League at Scottish League Two level.

Dumbarton F.C play home games at the Dumbarton Football Stadium (known as the C&G Systems Stadium for sponsorship reasons ) adjacent to Dumbarton Rock. They won the 1882–83 Scottish Cup and are five times runners-up.

The Scottish League was formed in 1890 with Dumbarton as founding members. The first championship was shared between Dumbarton and Rangers, in the absence of a goal-difference rule to act as a tiebreaker.

There are seven bowling clubs in Dumbarton: Brock Bowling Club, Dixon BC, Dumbarton BC, Dumbuck BC, Eastfield BC, Rock BC and Townend BC.

The town is the birthplace of the motor-racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart OBE. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. The Stewart Family owned and ran the garage at Dumbuck in Milton to the East of the town, the Garage later being taken over by Jackie's close friend John Lindsay.

Arts

Scottish poet Robert Burns was made freeman of Dumbarton. He refers to Dumbarton in a letter written on 7 July 1787.
 * "... I have lately been rambling over by Dumbarton and Inverary, and running a drunken race on the side of Loch Lomond with a wild Highlandman; his horse, which had never known the ornaments of iron or leather, zigzagged across before my old spavin’d hunter, whose name is Jenny Geddes, and down came the Highlandman, horse and all, and down came Jenny and my bardship; so I have got such a skinful of bruises and wounds, that I shall be at least four weeks before I dare venture on my journey to Edinburgh."

Dumbarton is also immortalised in the traditional Scottish song "Dumbarton's Drums".
 * Across the fields of bounding heather,
 * Dumbarton sounds the hour of pleasure;
 * The joy I know will know no measure,
 * When Johnnie kneels and kisses me. (one verse)

The song was recorded by the internationally renowned Midgies Ceilidh Band at a live concert in Saint Augustine's Church in the town's High Street, the chorus being sung by the audience of local people.

Novelist A. J. Cronin's maternal grandfather, Archibald Montgomerie, owned a hat shop at 145 High Street.

Dumbarton is the birthplace of David Byrne, a Grammy Award, Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning musician best known as the founding member and principal songwriter of new wave band Talking Heads.

Glaswegian band Franz Ferdinand released a remix of their hit song, "Take Me Out" called "David Byrne Was Born in Dumbarton" which heavily sampled the Talking Heads song, "Burning Down the House".

Royal Scottish Pipe Band Championships
Held in Dumbarton since 2000, the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Championships sees over 140 bands enter yearly, including representatives from Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands and Ireland. The championships is one of the biggest and most prestigious pipe band events in the world. Besides the pipe band championships there is a funfair and Highland dancing competitions.

Theatre
The Denny Civic Theatre is used by a number of local groups, including the Dumbarton People's Theatre.

Overtoun House
Overtoun House is a mansion in the Scots Baronial style built on an estate in the hills overlooking the town between 1859–1862 for a wealthy chemical manufacturer originally from Glasgow, John Campbell White.

Notable people

 * David Byrne – Musician (Talking Heads)
 * Marcus Campbell, snooker player
 * Jessie Campbell, pioneer for women's higher education
 * Zander Diamond – Football player (Aberdeen F.C., Oldham Athletic A.F.C., Burton Albion F.C.)
 * Jane Duncan, novelist
 * Scott Duncan – Football player/manager
 * Mountstuart Elphinstone – Historian and civil servant.
 * Richard Gilmour, former bishop of Cleveland
 * Douglas Gordon – Artist
 * George Harcourt -Portrait painter
 * Margaret Harrison, Peace Campaigner
 * Patrick Harvie, MSP and Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights
 * Darian Mackinnon - Footballer
 * Jimmy McCulloch – Musician (Paul McCartney and Wings, Thunderclap Newman, Stone the Crows)
 * John McFall, politician
 * Columb McKinley - Footballer, cultured ball playing centre back, teenage Captain of Vale of Leven FC,senior footballing career with Airdrieonians FC and Dumbarton FC.
 * Prince Harry and Meghan Markle became the Earl and Countess of Dumbarton upon their marriage on 19 May 2018.

 * Eric Russell, England test cricketer
 * Jackie Stewart – Formula 1 racing driver
 * Paul Stewart – racing driver
 * William Strang RA painter and printmaker
 * David Ward – Opera singer, known internationally for Wagner and Verdi roles
 * Evan Williams - footballer, goalkeeper for Glasgow Celtic FC

title: Dumbarton


text:
Portree

Portree (Port Rìgh, ) is the largest town on, and capital of, the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, and a civil parish.

Portree has a harbour, fringed by cliffs, with a pier designed by Thomas Telford. Attractions in the town include the former Aros Centre, now the Isle of Skye Candle Co. Visitor Centre, which celebrates the island's Gaelic heritage. Further arts provision is made through arts organisation ATLAS Arts, a Creative Scotland regularly-funded organisation. The town also serves as a centre for tourists exploring the island.

Around 939 people (37.72% of the population) can speak Scottish Gaelic.

Portree is connected to the Skye Bridge by the A87 road, which then leads northwards to Uig. The A855 road also leads north out of the town, passing through villages such as Achachork, Staffin and passes the rocky landscape of the Storr before reaching the landslip of the Quiraing.

Etymology
The current name, Port Rìgh translates as 'king's port', possibly from a visit by King James V of Scotland in 1540. However this etymology has been contested, since James did not arrive in peaceful times. The older name appears to have been Port Ruighe(adh), meaning 'slope harbour'.

Prior to the 16th century the settlement's name was Kiltaraglen ('the church of St. Talarican') from Gaelic Cill Targhlain.

Prehistory and archaeology
Archaeological investigations in advance of construction of a housing development in 2006–2007, by CFA Archaeology, uncovered evidence of occupation of Portree from the Early Bronze Age to the Medieval period (the earliest radiocarbon date was 2570 BC, and the latest was AD 1400). They also found stone tools that indicated people were in the area in the Early to Mid Neolithic, possibly as far back as the Late Mesolithic.

The archaeologists discovered the remains of timber roundhouses, a circular ditch-defined enclosure, miniature souterrains, probable standing stone sockets and an assortment of pits. While not many artefacts were recovered there was an assemblage of Beaker pottery. This was the first discovery of a site dating from the Later Bronze Age on the Isle of Skye.

The archaeologists also found evidence of the shooting range that was created in the 1800s with the formation of the Rifle Volunteer movement, set up in 1859 to defend the country against a potential French invasion. The first official unit in Portree was the 8th Inverness-shire Rifle Volunteer Corps, formed in July 1867.

History
In the 1700s, the town was a popular point of departure for Scots sailing to America to escape poverty. This form of use repeated during the famine in the 1840s. Both times, the town was saved by an influx of boats, often going between mainland Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, who used Portree's pier as a rest point. The town also began exporting fish at this time, which contributed greatly to the local economy.

The Royal Hotel is the site of MacNab's Inn, the last meeting place of Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746.

The town had the last manual telephone exchange in the UK, which closed in 1976.

Tourism
Portree is considered to be among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" according to Condé Nast Traveler and is visited by many tourists each year.

A report published in mid 2020 indicated that visitors added £211 million in a single year to the Isle of Skye's economy, prior to travel restrictions imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was expected to decline substantially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Skye is highly vulnerable to the downturn in international visitors that will continue for much of 2020 and beyond", Professor John Lennon of Glasgow Caledonian University told a reporter in July 2020.

In 2016, over 150,000 people stopped at the VisitScotland centre in Portree, a 5% increase over 2015. Overcrowding during peak season was a problem, however, before the pandemic, since it is "the busiest place on the island". One news item recommended that some tourists might prefer accommodations in quieter areas such as Dunvegan, Kyleakin and the Broadford and Breakish area.

The 2020 reports did not cover tourism in Portree specifically but a December 2018 report by well-known travel writer Rick Steves had recommended the village as "Skye’s best home base" for visitors. He indicated that Portree "provided a few hotels, hostels and bed-and-breakfasts in town, while more B&Bs line the roads into and out of town". The tourism bureau added that visitors would appreciate the "banks, churches, cafes and restaurants, a cinema at the Aros Centre, a swimming pool and library, (...) petrol filling stations and supermarkets".

Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Scotland and STV North (formerly Grampian Television). Television signals are received from one of the local relay transmitters (Penifiler and Skriaig ).

Portree is served by nation-wide stations, BBC Radio Scotland on 92.9 FM and BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal (for Gaelic listeners) on 104.7 FM. The local radio station Radio Skye is a community based station that broadcast to the Isle Of Skye and Loch Alsh on 106.2 FM and 102.7 FM.

Education
Portree is the location of the only secondary school on the Isle of Skye, Portree High School, and of Portree Primary School.

Sport
The town plays host to the Isle of Skye's shinty club, Skye Camanachd. They play at Pairc nan Laoch above the town on the road to Struan.

Portree is home to two football clubs that play in the Skye and Lochalsh amateur football league called Portree and Portree Juniors.

Portree is now home to a new youth football club, Skye Young Boys.

Climate
Like most of the British Isles, Portree has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). The nearest weather station to Portree is located at Prabost, approximately 5+1/2 mi north-west of Portree.

Portree shale
Portree shale is a geologic association in the vicinity of Portree, the existence of which is linked with potential petroleum occurrences of commercial importance.

title: Portree


text:
Helensburgh

Helensburgh (Baile Eilidh) is a coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute council area following local government reorganisation in 1996.

History context (Prehistoric–1858)
Although it has long been known that there are some prehistoric remains in the Helensburgh area, recent fieldwork by the North Clyde Archaeological Society has uncovered more. However the oldest building in the town itself is Ardencaple Castle which was the ancestral home of Clan MacAulay, and the history of which may date back to the twelfth century. Today only one tower of this building remains, the rest having been demolished in 1957–59.

In 1752 Sir James Colquhoun (died 1786), chief of the Clan Colquhoun of Luss, bought the land which was to become Helensburgh; at that time it was known by such names as Malig, Millig or Milligs.

In 1776 he placed an advertisement in a Glasgow newspaper seeking to feu the land, and in particular he stated that "bonnet makers, stocking, linen and woolen weavers will meet with encouragement". However his efforts were unsuccessful, partly because roads were rudimentary and also because the shore at Helensburgh made it unattractive to shipping – it was shallow, dotted with large rocks and subject to a prevailing onshore wind.

No precise date is known for the change of name to Helensburgh. However it was probably around 1785 when Sir James decided to name the town after his wife, Lady Helen Sutherland (1717–1791); she was the granddaughter of the 16th Earl of Sutherland. However, for a few years both the old and new names for the town were in use and it was also known for a time simply as the New Town. The town's coat of arms is based on those of the Colquhouns and the Sutherlands.

Helensburgh received its burgh charter from King George III in 1802. This was somewhat surprising, as the 1799 Statistical Account of Scotland indicates that Helensburgh only had a population of about 100 at that time. To commemorate the bicentenary of the burgh charter in 2002 many members of Helensburgh Heritage Trust combined to produce a special history book of the town. Henry Bell (1767–1830) had arrived in Helensburgh by 1806. By training he was a millwright, but he had also worked for a period in a shipyard at Bo'ness. He probably designed and built the Baths Inn which he and his wife then ran as a hotel; he designed and built other buildings, such as Dalmonach Works at Bonhill in West Dunbartonshire (now demolished) and St Andrew's Parish Church in Carluke in South Lanarkshire. The Baths Inn later became the Queen's Hotel, and it is now private accommodation as part of Queen's Court at 114 East Clyde Street.

Comet
At that time the taking of baths (hot and cold, fresh water and salt water) was considered to be advantageous to the health. As a result of his initiative Helensburgh began to develop as a holiday resort, and Bell also served as the town's first recorded Provost from 1807–09.

When Henry Bell came to Helensburgh, roads to Glasgow were in poor condition and the journey by boat could take several days, depending on the strength and direction of the wind and on tidal conditions. Consequently, in 1812 Henry Bell introduced the paddle steamer Comet to bring guests from Glasgow in comfort and more speedily to his hotel. The Comet was the first commercial steamship in Europe.

That this vessel and subsequent steamships could travel straight into the wind meant that Helensburgh's shallow shore line was a much smaller problem for sailors. As a result, the town began to grow from a population of about 500 in 1810 to 2,229 by the 1841 Census. It is difficult to overstate the importance of Bell in Scottish and British economic history; not only was he a pioneer of tourism, but it can also be argued that the later pre-eminence of the River Clyde in shipbuilding was in no small measure due to him.

Railway revolution
Following the arrival of the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway in 1858 the population of Helensburgh grew even more rapidly, reaching 5,964 in the 1871 Census. The Municipal Buildings, designed by John Honeyman, were completed in 1879.

Glasgow at this time was developing very rapidly as an industrial city, but this rapid growth caused it to become dirty, smoky and unpleasant. The railway meant that the wealthier business people of Glasgow could now set up home in the fresh air of Helensburgh and commute daily between the two places. This led to the expansion of the town northwards up the hill and the building of many substantial Victorian villas. The best known of these is The Hill House which was designed in 1902–03 by Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh and which now belongs to the National Trust for Scotland. These parts of the town are laid out in the gridiron pattern, Helensburgh being an early example of a planned town in Scotland.

In 1960 the line from Helensburgh Central to Glasgow Queen Street Low Level and on to Airdrie was electrified with the then revolutionary new Blue Trains providing faster, regular interval services. Unfortunately, equipment problems led to the temporary withdrawal of the Blue Trains which did not return to traffic until late 1961. Since then traffic on this route has risen steadily, helped from October 2010 when two trains each hour commenced running right through to Edinburgh via the newly re-opened (and electrified) Airdrie-Bathgate line.

By the late 1870s the North British Railway Company (which had become owner of the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway) felt that its steamer services were at a competitive disadvantage, because passengers had to walk from Helensburgh Station, through the town centre and down the pier, thus causing longer journey times. By contrast their competitors on the other side of the Clyde, the Caledonian Railway and the Glasgow & South Western Railway had stations right beside their piers. The North British therefore proposed to extend the railway line through the town centre from the station on to the pier.

This proposal split opinion in the town down the middle, with Parliament ultimately deciding against it. Consequently, the North British Railway Company decided to build its "station in the sea" at Craigendoran just outside the eastern boundary of the town, and this opened in 1882. Shipping services stopped in 1972 but Craigendoran railway station remains in use. In 1894 the West Highland Railway (a subsidiary of the North British Railway by then) was opened from Craigendoran junction to Fort William, with a new station at Helensburgh Upper. This new railway had no significant effect on the population of the town, but it did alter its appearance, with the construction of a substantial embankment up the hill from Craigendoran and of a deep cutting on the approaches to Helensburgh Upper.

World War I and II
There are 205 men and 1 woman named on Helensburgh's war memorial in Hermitage Park. In 2020 the Helensburgh War Memorial Project published its researches and added a further 59 "missing names" to the list; all were men. It also gave a variety of explanations as to why these names were not on the war memorial. If the 1911 census is used, which recorded a population of 8,529, then it can be calculated that Helensburgh lost three percent of its population to the war. This is a particularly significant portion when it is considered that women, children, and elders, amongst other demographics, were not conscripted for the front line. It is thought that a similar number suffered serious physical and mental injuries.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939 the British Government was concerned that London and other ports in the south of England would become the targets for German bombing. Consequently, they decided to build two military ports in Scotland which would be more difficult for German bombers to reach. In 1941 Military Port Number 1 opened at Faslane on the Gareloch, 5 miles (8 km) from Helensburgh. A railway was built linking Faslane to the West Highland Line. A vast tonnage of wartime supplies was moved through Faslane, and it was also used as a port for troop movements. Much of the area around Helensburgh was taken over by both British and American Armed Forces for a variety of wartime activities.

After the end of the War, Faslane was split in two. The southern half was used by the Royal Navy and the northern half for shipbreaking until 1980. In 1957 the Royal Navy closed its submarine base in Rothesay Bay and transferred it to Faslane. Six years later the British Government decided to buy seaborne nuclear weapons from the United States and to base them in submarines at Faslane which became known as the Clyde Submarine Base. This decision had a substantial impact on Helensburgh and the surrounding area particularly with the provision of housing for naval personnel. A further increase in the town's population resulted, it rising to 15,852 in the 1991 Census. From 1996 surface vessels have also been based there, and this caused a change of the official name to Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde.

Recent history and regeneration

In 1971, Helensburgh was given its first conservation area, covering The Hill House and Helensburgh Upper Station. This was joined in 1994 by The Upper Helensburgh Conservation Area, which includes architectural works by William Leiper and Baillie Scott, and in 2019, by the Town Centre Conservation Area.

In a 2006 survey, Helensburgh was shown to be the second most expensive town in which to buy property in Scotland.

The town contains many tree-lined streets, and the cherry blossom in the Spring is a particular feature; a consequence is that the town has been referred to as "the Garden City of the Clyde". In 2016 the Helensburgh Tree Conservation Trust was invited to become a member of The National Tree Collections of Scotland because the range and quality of its street trees; at the time no other Scottish town had received this accolade.

In 2015, Colquhoun Square underwent a major redesign (as part of a wider redevelopment project that included the west esplanade) where parts of the square were pedestrianised. An integral part of this redesign was the creation of the award-winning Outdoor Museum, which consisted of the erection of 120 plinths, which over time would be gradually filled with items or replicas connected with Helensburgh's history and character, including a puppet's head used by John Logie Baird in his first television experiments and the ship's bell from Henry Bell's paddle steamer Comet. In addition, a number of brass plaques have been set into the pavements and these give a description of the condition of the streets of the town in 1845.

That same year, the previously derelict Clyde Street School reopened as the Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre of Argyll and Bute Council after significant renovations and the addition of both a new wing and public cafe. Displays from the collections of Helensburgh Heritage Trust can also be seen there.

The Tower Digital Arts Centre, housed in the former St Columba Church on Sinclair Street, was converted in 2016 into a first release double screen cinema and arts centre for the town.

The West King Street Hall next door was converted and took on a new role two years later as the Scottish Submarine Centre. The Centre now houses the last (1955) Stickleback-class submarine built for the Royal Navy.

In 2016 proof was found that a building long suspected of having been designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was actually his work. It was built as the Helensburgh & Gareloch Conservative Club, and the top floor only of this large building is now known as the Mackintosh Club. It is located in the town centre at 40 Sinclair Street.

Three years later, Helensburgh's other Mackintosh work, the Hill House, became enclosed in a protective structure, known as "The Box", a cautionary measure intended to slow down damages caused by damp penetration by allowing for the building to dry out. The design of The Box is notable for its chainmail mesh walls as well as the internal walkways that allow visitors to view Hill House's exterior from elevated viewpoints.

In June 2021, a pavilion was added to Hermitage Park, marking the end of a four-year project. The Park Pavilion is a Passivhaus design, believed to be the first non-domestic Passivhaus building in Scotland.

In October the following year, a £22 million leisure centre was officially opened on the Helensburgh pier, replacing the previous swimming pool which had closed two months prior.

Geography and geology
Helensburgh is 25 mi northwest of Glasgow. The town faces south towards Greenock across the Firth of Clyde, which is approximately 3 mi wide at this point. Ocean-going ships can call at Greenock, but the shore at Helensburgh is very shallow, although to the west of the town the Gareloch is deep.

Helensburgh lies at the western mainland end of the Highland Boundary Fault. This means that the hills to the north of Helensburgh lie in the Highlands, whereas the land to the south of Helensburgh is in the Lowlands or Central Belt of Scotland. Consequently, there is a wide variety of landscape in the surrounding area – for example, Loch Lomond (part of Scotland's first National Park) is only 4 mi over the hill to the north-east of Helensburgh. Although the Highland Boundary Fault is not geologically active, very minor earthquakes do occur occasionally in the area.

During the last ice age, the weight of the ice pushed the land downwards. Consequently, when the ice melted, sea levels were higher than they are now. Evidence of this can clearly be seen in Helensburgh where the first two blocks of streets nearer the sea are built on a raised beach. Behind them the land rises up quite steeply for one block and then rises more gently – and this is a former sea cliff which has been eroded. The land, now free of the weight of the ice, is slowly rising up, and the minor local earthquakes reflect this.

Further evidence of the last ice age can also be seen at low tide, where the beach is dotted with large boulders known as glacial erratics – these were carried from a distance inside the glaciers and dropped into their current locations when the glaciers melted.

Climate
Helensburgh has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).

Transport
The town is served by three railway stations: Helensburgh Central, Craigendoran, and Helensburgh Upper. Both Helensburgh Central and Craigendoran form part of the North Clyde Line, with Helensburgh Central acting as a terminus. Helensburgh Upper, meanwhile, is positioned on the West Highland Line and accommodates the Caledonian Sleeper.

Helensburgh is also served by a number of buses. These provide links to Glasgow, the Vale of Leven and Carrick Castle.

A special local form of transport is the paddle steamer Waverley which used to call in to Helensburgh pier during summer sailings. It advertises itself as the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world and was launched in 1946 for service from Craigendoran pier; however Craigendoran pier is now derelict, services having been withdrawn in 1972. Towards the end of 2018 Helensburgh pier was closed to all maritime craft because of its poor condition, and so there is no certainty as to when calls by the "Waverley" will resume.

Population and employment
In 2022 the National Records of Scotland estimated the population of Helensburgh to be 13,230. Helensburgh today acts as a commuter town for nearby Glasgow, and also serves as a main shopping centre for the area and for tourists and day trippers attracted to the town's seaside location. Helensburgh is also influenced by the presence of the Clyde Naval Base at Faslane on the Gareloch, which is home to the United Kingdom's submarine fleet with their nuclear weapons, as well as a major local employer.

Religion
Most of the major Scottish Christian denominations have churches in Helensburgh. The biggest of these was the Church of Scotland which by 1880 had 5 congregations in the town, each with its own building. However, with falling church attendances, and a vision to rationalise resources to better enable mission, these had all merged by 2015, so that the only Church of Scotland congregation is Helensburgh Parish Church in Colquhoun Square. Helensburgh is the largest Church of Scotland Parish in Scotland.

The Scottish Catholic Church has a significant influence within the town, with a parish church named St Joseph's on Lomond Street. St Joseph's church hall was originally the parish church in Helensburgh.

The St. Michael and All Angels Church holds distinction for being the town's only category A listed church. This building for the congregation of the Scottish Episcopal Church was designed in 1868 by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson.

Education
Overall, there are seven schools within Helensburgh.

Among these are three state primary schools: Colgrain, John Logie Baird, and Hermitage Primary. These schools provide pupils for Hermitage Academy, the town's state secondary school. Helensburgh also has a Roman Catholic state primary school, namely St. Joseph's.

Parklands School is also provided by Argyll and Bute Council and is a purpose-built school for pupils with Complex Special Educational Needs. Standing in the School grounds is Ardlui House which provides residential short breaks for up to 2 weeks for the same types of children and young people.

The sole independent school, Lomond School, was founded in 1977 as a result of a merger between St Bride's School (which was for girls) and Larchfield School (which was primary only and for boys). Both primary and secondary education are provided at Lomond School and the school caters for both day pupils and boarders, a large proportion of the latter coming from abroad.

Medical services
The town has two medical practices, both located within the same Medical Centre in East King Street. There are also a number of dentists and opticians in the town.

Built as the Victoria Infirmary, the Victoria Integrated Care Centre no longer cares for in-patients and the original building is now little used. However a variety of clinics do take place in buildings in the grounds.

In 2006 the Helensburgh district opted to come within the NHS Highland area, which is based in Inverness. However, because of the great distance between the Helensburgh area and Inverness, NHS Highland has an arrangement with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde which ensures that the latter provides the services needed locally.

Sport and leisure
Sports are well represented with various football, rugby, cricket, athletics, netball, hockey, curling, bowling, golf, sailing and fishing clubs amongst others active in the town. The seafront has an indoor swimming pool, an esplanade walk, a range of shops, cafes and pubs, and sailing facilities including Helensburgh Sailing Club.

Helensburgh is home to a number of annual events, with the local branch of the Round Table running an annual fireworks display on Guy Fawkes Night and hosting a Real Ale Festival. Helensburgh & Lomond Highland Games take place annually around the start of June.

In regard to the arts, Helensburgh has a digital arts centre, known as The Tower, which functions as a cinema and also hosts live performances in music and theatre.

There are a number of footpaths in and around Helensburgh, and it is also the starting point for some long distance walking and kayaking. In the town itself there are footpaths inside the Duchess Woods, Argyll & Bute's only local nature reserve.

A longer footpath is the Three Lochs Way which connects Loch Lomond with Helensburgh, the Gareloch and Loch Long, and which runs for 34 miles (55 km).

The longest by far of all the walks with a local start is the John Muir Way. This commemorates John Muir who is celebrated worldwide as the "Father of National Parks" and runs from Helensburgh for 134 miles (215 km) to his birthplace at Dunbar in East Lothian.

The Clyde Sea Lochs Trail is a road route from Dumbarton, through Helensburgh, round the Rosneath Peninsula, and ending at Arrochar, with information panels along the way.

The Argyll Sea Kayak Trail also starts at Helensburgh pier, but finishes at Oban measuring at a distance of around 95 miles (150 km).

Twin town
Helensburgh's only twin town is Thouars in France. A twinning agreement was signed in 1983.

Arts

 * W. H. Auden, poet
 * William Auld, poet and author
 * Jack Buchanan, actor, singer, producer and director
 * John Butt, orchestral and choral conductor, organist, harpsichordist and musicologist
 * Lawrence Chaney, drag queen
 * Morven Christie, actress
 * Andy Clyde, actor
 * Stephen Conroy, artist
 * James Copeland, actor
 * A. J. Cronin, novelist and physician
 * Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
 * Mary Alice Faid (1897–1990), writer, died in Helensburgh
 * Tom Gallacher, playwright
 * Georgie Glen, actress
 * Norah Neilson Gray, artist
 * Sir James Guthrie, artist
 * Kenny Hyslop, rock drummer in Slik and Simple Minds
 * Deborah Kerr, actress, most notably in The King and I
 * William Leiper, architect and artist
 * Robin Lloyd-Jones, author and educationalist
 * Jimmy Logan, impresario and director
 * David MacDonald, director, writer and actor
 * Helen MacInnes, author
 * Lex McLean, music hall comedian
 * Fergus McNeill, author and game designer
 * Neil Mitchell, musician
 * Neil Munro, journalist and literary critic
 * Viola Paterson, artist
 * George Rickey, kinetic sculptor
 * Randolph Schwabe, draughtsman and painter
 * Louise Scullion, artist
 * Martin Smith, director
 * Tom Vaughan, film and television director

Medicine

 * Gavin Arneil, doctor, paediatric nephrologist
 * Tina Gray, medical pioneer
 * Robert Aim Lennie, doctor
 * R. D. Low, pilot and doctor

Military

 * Martin Alabaster, Royal Navy officer
 * Phil Ashby, Royal Marines Commando officer
 * George Findlay, Victoria Cross recipient
 * John Gilmour, World War I pilot
 * James Jardine, Medal of Honor recipient
 * Sir Ian McGeoch, Royal Navy officer
 * Philip Tower, British Army officer
 * Alexander Ure, Liberal politician and judge

Politics

 * Marco Biagi, politician
 * Andrew Dunlop, Baron Dunlop, politician
 * William Jacks, Liberal politician and ironmaster
 * Bonar Law, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
 * Samantha Poling, journalist
 * Sir William Raeburn, 1st Baronet of Helensburgh, Unionist politician and shipping magnate

Religion

 * Bruce Cameron, Anglican bishop
 * Daniel Lamont, Church of Scotland minister
 * Alexander Robertson MacEwen, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland
 * A. E. Robertson, Church of Scotland minister
 * Patrick Rodger, Anglican bishop and ecumenist
 * Adam Cleghorn Welch, biblical scholar

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

 * John Logie Baird, first to demonstrate the working television
 * Henry Bell, engineer
 * Horatio Scott Carslaw, mathematician
 * John Arnold Fleming OBE FRSE (1871–1966), chemist, author and historian
 * Duncan Gay MBE, scientist and submariner
 * James Ballantyne Hannay, chemist
 * John Hammersley, mathematician
 * Zachary Macaulay, mathematician and abolitionist

Sports

 * John Black, football player
 * Bobby Blair, football player
 * Bobby Brown, football player and manager
 * John Buchanan, Olympic Gold medal-winning sailor
 * Peter Canero, football player
 * Joe Carson, football player
 * Charlotte Cooper, Olympic Gold medal-winning tennis player
 * Arthur Downes, Olympic Gold medal-winning sailor
 * Malcolm Finlayson, football player
 * Jimmy Gunning, football player
 * Jack Hill, football player and manager
 * Duncan Airlie James, kickboxer
 * Billy Jeffrey, football player and manager
 * Murdo MacLeod, football player and manager
 * Bob McGregor, Olympic Silver medal-winning swimmer
 * Michael McIntyre, Olympic Gold medal-winning sailor
 * Moses McNeil, co-founder of Rangers F.C.
 * Peter McNeil, co-founder of Rangers F.C.
 * Charlotte McShane, triathlete
 * Tommy Muirhead, football player and manager
 * W.C.W. Murdoch, rugby union player
 * Gary Orr, golfer
 * Derek Parlane, football player
 * Luke Patience, Olympic Silver medal-winning sailor
 * Gordon Reid, wheelchair tennis player
 * Emma Richards, yachtswoman
 * Nick Sharkey, football player
 * Gordon Sherry, golfer
 * Max Simmers, rugby union player
 * Walter Smith, football player and manager
 * Peter Such, Test cricketer
 * Fergus Tiernan, football player

Other

 * James George Frazer, social anthropologist
 * Herbert Guthrie-Smith, author and conservationist
 * Steve House, senior police officer
 * Kim Winser, businesswoman

title: Helensburgh


text:
João Manuel, Prince of Portugal

Dom João Manuel, Hereditary Prince of Portugal (3 June 1537 – 2 January 1554) was a Portuguese infante (prince), the eighth child of King John III of Portugal by his wife Catherine of Austria, daughter of Philip I of Castile and Joanna of Castile. As the heir to the throne he was styled Prince of Portugal.

Early life
João Manuel was born on 3 June 1537 in the Royal Palace of Évora and became the heir to the throne of Portugal in 1539. He survived his four older brothers who died in childhood but was a sickly teenager. The successive inter-marriages between the houses of Spain and Portugal are believed to have some responsibility for his ill health.

On 11 January 1552, he married Princess Joanna of Spain, his double-first cousin, through both paternal and maternal line, daughter of his paternal aunt Isabella of Portugal and of his maternal uncle, Emperor Charles V.

Death
João Manuel died of what the sources refer to as consumption, the old term used to refer to tuberculosis, on 2 January 1554, but some historians believe his death occurred as a result of diabetes, a disease inherited from his maternal grandfather, Philip I. Eighteen days later, a posthumous son was born, who later became Sebastian I of Portugal.

title: João Manuel, Prince of Portugal


text:
User:Jellyvista

I just encountered Wikipedia, and think it's the coolest thing in the world. This page will get better as I figure out how to do formatting.

Welcome! See User talk:Jellyvista for some replies. -- The Anome 15:16, 6 Nov 2003 (UTC)

title: User:Jellyvista


text:
User talk:Jellyvista

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. If you ever need editing help, see How to edit a page. You can also see how to format your User page at Manual of Style. If you need pointers on how we title pages visit Naming conventions. If you have any other questions about the project then check out Help or post a question in my talk page. Cheers, Muriel Gottrop 15:15, 6 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia! Try Help, or talk to other users at the Village pump... also, you can "talk" to other users by editing their "talk page" like this. This will flag up a message link the next time they visit a page. -- The Anome 15:18, 6 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Licence
You have upload the image Image:Pythagorean proof.png. Could you please add the licence? --APPER 17:07, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Note to myself -- the relevent tags page is at Template messages. -- Jellyvista 13:17, Feb 13, 2005 (UTC)

File source problem with File:Pythagorean proof.png
Thank you for uploading File:Pythagorean proof.png. I noticed that the file's description page currently doesn't specify who created the content, so the copyright status is unclear. If you did not create this file yourself, you will need to specify the owner of the copyright. If you obtained it from a website, please add a link to the website from which it was taken, together with a brief restatement of that website's terms of use of its content. However, if the copyright holder is a party unaffiliated from the website's publisher, that copyright should also be acknowledged.

If you have uploaded other files, consider verifying that you have specified sources for those files as well. You can find a list of files you have created [ in your upload log]. Unsourced and untagged images may be deleted one week after they have been tagged per Wikipedia's criteria for speedy deletion, F4. If the image is copyrighted and non-free, the image will be deleted 48 hours after 07:08, 25 December 2010 (UTC) per speedy deletion criterion F7. If you have any questions or are in need of assistance please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Kelly hi! 07:08, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

title: User talk:Jellyvista


text:
Brentwood (Washington, D.C.)

Brentwood is a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., and is named after the Brentwood Mansion built at Florida Avenue and 6th Street NE in 1817 by Robert Brent, the first mayor of Washington City. He built it as a wedding present for his daughter Eleanor on her marriage as second wife to Congressman Joseph Pearson, and it stood for a hundred years before burning down in 1917.

History

The mansion stood on a large expanse of land, a farm owned by Mayor Robert Brent, that also went to Eleanor. Congressman Pearson also purchased additional properties and expanded the estate further. The property then known as Brentwood was larger than the present neighborhood known as Brentwood. Images of the mansion may be found in the book Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings by James W. Goode, and in several books in the collection of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. A descendant (Edward Sisson) of the family that owned the mansion throughout its existence has posted a collection of paintings, drawings, photos, and histories of the mansion on-line in an "album" titled "Worthington House and Brentwood Mansion" on a Mac Web Gallery site. The Frick Art Reference Library has drawings, paintings, and perhaps photographs (although none appear to be accessible on-line as of late 2007). On the Web, a small drawing of the mansion, together with a brief description of its owners in 1873, Capt. and Mrs. Carlile Pollock Patterson, may be found in "Washington Outside and Inside" by George Alfred Townsend, at page 620, searchable as a Google book.

The design of Brentwood Mansion has traditionally been ascribed to the Capitol's architect, Benjamin Latrobe. The definitive 2006 book, The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, by Michael W. Fazio and Patrick Alexander Snadon (who call the house the Pearson House), states that this is uncertain. At the time of the house's design, Latrobe was suffering family troubles and his records for this period are poor.

During the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877), Brentwood Mansion was a center of Washington social life, with many parties hosted by Elizabeth (Eliza) Worthington Patterson (daughter of Joseph Pearson and his third wife Catherine Worthington Pearson) and her husband Carlile Pollock Patterson. Patterson had known Grant since 1852; Patterson's brother-in-law David Dixon Porter, married to Patterson's sister George Ann, was the highest-ranking Admiral in the US Navy; and Patterson's brother Thomas H. Patterson was commander of the Washington Navy Yard (1873–1876) before becoming the Rear Admiral in command of the Asiatic Squadron (1877–1880). Patterson Street, N.E., which is adjacent to the property, was probably named for the Patterson family.

C.P. Patterson, a Naval officer and ship captain turned scientist and administrator of a government department, had neither the interest nor the aptitude to manage the transformation of a large rural farming and forest property into an urbanized part of the city growing around it. After C.P. Patterson's death in 1881, long-delayed financial problems came to a head, and on June 6, 1884, three years after Patterson's death, Congress enacted a private bill, House bill No. 4689, entitled "An act for the relief of Eliza W. Patterson," C.P. Patterson's widow, excusing accumulated District of Columbia property taxes on the Patterson land. President Chester A. Arthur neither signed nor vetoed the bill, but held it ten days and allowed it to become law without his signature. In a message dated June 21, 1884, the President explained "I do not question the constitutional right of Congress to pass a law relieving the family of an officer, in view of the services he had rendered his country, from the burdens of taxation, but I submit to Congress that this just gift of the nation to the family of such faithful officer should come from the National Treasury rather than from that of this District, and I therefore recommend that an appropriation be made to reimburse the District for the amount of taxes which would have been due to it had this act not become a law."

After five more years of drift in management of the property, in March 1889, Patterson's son-in-law, Lt. Francis Winslow (II) USN (oldest brother of future Rear Admiral Cameron Winslow), after 19 years of Naval service during the slow-promotion post-war years, resigned from the Navy to devote himself to subdividing, renting, developing, and selling portions of the property. He was successful. A portion of this property later became the subject of a lawsuit that reached the United States Supreme Court, Francis Winslow v. Baltimore & Ohio RR Co., 188 U.S. 646 (1903), which includes excerpts of the will by which Mrs. Patterson came into the property on the death of her mother, Catherine Worthington Pearson, in 1868. The suit, which the Patterson/Winslow family won, involved renewal of a lease of some of the land to a railroad. (Winslow (II) also developed an expertise in oysters, having led government surveys in the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s. A "google" search on "Francis Winslow" and "oyster" returns dozens of "hits," referring to the Francis Winslow who managed the Brentwood property. His work is still cited today (2007) as authoritative and accurate. Winslow was also a leader of US government survey expeditions in Nicaragua, studying potential routes for a canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific.).

The death of Francis Winslow (II) in 1908, suspected to have been caused by illnesses contracted in the Nicaraguan jungle, led to another period of drift in the management of the property as his four sons pursued other careers. In 1917, 100 years after it was built, the vacant Brentwood Mansion burned, and the land became the site of a World War I Army staging camp, Camp Meigs. Three of Francis Winslow (II)'s sons were officers in World War I, and they may have staged in that camp, on their own family land. In 1919 the partially burnt house was finally demolished. Part of the property became the first lumberyard for the building supply and hardware company Hechinger Co., a store that was prominent in Washington into the 1990s.

In the 1920s, Lt. Winslow's son, Francis Winslow (III), ended his career as a mining engineer and took over active management of the Brentwood Patterson/Winslow land. His most notable achievement was the development of the Union Market. For years called the Florida Avenue Market, it still operates after 80 years as the city's principal wholesale food and produce market.

In the early 1940s, the District of Columbia used eminent domain to acquire a large parcel of the Patterson land known as "square 710", on which stands the new headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (200 Florida Avenue, N.E.). The seizure of square 710 led to a suit by Winslow (III) as trustee, asserting that the compensation offered by the District was inadequate. Winslow won the suit and a judgment for a larger sum, whereupon, according to the family, the District informed him that it simply didn't have the money to pay the larger judgment. Regardless of payment or nonpayment, title had vested in the government. At about this time, Winslow was demoralized by the death of his 17-year-old daughter in a 1946 car accident, and was then diagnosed with cancer. He died in 1948.

His youngest brother Cameron, an insurance executive in Hartford, CT, stepped in as trustee, but it is unclear whether either Francis or Cameron ever received payment from the government of the court-ordered price of "square 710." If not, there may be the ironic situation of a government law-enforcement agency headquarters located on land for which the government did not comply with the law by paying the lawful price. Cameron Winslow, determining that no one in the next generation appeared interested in managing the property, and unable to manage the properties day-to-day from Hartford, began selling all remaining parts of the property in the 1950s, completing the last of the sales in the 1960s, breaking up the landed estate that Robert Brent had assembled some 200 years before.

Over the decades, much of the land was acquired by or donated to Gallaudet University, a prominent school for the deaf. Cogswell Hall, a residence hall of Gallaudet University, is said to be built on the site of the old Brentwood Mansion. According to a website on Washington ghost stories, students have reported that it is haunted by the spirit of a little girl. Allegedly, blankets have been yanked off, an unplugged alarm clock went off, papers have moved with no draft or breeze, there are feelings of being watched, and at least one student has been tapped awake with no one there.

Brentwood today
Brentwood neighborhood as it is today (whose boundaries are somewhat different than the original Brent property, as increased by Pearson) is trapezoidal in its geography. It is bounded by New York Avenue to the south, Montana Avenue to the east, Rhode Island Avenue NE to the north, and the tracks of the Washington Metro's Red Line and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor to the west. It is serviced by the Rhode Island Ave–Brentwood Metro station. Politically, Brentwood is in Ward 5.

It is best known as the site of the Joseph Curseen Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr. Processing and Distribution Center, the postal mail sorting facility through which anthrax-contaminated mail addressed to two members of the U.S. Senate passed in the 2001 anthrax attacks. Curseen and Morris were members of the American Postal Workers Union, AFL–CIO who died after exposure to the anthrax in the incident. The 633,000 ft2 facility was closed October 21, 2001, because of anthrax contamination and did not reopen until December 21, 2003.

The area also is the site of a major rapid transit rail maintenance facility of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA), the principal public transit operator in metropolitan Washington, D.C.

title: Brentwood (Washington, D.C.)


text:
Ffion Hague

Ffion Llywelyn Hague, Baroness Hague of Richmond, (née Jenkins; 21 February 1968) is a Welsh broadcaster, author, former civil servant, and wife of Conservative politician William Hague. Born Ffion Jenkins in Cardiff, she is a native Welsh speaker and first became known when she was selected to teach the language to her future husband when he was Secretary of State for Wales.

She is the younger sister of Manon Antoniazzi, who served as the assistant private secretary to Prince Charles and is now Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd.

Early life
She attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, a Welsh-language comprehensive school in Cardiff, and went on to study English at Jesus College, Oxford. After graduating she joined the civil service. She played the clarinet in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and sang in the National Youth Choir of Wales.

Career
Hague was a director of the Outward Bound Trust from 1 April 2009 until 7 December 2012. She was a director of Hanson Green, an executive recruitment firm from 11 December 2003, until it merged with Directorbank on 1 February 2008. Previously, she had been a director of The Voices Foundation from 23 September 1998, until she resigned on 12 July 2005.

Hague is also a published author best known for her biography of David Lloyd George, entitled The Pain and the Privilege: The Women in Lloyd George's Life. For S4C, she presented the series Mamwlad (2012), Tri Lle (2010) and Dwy Wraig Lloyd George (2009). She has also presented programmes for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4.

Personal life
She met William Hague in 1995, when she became his private secretary at the Welsh Office. Because of the embarrassment caused by the previous Welsh secretary John Redwood, who was unable to sing the Welsh national anthem, it was decided that his successor should learn the words.

They were married on 19 December 1997, at the Palace of Westminster, and currently reside in Richmond, North Yorkshire. When her husband was raised to the peerage in 2015 as Baron Hague of Richmond, she became The Lady Hague of Richmond. William Hague disclosed in September 2010 that she had suffered a number of miscarriages as they tried to start a family. They do not have any children.

In 2015 the couple became owners by purchase of Cyfronydd Hall near Welshpool, Wales.

title: Ffion Hague


text:
Westminster Abbey Choir School

Westminster Abbey Choir School is a boarding preparatory school for boys in Westminster, London and the only remaining choir school in the United Kingdom which exclusively educates choristers (i.e. only choirboys attend the school). It is located in Dean's Yard, by Westminster Abbey. It educates about 30 boys, aged 8–13 who sing in the Choir of Westminster Abbey, which takes part in state and national occasions as well as singing evensong every day (except Wednesday) and gives concert performances worldwide. Recent tours include to America, Hungary and Moscow. Other tours have included Australia, America and Hong Kong. The school is one of only three choir schools that educate only the male trebles of the choir, the others being Saint Thomas Choir School in New York City and Escolania de Montserrat in Spain. The headteacher is Dr Emma Margrett who became the first female headteacher of Westminster Abbey Choir School on 1 January 2024. The organist and master of the choristers is Andrew Nethsingha, former Director of Music at St John’s College Cambridge.

History
The school is believed to have been founded around 1560, as the choir boys of Westminster Abbey have been educated there since Elizabethan times. The present school was built in 1915 (2015 being its centenary year) and underwent renovations in 1990s.

The three houses of the Choir School are named after the musicians John Blow, Henry Purcell and Orlando Gibbons, who were all Organists of Westminster Abbey.

Governors
The Chairman of the Governors of the school is David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster.

Inspections
The school was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in February 2023.

Curriculum
As a choir school, boys are selected by musical ability. The Dean and Chapter meet the cost of their vocal training and at least eighty per cent of the cost of their education. The regular school curriculum is not neglected and pupils are taught the required National Curriculum subjects as well as Latin, French and Greek.

The choir
The choir makes frequent broadcasts and recordings. The choir's most recent recording is a CD of Hubert Parry's Songs of Farewell, which is on Hyperion Records.

Tours
The choir has travelled across the world to perform tours, most recently in Australia, the United States, China, Moscow, Rome, and Hungary. Generally these tours take place once every two years although this was disrupted during Covid.

Notable former pupils

 * Christopher Brown, composer
 * Tim Brown, choral director
 * James Burton, conductor
 * Alan Civil, French horn orchestral player
 * Gabriel Crouch, baritone, choral conductor
 * Adrian Cruft, composer
 * Brian Easdale, composer
 * Clive Farahar, antiquarian book dealer
 * Neil Jenkins, tenor
 * William Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire, academic
 * James Wilkinson, author and former BBC science correspondent
 * David Willcocks, conductor, organist and composer
 * Guy Woolfenden, composer

Notable staff
In the 1950s, the celebrated singer John Whitworth taught maths at the school.

title: Westminster Abbey Choir School


text:
User:JD Jacobson

I an attorney in St. Louis, Missouri. My major area of practice is business litigation. My undergraduate major was in philosophy, with an emphasis on logic and game theory. I spent many years editing others' writing and still do a fair amount of editing in my practice. I only contribute substantively to articles on subjects about which I have good personal knowledge, but am ready to edit other articles where I can make a clear (to my view) improvement to the prose.

title: User:JD Jacobson