How the Villages Grew  >    

How the villages grew - a timeline - hover your mouse over a date below the arrow to reveal what was happening....

 
1733 1767 1777    1800   1844 1847 1850   1885 1890      1910-1915   1920  1928    1940   1960    1976  2006

Here is the timeline of how the villages grew: -

• First Church built 1733

• Evidence of School being inexistence in 1767.

• Loch Long Road built by the Duke of Argyll in 1777.

• Pre 1800’s there were large houses built of which some are still standing to day. These include New Tarbet renamed Arrochar House (now The Claymore Hotel), Glenloin House, Stuckgowan House and Tarbet House (now demolished).

• Ballyhennan Free Church built 1844. This is now The Ben Lomond restaurant venue and craft shop.

• Present day Church built 1847.

• In the first half of the 1800’s the Colquhouns started to break up the land into sections but retained the fues. This is when most of the large house we see to day was built. These include Stronafyne, Belview, Oakbank, Fascadail, Invereoch, Daildarroch, Ben Cruach.

• During the late 1880’s early 1890’s with the construction of the West Highland Railway, workers cottages started to appear along the line from Morelaggan to Ardlui. Also, Luss Estates were providing cottages for workers this resulted in Tigh na Gare, Chestnut, Rose, Hawthorn and Mayfield Cottages being built in the village of Arrochar and Tighloan at Tarbet. It is also thought that High Kirkfield was build round about this time by a Glasgow family. (it has the style of a tenement building).

• In 1890 Arrochar Parish Hall was built with the costs being met mainly by public subscription raised mainly to large extent by the Rev James Dewar.

• 1904 - The Loch Long Hotel was destroyed by fire. It was soon rebuilt.

• 1910-1915 - With coming of the Torpedo Range we saw Admiralty Cottages (English Cottages, Glebe Cottages) at Tighness and at the Range the Weir Cottages and Range Houses being built.

• Round about the 1920’s the three Steel Houses were built at Succoth for Forestry Commission workers. (Rena MacDougall's Grandfather was the first tenant of No 3).

• 1926 - The sea wall was built

• When the housing act was passed in 1928 requiring Councils to provide housing for let, Kirkfield Place was built.  This was the first non ‘tied’ houses in the village. Because this was unheard of before and may, as it was a labour government in power at the time these houses were known locally as the ‘Red Square’ or ‘The Kremlin’!!!

• 1939 – 1945 The War Years. Work was plentiful in the village mostly connected to the Range. Loading of the submarines and the Loch being used for a safe harbour for surface ships. Accommodation was sought for Officers. This resulted in all the Hotels The Ross. The Arrochar and the Loch Long, along with larger houses being taken over. Tarbet Hotel was used by Kelvinside Academy as a School. American and Canadian troops arrived by train at the station to be taken to Inverary to be trained. Canteens were set up to give them soup or a coffee. By the end of the war the Loch Sloy hydro scheme had started along with the extensive Forestry Commission restocking programme to replace timber used in the war effort. This resulted in the building of the houses at Succoth (FC), Cobbler View (LA) and Ballyhennan Crescent (HE) .

• 1955 - The Loch Long Hotel burned down.

• In the early 1960’s Bemmerside (HE) and MacKenzie Ave., (LA) were built. Work was plentiful as the Sloy scheme had been followed Shiera the creation of Glen Douglas and Coulport Depots along with this expansion of Faslane. Housing was still needed and this resulted in the building of MacFarlane Drive and MacFarlane Place (LA). By now the new road up Loch Lomond was in place, this attracted people who had work out with the village but choose to stay locally and still be able to commute to work. The last complex of houses to be built was Beechwood by a Housing Association.  This complex was built on the site of the Beechwood, which once was a feature of the Back Road.

• 1976 - Cruachan was built in front of the Cobbler (now Claymore) Hotel.

• 1984 - Glencroe School was closed.

• In 2006 The Orchard, a private development, was built on the site of the old Arrochar House orchard where once, pears, apples, plums, damsons, veg and flowers grew in abundance.

Sadly to make way for this great expansion small cottages have been abandoned and let to go to ruin.