” These postcards of Craiglockhart Pond were collected by Bob Lockhart, a local resident. We think the photographs were taken around 1910. They show a substantial tearoom where the Leisure Centre now stands – it must have replaced the Victorian Bandstand that once stood there. The tearooms were replaced, in turn, by a dance hall in the 1930’s. Adverts on the side of the tearoom are for Cadbury’s and Fry’s – the Edwardians were clearly fond of chocolate!
Visitors could hire one of the many rowing boats and skiffs tied up along the north-west side of the pond where the Lockharton Avenue houses would later be built. There are also several yachts sailing serenely on a fine summers day. It is pleasing that four swans and a cygnet can be seen. We can now say with confidence that there have been swans on the pond for more than 100 years.
Many thanks to Bob Lockhart for sharing these postcards with us. Do you have any old postcards or photos (perhaps in a box in the attic) that illustrate Craiglockhart’s past? If so, please share them with us.”
