Kirkcudbright Old & New
- carmichaelphotogra5
- May 31, 2022
- 3 min read
The images in the slideshow reflect Kirkcudbright past and present and the consequential changes of the landscape.
All present day photos were taken by me but the selection of old photographs are from a number of different sources.
The economic changes of Kirkcudbright are prominent throughout the photographs. Industries have changed and collapsed. Where others have regenerated and became something more accessible for everyone.
The first few images depict the Creamery. This was a building present throughout my lifetime, it was subsequently demolished in 2012. This piece of desolate land was then split in two. Leaving one half to become a new housing development and the other sold to an independent person.
The next set of images looks at the old Railway Station. One image shows what the station has turned into and the other shows the railway crash on Bridge Street. The station has now been converted into a cookery school and the rest is a set of houses. As for the railway crash this happened in 1963. When a passenger carriage came out from the station and hurtling across the street. The station was then closed in 1965 but possibly not for the better. In present day Kirkcudbright could most certainly have benefited from this mode of transportation.
We now look at the old Picture House or Cinema in today's terms. This prominent building has now been turned into a supermarket in which the town benefits greatly from.
Next up is the Royal Hotel, which in it's heyday was the go to venue for all parties, weddings and discos. The derelict state of the building is a far cry from what it used to be. Hopefully the town or and independent investor could take on this vast project but many have failed over the years.
Then we move to near the harbour which used to sit the old Bus Depot. So I'm told that this was quite the large building (this is info from my Gran as this was not around in my lifetime). It housed the buses overnight. At the present day the building no longer stands and has just recently had a stage added to the ground, this will be used for performances throughout the year.
Another look at the harbour and you will find the old Grain Store. I take it this building was situated here so boats would bring the grain and it would be stored. Unfortunately there is much information to go along with this building but now in the present day there is no trace of this building.
Finally we can take a look at schools that are no longer here. The old Catholic School and Castledykes School are a distant memory with what they have been replaced with. The Catholic School has now made way for housing and residential care. Whereas Castledykes School was demolished and the ground made apart of the new primary school.
Kirkcudbright has seen vast changes over the years and still continues to change. If we are looking at this in 10 or 20 years time there will be another set of changes without a doubt. Kirkcudbright is a resilient town but many of these changes weren't for the better but as we know a lot comes down to money. This project just shows how important it is to document the change and to look back on the past and see how far it has came.
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