L for Leisure Time: A-Z Challenge 2020

My Theme

Family History Meets Local History - 

Sources and Stories from England & Scotland 

Our ancestors worked very long hours, but how  did they enjoy themselves in their limited LEISURE TIME?  You can best find out by searching  local newspapers.

Reports abound in the local  press covering my small village of Earlston in the Scottish  Borders, whether leisure  activities were sporting, cultural, educational, musical, dramatic, or just simply fun. 

Earlston lies 32 miles south of  Edinburgh, with its population numbers changing little over the period of 1861  (1749) to 2011 (1750).  Yet in the late  19th century, villagers could enjoy a variety of events taking place in the Corn Exchange Hall.  The adjacent Reading Room, founded in 1856  provided a quiet corner with its subscription library and billboard hall, but with strict rules that make entertaining reading today.

Earlston Corn Exchange  on the  far right of the photograph,  adjacent to the Reading Room. The clock and belfrey tower were donated by  Earlston-born John Redpath,  who in 1816 as a stonemason emigrated to Canada and in Montreal made a name for himself as an industrialist and philanthropist, but never forgetting  his birthplace. A plaque, mounted on the chassis of the clock mechanism, reads:  “The gift of John Redpath Esq. Montreal To his Native Town of Earlstoun. A.D. 1869”.

What could residents enjoy in the late 19th century? 

• In Spring 1869 a series of "Penny Readings" were held with the comment that these were  "instructive and pleasing entertainments."
   
• On 4th November 1869, "The Southern Reporter"  described the formal opening of a piano donated to the Corn Exchange by Mrs Colesworth of Cowdenknowes.   
  
  The ceremony was slightly marred by an "unforeseen accident" in opening the piano, but this was followed by "three hearty cheers for Mrs Colesworth"  and  "a  grand concert of miscellaneous music......with the hall crammed in every part."  

• Also in November 1869,  a meeting was called   in the Corn Exchange for the Electors of Earlston  to select a Liberal Candidate  to stand in the forthcoming election, on the current MP Robertson being raised  to the peerage.  The handbill for the meeting carried the headline  "Caution - Electors of Earlston - Beware!"   with Lord William Hay selected  to contend the seat. 

• September  1869 saw  the annual show of the Earlston Cottagers Horticultural Society  taking place for the first time in the Corn Exchange.  "The hall was set off in an artistic  and pleasing manner"  with contributions from the gardens and greenhouses of Cowdenknowes, Carolside and Drygrange - nearby estates. 

• On a more serious note, in January1869 a series of evangelical  meetings was held  "commencing the evening of Monday and continuing nightly until Sunday", when Lord Polwarth's talk was "listened  to throughout his lengthy discourse with marked attention"  from the packed hall".
  

                              

• In December 1881 The Earlston Tradesmen held their annual  "Show of  Roots" in the Corn Exchange.
• In February 1884, a lecture entitled "Holidays in the Highland", was given by local  bank manager John Mackenzie - one hopes he was a good speaker, as there would be no visual aids to enliven a long talk.
• A concert and ball were held in September 1886 under the auspices of the Earlston Street Lighting Committee to raise  funds for winter street lighting in the village.
  

  "After the concert, dancing commenced to the inspiring strains of Earlston Orchestral Party and carried on with unabated zeal  to  the  advanced hours in the morning.

   
  Earlston's Orchestral Party - 
      one of the oldest photographs in the Auld Earlston collection. 
  
  
• Another fund rising event in July 1889 was on  behalf of the Bowling Club, founded six years earlier, who were looking to liquidate its debt, with"the amount taken far exceeded the sanguine expectation of the club."  A wordy description gave a picture of the bazaar stalls - along with the more usual cushions and crafts,   "live poultry" - and a painting by renowned Borders artist Tom Scott.
  
  
  
  
   
• In 1892, advertisements in "The Berwickshire News" promised the  following entertainment at  the Corn Exchange  
  

  and 

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• Taking to the stage on 17th September 1897 was "Alone in London - a   wonderfully sensational and  realistic Drama......the greatest ever put before a Scotch audience......witnessed on several occasion by Members of the Royal Family"

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In the 20th century, villagers could enjoy regular dances -particularly popular in wartime, when the Polish Band (stationed in the village) provided the music;   a major two day Masonic Bazaar, shows by the Girls' Club; regular whist drives,  a cinema in the 1950s, follower by a short lived session of bingo nights.    But the heydays of the Corn Exchange came to an end with a visit by pop star of the day  Manfred Mann - a night still remembered by local folk.  By the 1960s there were other forms of entertainment  on offer i.e. television.  

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Sources of Information 

"The Berwickshire News" and "The Southern Reporter" on:
British Newspapers Online 1710-1963  at FindMyPast