Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy is one of those lovely old parks which sprang up at the back end of the 19th century. The postcard below shows the lovely old gate posts and gates as they were originally. Sadly they’ve gone from bad to worse in recent years. In common with most parks and homes the gates and railings disappeared sometime during World War II. They were removed as part of the war effort, the metal was supposed to be needed for war work – building ships or aeroplanes and the like.
Of course it was just a propaganda con to make the British people feel that they were contributing and helping Britain fight the Nazi terror. The metalwork just rusted away in dumps as it wasn’t the correct sort of metal. I’m annoyed about that because it would cost about £3,000 to replace ours!
I’m even more annoyed about the state of the gates now. I took the photo below just a couple of weeks ago and as you can see one of the lovely old red sandstone gateposts has gone. Apparently it was demolished by the back end of a circus trailer as it went through the gateway. That was over a year ago and absolutely nothing has happened since then.
I know it can take a long time for insurance claims to be settled but over a year seems just too long. Has there been a problem with the insurance, was the circus vehicle insured, who was stupid enough to allow a circus to set up business in the park? I think we should be told.
The entrance to the park is a pitiful sight when compared with how it used to look. New gates should have been commissioned for the centenary celebrations, it would be nice to think that the powers that be might think about doing it now or when they eventually get around to rebuilding the gatepost – if they ever do!
The Kirkcaldy Council should sort out the park gateway, instead of spending bucketloads of money on things like speed bumps which are completely useless, their only function seems to be to give work to the local car repair workshops as the bumps wreck the sills of some cars, no matter how they go across them, no matter how careful they are.
How different the park looks now. It’s nice that you have the old post card that shows the difference. The gate post will probably never be replaced since there is no gate. What a shame.
Peggy Ann,
It had better be fixed as it’s an absolute eyesore at the moment, but if they don’t do it soon they’ll forget where they stashed the red sandstone jigsaw puzzle which it is now!
Funny, Jack and I just visited two gardens & old houses in the Philadelphia area and were sad to see how dilapidated they both were. I don’t think our government spends any money on maintaining historic places, except places like Independence Hall, which was looking pretty shabby, too, until recently. I’ll have to take a closer look the next time I walk up that way, but they’ve had scaffolding up for quite a while. Doesn’t the UK use lottery money for the National Trust places?
These places and buildings are living history lessons and should be cherished as educational tools. Instead, we throw millions away on ridiculous things, like your country apparently does, too. Katrina, maybe it’s time for us to overthrow the world and rule things sensibly!
Joan,
National Trust places are usually well preserved, but unfortunately the gatepost/pillars are the responsibility of the local council. I’m trying to shame them into getting it fixed. That’s a great idea though, they might be able to get a lottery grant, they give money to less worthy causes I’m sure. Do you have something like the National Trust in the US or is it all done/not done on a state basis?
You and I could sort out the world in an afternoon Joan, if only they’d listen to us!
To the best of my knowledge, other than a few places like the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, state and national parks (which aren’t REALLY preserved since they allow mining, drilling, etc.), we have no federally or state funded preservation programs. We belong to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, but that’s a privately funded non-profit. I’ll add my pessimistic comment that I think our state and federal governments are more interested in destroying most remnants of our past. Let’s build a road through it! Very sad. Good luck on getting your gate post replaced. If anyone can do it, you can!
Joan,
It’s not a lot better here really. We can get particular parts of the countryside ‘protected’ from being developed if they have rare plants on the land – in theory. Sometimes builders manage to get around the rules though – typical! I bet they forget what they’ve done with the knocked over stone. I’m sure it can all be put together again with just a few more cracks to show for the mishap, maybe not even that with a good stonemason working on it.
Hi, I just thought I would mention that my Great grandfather was the first Park superintendent of Beveridge Park. His name was Adam Stenhouse.
Michael Duncan,
That’s interesting. I have a small collection of old postcards of the park which I intend to post on ‘pining’ soon. They might be of interest to you if you haven’t seen any before.
Hi Katrina, That’s interesting. I would love to see them. I have a collection of nearly 200 cards of Beveridge Park and I am always on the lookout for new ones if anybody has any doubles. Some of my cards can be seen at http://www.thefifepost.com/?page_id=5445
I will be expanding this selection over time.
All the best from,
Michael (In Norway)
Michael,
You have far more than I have. I haven’t got around to scanning mine yet as we’re flitting at the end of the week – to Markinch, so we’re in a complete guddle at the moment. I’ll get around to it soon though. Lucky you being in Norway, I’ve always wanted to go back there since going on a school cruise to Scandinavia in 1970.
my uncle Frank Tweedale was deputy superintendent in early 1950s and my widowed mother, his sister was his housekeeper. we lived in a flat in Southerton House. 1953 1954 steve Lawson nottingham
Steve lawson,
It’s such a pity that they don’t have the park keeper and park workers living within Beveridge Park now. The Southerton house flats have all been sold off, one of my son’s had a schoolfriend (West) who lived there as a child in the 1980s/90s. I hate to think what the inside of the ‘parkies’ house is like now as it has had metal shutters on the doors and windows for donkey’s years now. We lived just a two minute walk from the park while our kids were growing up, ideal as they could walk to the West themselves and Balwearie High is close by too. The park is the one thing that we miss about Kirkcaldy now that we have moved.
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Regards, Katrina
I actually lived in Beveridge Park for a couple of years circa 1982 1953. My mother, a widow kept house for her brother mr Frank Tweedale who was deputy park superintendent. we lived in Southerton House which was then flats for park staff. I went to the West School. Very fond childhood memories, an ideal backdrop to spend a childhood. steve Lawson Nottingham