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The Physical Basis.The civil parish ofGrangemouth was formed in 1900, by Order of theSecretaryof State for Scotland, bythe union of part of the parish of Bothkennar, the remainder being transferred to theparish of Falkirk, the parish of Polmont and part of the parish of Falkirk. The parishboundary was further altered in 1922 by the transfer of part of the parish ofBorrowstounness and Carriden in the county of West Lothian to the parish of Grangemouthand by the transfer of part of the parish of Grangemouth to the parish of Borrowstounnessand Carriden. The present area of the parish as it was recorded in the census of 1951 is8,170 acres, of which the burgh of Grangemouth extends over approximately 3,420 acres.

In shape, the parish is very irregular. The boundary on the east isalso the county boundary and lies along the river Avon. At a point about a mile from theA.9 road the boundary ceases to be the river and lies south-west through Rumford andCalifornia to include Shieldhill and Wester Shieldhill before turning north to reach theWestquarter burn which construtes the boundary to the point at which it flows under theA.905 road. From this crossing the boundary lies close to the road until the river Carronis reached. From the Carron, after including part of Carronshore, the line is drawn almostdue north to meet the A.977 road and from there in an easterly direction to join again theestuary of the Forth.

Mineral evidence seems to suggest that in very early times the seaencrc~hed to a much greater extent on the land than is now apparent. The soil inland ofthe burgh area is of reasonable quality and permits of fair cropping. On the southerlyedge of the parish, however, at a height of more than 600 feet the heavy clay of theplateau beconees evident.

The Carron, the Grange and the Avon have all imluenoed the developmentof the ar~ The Carron in particular followed at one time a winding course considerablydifferent from its present bed. In the past two centuries two diversions of its coursehave taken place while the early course of the Grange has been altered four tiimes andthat of the Avon once. The centres of population, apart from the burgh of Grangernouth,are Brightons, Westquarter, Shieldhill, Redding, Polmont and Carronshore

History.Early history of the area is difficultto establish. There are tracesin Zetlandpark of what imay have been a Pictishfortress. Certainly the historian Skene has no hesitation in placing many of the strugglesbetween Pict and Saxon in this area. In 1142 a charter granted to the monks of NewbattleAbbey gave pasture. arable land and a salt work in Kalantyr. an old name which is said tohave been applied to the area between the Avon and the Carron. Alexander granted 'all ourland in Kalantyr' to the canons of Holyrood in 1233. Some interesting research into thehistory of the whole area has been carried out in recent years by Mr. R. Porteous ofGrangemouth.

The Burgh of Grangemouth: History.Some of thenormal working of a port seems to have been carried on before the creation of the Forthand Clyde Canal, with the building of which the founding of Grangemouth is normallyassociated. The small port of Greenbrae shipped grain from Bothkennar before that time andthere is consider able evidence of the existence of a whaling factory. occupied by theWhale Fishing Company. and later probably a herring factory, in use before the era of thecanal. On 10 July 1768, however. Sir Lawrence Dundas of Kerse cut the first turf at theeastern end of what was soon to be known as the 'Great Canal,' and in 1777 the logicaloutcome. the founding of a port. took place. By 1790 the canal was complete and akeadyWilliam Symington had begun his experiments which were to produce in 1801 theCharlotteDundas.Burgh expansion was rapid. The original town was too closely confined by sea,river and canal and a new town began to grow on the other side of the Grange burn, but theport as a whole maintained its unity. A customs house was built in 1810 and a graving dockin 1811. What is now the Old Dock was built in 1843 and another dock was completed in1882, by which date Grangemouth had already for ten years ranked as a burgh.

Building of homes continued through all of this period. From 1782insistence had been maintained on a high standard of house construc fion. Stone was, until1914, the material employed. Designs were good. The early part of North Basin Streetcompared well with the best architecture of the same type in finer cities. From about 1860every house had to have a reasonable garden space, a provision which modern plannersappreciate.

Unlike nearby Linlithgow with its ancient and interesting history,Grangemouth is a new town with a brief past and a most promising future. When one looks atthe neatly laid out housing schemes, the lovely Zetland public park, the extensive,modernised docks and the industrial sites, garden-fronted, it is difficult to rememberthat only 200 years ago there was almost nothing where they stand but farmland. Thebeginnings of the town are, indeed, usually traced back to 1768, but from that time onwardthe story is one of progress until the Port has become second in importance in Scotland.Some of the details of this story have been excellently recorded in the burgh directory,as may be judged from the following quotation. 'The Old Town is the more picturesque partof the port. It is married to the waters like a second Venice. but a Venice of the northwith quaint grey-stone bnlligs jostling with the wharves. boat-slips, workshops, inns witha nautical flavour, warehouses and timber basins. It is a crowded place but it hasenchanting vistas down the old-fashioned streets and lanes abutting on waterways whereseafowl float, disturbing the placid reflections of the houses of the wealthy merchants oflast century.' Unfortunately some of these scenes have now lost their enchantment; some ofthe buildings are derelict; others have become rather shabby. Picturesque Canal Street isnow only a nostalgic memory and Grange Street, once the busy. happy thoroughfare of thetown, is now no more than the back way to the docks. Though the Old Town stillaccommodates the shipyard. the hosiery factory, the laundry and a compact housing schemewith community centre and small public park. it is no longer the centre of activity.

Being by comparison with other burghs of the county, a new town,Grangemouth has little of note of folklore, settled customs and traditions. What localfolklore there is has come from one generation to the next by word of mouth. It is a greatpity that the Stories of the older characters, their sayings and doings. have not beenmade avail able in a permanent form. And while the town can boast of few famous men it hasproduced not a few men of outstanding ability in business and oommerce and in the publicservice. It is freely acknowledged that these far-seeing men laid the foundations on whichtheir successors are still building. The New Town rose by the side of the old to becomethe industrial and business centre, as well as the larger residential area. On the eastand south farm houses and cottages were erased overnight and green fields were turned intobuilding sites. The realisation that the town occupied a strategic position in the centreof Soctland's industrial belt seemed to act as an incentive to the local planners to makethe most of it. Grangemouth, literally and figuratively, was on the map and industrialistsbegan to be attracted to it.

To the older generations of business men, as has been said, much isowed, for their imagination. common sense and energy. qualities which are very evident intheir successors who are meeting the opportunities and challenge of the present with faithand courage, but not only to these men is credit due. Much of Grangemouth's history hasdepended on one factor, the sterling quality of the Grangemouth docker and working man. Tobe known as a 'Grangemouth docker' meant to be known as hardworking, honest, thrifty,frank and upright in dealing. determined to succeed. concerned to uphold a high reputationearned throughout the years. At one time it was claimed that nowhere in Britain had somany dockers built their own cottages and retired in comfort as in Grangemouth. Ifpresent-day dockers do not always show the same qualities it is not for lack of highexample. Yet most of the well-known shipping companies are attracted to the Port, not onlybecause of its situation but also because of the quick 'turn round' given by the dockers.This in turn is ensured by the happy relationship between employers, Dock Labour Board andworkers. One under- lying reason for this may be that, in many cases, employer and workerhave grown up together and there is a mutual trust and willingness to co-operate which islacking in many of the more depersonalised relationships of larger concerns. Whatever thereason, strikes by Grangemouth dockers are rare events. The spirit and common sense of thedocker have played a considerable part in Grangemouth's history.

Population.The rapid rise of the population ofthe burgh is seen in this table.

The increase between 1931 and 1951 is one of25.6per cent. Thefigure for 1961 represents an increase since 1951 of 22.2 per cent. Some part of thisincrease has come about as a result of the arrival in the burgh of families from Glasgow.Grangemouth town council's agreement to receive overspill population from Glasgow wasconfirmed in1958and a building development plan was begun. The remainder of theincrease has undoubtedly resulted from the rapid growth of the industrial concerns in theburgh. It is anticipated that the population of the burgh by 1965 will have increased toabout 22.500, and further, to 30,000 by1975.This factor among others hasinfluenced the town council's decision to promote a provisional order for a further extension of the burgh boundaries. If this extension is granted the area over which Grangemouthwill extend will increase to approximately 6,019 acres. The order also seeks to makeprovIsion for the creation of the burgh as a 'large burgh.'(l)

(1) The plea for 'large burgh' status was refused.

Public Services.Grangemouth is a small burghin terms of the Local Government (Scotland) Act of 1947 and a water supply authoritywithin the meaning and for the purposes of the Water (Scotland) Acts, 1946 to 1949. Allthe applicable local authority services are administered within the burgh.

Roads.The town council is responsible forconstruction of new roads, widening of existing roads and improvements, as well as for themaintenance of the 22.863 miles of unclassified roads and streets in the burgh. Classifiedroads (8.336 miles) are maintained by the county council but the town council acts onoccasion as agent for the county council in the performance of certain maintenance andimprovement work. It is claimed locally, and the claim is a tribute to the wisdom of theearly planners, that no old street, except Station Brac, has had to be widened since 1772.

Street Lighting.In recent years completeconversion from gas to electricity has been achieved. In May 1961 there were 1,250lighting standards in position in the burgh. Maintenance and service are theresponsibility of the lighting department of the town council.

Gas. The first gas company works was erectedin 1836 in the area in which Junction Dock now exists. There is a suggestion that in theearly nineteenth century William Murdoch, whose pioneer work in street lighting by gas iswell known, studied the area as a possibfr source of marsh gas for lighting purposes. Thetown council became the body responsible for provision of gas supplies in the late 187Osand this situation held until nationalisation of the industry.

Electricity.The source of supplies ofelectricity is now the South of Scotland Electricity Board. I'ublic electricity supply wasintroduced into the burgh in 1910, the company being the Scottish Central Electric PowerCompany, but there had been a very efficient station, owned by the Caledonian RailwayCompany, providing power to the dock area since 1884. Until nationalisation, supplies tothe burgh came from two 2,000 kW transformers. By 1958 demands of industry had increasedthe load to 12,000 kW and it continues to rise.

Drainage.The flat, low-lying carseland of the Forth makes thedrainage of the burgh area a considerable problem. The general elevation is between tenfeet and twenty feet O.D. The highest recorded tide reached a level of 13.81 O.D.Discharge of sewage through the original system, which discharges into the tidal reachesof the Carron, is restricted to periods of low water. Flooding at one time caused theconstruction of two small pumping stations to assist in discharge at the main outfalls. Aseparate system to cope with the demands made by new development in the Beancross area hasbeen completed. This system uses the large pumping station at Zetland public park wherethree sewage pumps of1,750gallons a minute and five storm water pumps of 12,000gallons a minute capacity have been installed. After separation, the storm water isdischarged into the Grange burn. Sewage at the moment is pumped into the existing systembut a new main drainage scheme is planned to deal with the needs of a wide new area ofdevelopment; a pumping station on the lines of that in Zefland park will be constructedand ultimately all sewage will be conveyed to a new puriiication plant which will bebuilt, it is planned, on the West Lothian side of the mouth of the Avon, from whichdischarge into the Forth will be carried out.

Water.The history of the supply of water to the burgh andsurrounding area is not entirely clear. When Canal Street was recendy demolished an oldfilter bed was found, and it is known that an early reservoir, probably a tank, owned bythe Earl of Zetland, stood at one time on the south side of the canal. There is a recordof the consum~ tion of 2,225,000 gallons between the years 1866 and 1868. The reservoir atMilIhall was in use in the last part of last century and was eventually leased to Messrs.Scottish 0115 when the reservoir at North Third was completed in 1911, from which now twomillion gallons daily are supplied to Grangemouth. A further agreement in 1951 with theStirlingshire and Falkirk Water Board was made for the supply in perpetuity of eightmillion gallons daily to the Salmon Inn tank. By 1955 it became apparent that thisquantity of water would be insufficient to meet future needs and, with the approval of theDepartment of Health, negotiations with the county councils of Perth and Clackmannan wereopened; these councils were contem plating the promotion of a water order to develop theresources of Loch Turret as a water supply scheme. In 1958 an order providing for thedevelopment of Loch Turret, by the construction of a reservoir, filter station and otherplant, was signed and it is anticipated that in the nrst stage of development, Grangemouthwill receive a further six million gallons daily. A pipeline from Loch Turret toGrangemouth has been laid. By 1965 the total safe yield of the reservoir will permit ofthe supply to the burgh of ten naillion gallons daily; this will make the available totaltwenty million gallons a day. Plans to meet even greater demands are now being prepared.The Bowhouse area of the burgh has been supplied with water by the Stirlingshire andFalkirk Water Board but when the burgh boundaries were extended into the area in May 1961the town council applied to supply the area with water. Despite opposition by the boardthe council has won the right to make this provision and, in addition, by its applicationfor large burgh status is requesting power to take over the functions and pipes of theboard in the area. This application, also, is being challenged by the board.

Cleansing.Grangemouth's early civic pride is revealed by the factthat in 1787 a charge of 2d. a year for each yard of frontage was levied on all owneroccupiers in the burgh, the money to be used to pay for street cleaning. Refuse nowadaysis collected twice weekly as is waste paper. Dumping of refuse is carried out in a coup onthe foreshore near Bo'ness. The town council has, however, recently purchased 800 or soacres of the foreshore from the Forth Conservancy Board and a coup extending over 250acres will be developed on this. This measure will mean the reclamation of the area fromthe sea.

Public Parks.The area of parks and open spacesin the burgh maintained by the town council is 112.25 acres. This is made up principallyby Zefland public park (53.38 acres), Dalgrain public park (3.90 acres) and the airfieldrecreational area (42.70 acres). In Zetland public park a bowling green, six tenniscourts, a paddling pool, a swimming pond, an area for children's play and a number ofrugby and football pitches have been provided. A football pitch, a paddling pond and achildren's play area have been provided in Dalgrain public park and football and rugbypitches are available in the airfield area, which is still being developed. In addition acomprehensive sports stadium is being prepared in this area; it will provide, for allathletic activities, facilities which will include a running track and a cycling track.The development plan of th. burgh allows for the addition of 11.60 acres to existingpublic open space. The area of private recreation grounds in the burgh is 32.24 acres.

The Town Council.Administration of the burghand provision of these and other services is the responsibility of the town council, whichis made up of a provost, four bailies, a dean of guild. an honorary treasurer, two policejudges and four councillors. In addition there is a strong staff of permanent officials.

Valuauon and Rating.The valuation of the burghhas risen to a remarkable degree in the past fifty years. In 1902 the gross annual valueof the burgh was £52,976 and the rateable value £51,448. In 1951 these figures hadbecome £216,671 and £137,663. By 1961-2 the gross annual value has become nearly£1,900,000 and the rateable value has risen to more than £1,000,000. Indeed the rateablevalue, in terms of population of the burgh in May 1961, was £56.87 for each person, afigure considerably higher than that of all the large burghs of Scotland. The product of apenny rate is expected to be exceeded in 1961-2 by that of only three large burghs. Of thetwenty large burghs, nineteen depend on the exchequer equalisation grant. No grant, on theother hand, is needed for Grangemouth. These facts and others are being marshalled by theburgh officials to support the burgh's claim to large burgh status.

Housing.Since 1919 under various housing actsthe town council of Grangemouth has, to 31 July 1961, built 3,149 houses. These are of avariety of types, cottages, terraced houses and flats; some of the recent houses are'aLl-electric' and a further proportion is made up of houses for old people. The total of1 A30 houses built hefore the war of 1939 included 918 houses of three apartments each and248 of four apartments. Non-subsidised houses built during the period numbered 28, ofwhich 24 were of three apartments. Since the war of 1939, 1,719 houses have been built.Houses of four apartments now make up a larger proportion of new building. Now of allhouses built by the town council nearly two thirds are of three apartments and slightlyrnore than one quarter are of four apartments. Average annual rent for a twc-apartmenthouse is a little under £20; for a house of five apartments, nearly £35. This isslightly lower than the small burgh average for 1960 but it is above the national averagefor that year. The rate of building of state-aided houses since 1947 has been about 150houses a year and some 700 are due to be built by May 1963. Approximately 65 families ofthe people of Glasgow who are coming to Grangemouth under the overspill agreement havebeen accommodated so far. Additional houses built since the war include 110 prefabricateddwellings. of which 78 are still in use, and 357 houses which have been erected by theScottish Special Housing Association. Of these 100 at Beancross are of the cottage typeand the remainder, at Abbotsgrange Road, are flats and cottages. The latest of these wascompleted in November 1961. The Avon Housing Association, members of which are localindustrial firms, has built 350 houses, flats of three and four apartments, cottages offour apartments and two or three six-apartment houses. These are really 'tied' houses.being occupied by members of the industrial firms concerned. There has been some privatebuilding in recent years but the numbers of houses built are not large. Since the war of1939, according to Department of Health returns, to May 1961 28 private houses have beenbuilt and three more are under construction. There will be little land left for buildingonce existing plans are implemented. Part of Bowhouse farm is likely to be the only areaavailable in 1963. Public building in recent years has included two cornmum.ty centres, adrill hall and a police headquarters. This last was completed in 1961. In 1939 a libraryextension was completed and in that year the municipal chambers were built. To these a newburgh court-room has been added in 1961.

br>Health.There is a divisional medical officer of health in theburgh; certain of the responsibilities for the health of the burgh rest with the countyhealth department. Attendances during 1960, at the child welfare clinic, of children underone year numbered 3,767 and there were 426 attendances of children above that age. Two ofthe county's midwives are resident in the town. There is a day nursery in Abbot's Roadwith places for 29 children, 12 under two years of age and 17 in the age-group two tofive; there is a waiting-list for entry to the nursery. Notifications of infectiousdisease in the burgh numbered 107 in 1960; of these more than half were cases ofdysentery. There are seven resident doctors and an eighth has a surgery in Grangemouth.

Education.Grangemouth's first school wassituated in Burnett Street and existed from about 1777. By 1827 there were five schools,including an infant school. In 1850 a teacher was appointed to teach colliers' childrenbut a request by the colliers for a school of their own was refused. At the moment thenumber of schools has grown to eight, a senior secondary school, a secondary school andsix primary schoolL Grangemouth High School, built in 1909, has been extensivelyreconstructed in recent years. There is a roll of 578 pupils and there are 3 1 members ofstaff. Moray Secondary School (526 pupils, 25 members of staff) is a new school opened inrecent years; it provides training to school leaving age and has replaced the secondarydepart ments of Dundas and Grange Schools which are now primary schools. Dundas PrimarySchool was opened in 1875; it has a roll of 410 pupils and there are twelve teachers.Beancross, another new school, built to meet housing scheme needs, has 487 pupils and astaff of foueteen. Grange School, opened in 1894. has been recently reconstructed; theroll is 762 and the staff numbers 21. Grangernouth Infant School (209 pupils, sevenmembers of staff) was opened in l903.(2) Zetland school is the successor of the earlyschool of last century; it has a roll of 158 pupils and there are five teachers. RomanCatholic pupils attend Grangemouth Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School; the roll is 239 andthere are eight teachers. Education in all these schools follows the pattern of traininggeneral throughout the county. Pupils of Grangemouth High School spend the sixth year ofthe secondary course at Falkirk High School.

Evening classes, vocational and non-vocational, in a wide range ofsubjects are conducted in Grangemouth High School and classes in liberal studies foradults are held from time to time in the library.

The school meals service has kitchens in the High School and in MoraySecondary School.

(2)The Infant School, reconstructed, has become Abbot's RoadPrimary School, a single-stream school. A new Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary Schoolwasopened in 1963.

Industry.Grangemouth is now second only toGlasgow in importance as a port in Scotland. and it is, perhaps, fitting to mention thisaspect of the burgh's industrial life first. The early use of the port was closelyassociated with the Forth and Clyde Canal and indeed, during many of the first years ofthe canal's existence, inland water traffic was of the greatest importance to the town.From 1810 the town was a registered home port for shipping; docks were built, first agraving dock and then, in 1843, the dock now known as the Old Dock; Junction Dock wascompleted in 1859, to be followed in 1882 by Carron Dock and by Grange Dock in 1906. Veryconsiderable development of this last dock by the British Transport Commission is inprogress. and fine new equipment is being installed to make the handling of cargoes of alltypes even more efficient and swift. There are now three dry docks. Fifteen shipping linesmake use of the port; cargo handled annually is calculated in millions of tons.

The shipbuilding industry of Grangemouth begins, to all intents andpurposes. although there were earlier experiments, with theCharlotte Dundas,builtin Grangemouth in 1801 by Alexander Hart, and since then shipbuilding has been part of theburgh's life. Todlay up to 1,000 men are employed by Grangemouth Dockyard Company, whichcarried out its 500th launching in 1952. There are four building berths and dry dock andfitting-out facilities.

In the early part of the nineteenth century timber-yards and sawmillsexisted in the burgh but it was not until a heavy duty on foreign timber was removed in1857 that the vast industry which now exists was free to develop. To-day there are sevenlarge sawmills; McPherson and McLaren. Brownlee and Company, and Muirhead and Sons dealmainly in soft woods; Watt Torrance is concerned with box wood; Christie and Vesey withcreosoting railway sleepers and poles and props; and pit props are the primary interest ofthe firms of Abercrombie, Brisbane and Brown, and Gibb and Austine. Grangemouth ranksfifth as a timberimporting centre in Great Britain.

The story of the development of oil refining in the area is afascinating one and is well told in several of the books and pamphlets published by theindustry. It is particularly interesting that the modern industry should have developed tosuch an extent in Grangemouth, only a few miles from Bathgate where 'Paraffin' Young setup his works in 1851. One year before, James Young had taken out a patent, No 13292, for'treating bituminous coals to obtain paraffine and oil containing paraffine therefrom.' By1856 paraffin lamp oil and solid paraffin wax were being marketed in Britain on acommercial scale. The shale industry founded by Young, however, could not meet thecompetition offered by the newer industry based on natural petroleum and in this century,after the war of 1914, Scottish Oils, a subsidiary of British Petroleum, which was thenknown as the Anglo- Persian Oil Company, absorbed the existing shale companies. A refineryat Grangemouth was opened in 1924 and was expanded by1954.In 1947 The BritishPetroleum Company and The Distillers Company joined to form British Petroleum Chemicals,the name being changed to British Hydrocarbon Chemicals in 1956, by which time GrangeChemicals had joined the group. In 1950 Forth Chemicals was set up, formed of B.P.C. andMonsanto Chemicals. Plant nearby, now owned by Union Carbide, came into operation in 1958.

Crude oil reaches the refinery by means of a pipeline laid acrosscountry from Finnart Ocean Terminal on Loch Long. The pipeline has a pumping capacity of3,250,000 tons of crude oil a year, almost all of which is within the annual capacity ofthe refinery. Storage is provided in a hughe area, by the Forth, containing ninety maintanks.

The list of products of all these chemical plants and factories and theprocesses by which they are obtained are best read in the official surveys of theindustry, as is the story of the erection of the power station on a concrete raft in themud of the river-flats. This complex industry has come far since the days of 'Paraffin'Young but it is the logical outcome of his pioneering efforts.

Between Grangemouth and Falkirk lies the vast factory which is theGrangemouth branch of the Dyestuffs Division of Imperial Chemi cal Industries. Theoriginal company was that of Scottish Dyes set up in 1919 by James Morton. In 1928 thecompany's assets were acquired by the British Dyestuffs Corporation, which became theDuestuffs Division of I.C.I. The names of such dyes as Caledon Blue RC, Caledon Jade Greenand Monastral Fast Blue are associated with those early days and there have been manyfamous dyes since but the range of products to-day has widened to include drugs andanaesthetics, plastics, synthetic rubbers, insecticides, synthetic fibres and antiseptics.Once more the full story is best read in the official records of the company. Employmentis given to some 2,000 people, from Grange-mouth and a wide area round the burgh.

Manufacture of soap and glycerine is carried on in the soap works ownedby the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society. This is the oldest chemical works in theburgh, having been established in 1897-, it is the largest works of its kind in Scotlandand employs a considerable number of local people. An Edinburgh firm of builders, JohnWight and Company, moved the company's entrre organisation to Grange- mouth some years agobecause of the manifest opportunities of the area. There is a well~established GrangemouthLaundry which has grown with the 'burgh. A firm providing cement in bulk is now operatingin the town and there are many small businesses of various types providing goods andservices.

Shops and Shopping.A comprehensive survey ofcommerce and shopping facilities is to be found in the local directory. There is a generalpost office with three sub-offices and there are three hotels, several restaurants andmany licensed premises including club rooms. A variety of shops is provided to meet almostevery sort of need. The local Co-operative Society has a large membership and its shopsare distributed throughout the town. In recent years several multiple firms have beenattracted to the area but the private traders have a large share of the trade and maintaintheir position in face of growing competition. The internal bus service is a boon to thetownspeople who live fa~ from the shops and so, too, is the service provided by mobileshops - vans operated even by traders from a distance who poach unashamedly and incur thewrath of the Burgh Merchants' Association.

A large part of the income earned in Grangemouth, however, is spentelsewhere. During the day the car parks of industrial firms are crowded with hundreds ofcam owned by employees and in the evening these cars fill the exit roads from the town,carrying their owners to other districts in which are their homes. In addition, it has forlong been a custom of Grangemouth people to do much of their shopping in nearby Falkirk,which has always been, and still is, a busier shopping centre. Until recently this was somuch the practice that on Saturday afternoons the streets in the town were almost desertedwhile the streets of Falkirk contained a seething mass of people. Local people stillcontinue the practice but because of the increased population the exodus to Falkirk is notso noticeable and the streets of Grangemouth are now quite thronged during shopping hours.People who live on the outskirts find access by bus or car to Faikirk as easy as toGrangemouth's shopping centre and this, too, affects their shopping habits. The town'ssituation, equidistant from Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the existence of a regular bus andrail service to both cities, encourage many local inhabitants to make their purchases ofclothes and household goods in these places.

It is generally agreed that shopping facilities in the town have notincreased in proportion to the rise in population but much is being done to remedy this.Kerse Road, once a residential area, is gradually becoming a shopping area and plans areprepared to provide more adequate facilities. Six banks, including the Savings Bank, allcon veniently situated to serve the needs of town and trade, are alive to the challengeand opportunities of the new era in our commercial history.

Voluntary Orgonisations.The adequacy of the provision for leisuretime pursuits is best shown simply by recording the organisations in existence in thetown. In addition to the three pre-services units. the Sea Cadets, Army Cadets and AirTraining Corps, there are four companies of the Boys' Brigade, three teams of Life Boys,three troops of Scouts and two Wolf Cub packs, five companies of Girl Guides and fourpacks of Brownies; there are also Rover Scouts, Sea Rangers, Girls' Clubs, a Y.M.C.A.mixed club, Zedand youth club and some school F.P. clubs.

An almost bewildering variety of associations, clubs and societiescaters for a wide range of interests, cultural, athletic and recreational, social andeducational. There is an Arts Society, a branch of the Workers' Educational Association, aToastmasters' Club, a choral society and a drama club. Here may also be includedMuirhead's Pipe Band which, on two occasions at least, has won the World Champion- shipCup. Within the past two years the two junior football teams, Grange Rovers and ForthRangers, have joined forces to become Grangemouth United. There are an amateur boxingclub, four bowling clubs, a swimming club, rugby, tennis and yacht clubs, a club forbridge players, an angling club and one or two billiard rooms. Some of the industrialfirms have their own recreational clubs with sections devoted to a variety of sports. Atthe moment the golf club is not functioning, the course having been swallowed up forhousing purposes. There are several social clubs, loockers', Railwaymen's, Muirhead'sBurns Club and Welfare Club, and for older people, a 'Derby and Joan club. The BritishSailors' Society provides hostel and recreation accommodation.

In addition to all of these there Is a host of organisations typical ofthose found in a busy town: the British Red Cross, the British Legion, Y.M.C.A., Rotary,Round Table, the Guild of Old Scouts, Trefoil Guild, British Women's TemperanceAssociation, the British Sailors' Society Guild, C~operative Guilds, Townswomen's Guildand a Business and Professional Women's Club. The burgh merchants have an association.There are Masonic organisations for both men and women. A Cage Bird Society exists andthere is an Horticultural Society with subsidiary interests. This list is by no meanscomplete but it is indicative of the extent of the leisure time occupations offered to thepeople of the burgh. Many of the clubs have their own premises; others are accommodated inthe various halls and rooms available as well as in the community centres.

Political Parties.The two large politicalparties have associa tions - the Unionist and the Labour, both with women's sections andjunior sections. These parties hold regular meetings but find it difficult to musteraudiences. There is no Liberal party or Communist party though the former has not a fewadherents; the lattet has only very few. The Scottish Nationalists had a party in the townsome years ago but it no longer functions. Politically, the town council is equallydivided between Labour and Independent, giving the casting vote to the presiding provostwho, because of the equal balance, is elected by lot. Ward meetings are very sparselyattended even at election times and voting at town council elections reveals the sameindifference to local government affairs.

Trade Unions.One expects to find a number andvariety of trade unionsinan industrial area. The one with the largest membershipisthat of the Transport and General Workers. Others include the Amalgamated Society ofWoodworkers and the Amalgamated Society of Woodcutting Machinists, the AmalgamatedEngineering Union, the Association of Scientific Workers, the Boilermakers' Union, Grange.mouth Trades Council, the National Union of Seamen, the National Union of Railwaymen, theUnion of Postal Workers and the Union of Shop and Distributive Workers.

Churches and Church-going.Though theecclesiastical history of the neighbourhood may be traced back for centuries the historyof the Church in the burgh is comparatively modern, dating from 1837. There are six placesof worship for members of the Church of Scotland. A seventh is about to be erected as achurch extension charge to meet the needs of the people in the Bowhouse area of the town.

The Old Parish Church is situated in Ronaldshay Crescent and is thethird building to be used by the congregation. The first was built in 1837 by Lord Dundasin the Old Town and is now known as the West Kirk. This building had not been legallyconveyed to the Established Church and at the Disruption was the first to be handed overto the Free Church. Left without a place of worship the members of the Old Parish erecteda church in the New Town but, because of the encroachment of the Caledonian railway on thesite, this building had to be abandoned in 1911 - (It was used for some years as a cinemaand is now a bonded store.) The present building was opened for worship in 1911. To markthe jubilee a brief history of the vongregation has been published. Kerse Parish Church issituated in Abbots Road. It was opened for worship in 1897, at a time when churchextension in Grangemouth was considered to be essential. The founder members came largelyas dissenters from the Old Parish Church, which at that time had had a little Disruptionof its own. The history of Kerse is recorded in a booklet issued at the time of itsjubilee. The West Church is, as already stated, situated in the Old Town and was built byLord Dundas for the members of the Church of Scotland. In 1843 the 'gratuitous use andenjoyment' of the building was transferred to the members of the Free Church. At the Unionof the Churches in 1929 this building became once more the property of the Church ofScotland. Charing Cross, originally known as Zetland Free Church, was built in 1884 and issituated at Charing Cross in the 'centre' of the town. At the time of its erection it wasintended to close the West Church and to concentrate on the new area. The West Church was,indeed, closed. but for one Sunday only; the intention miscarried and Ihe town then hadtwo Free Churches as well as two 'Parish' Churches. Grange Church stands at the corner ofPark Road and Ronaldshay Crescent; it was erected in 1903. Originally a UnitedPresbyterian congregation, formed in1853,the members worshipped for a time in thetown hall which was then situated in the Old Town. In1859they removed to anotherplace of worship in Grange Street and later to the Y.M.C.A. building in Abbots Road, untilthe present church was opened. Dundas Church is situated in the centre of the town onBo'ness Road; it was opened for worship in 1894. Its founder members came as dissentersfrom Grange Church and so the town added to its two 'Aulds' and its two 'Frees' two 'UP.s.' Happily they have now all united under the title 'Church of Scotland' to which eachcontinues to make its own special contribution from its own particular background. Apartfrom the West Kirk the churches are situated in close proximity to one another at what wasat one time the centre of the town and, while no church is far removed from any section ofthe community, the new Kirk of the Holy Rood (as the extension charge is called) will bemore conveniently situated near a large housing area.

The Scottish Episcopal Church was built in 1938 at the corner ofCarronflats Road and Ronaldshay Crescent. Prior to its erection the congregationworshipped in a temporary church nearby. The member- ship is not large but the members areloyal and enthusiastic. The Roman Catholic Chapel is placed on a lovely site near theentrance to Zefland park. It was built in 1891 and draws its worshippers from all parts ofthe town. There is a small congregation of the United Free Church whose members worship inthe Y.M.C.A. hall. This charge is linked with the one in Falkirk and is in the charge ofone minister who resides in Falkirk.

In recent years the Salvation Army has opened a hall in CunninghamStreet; the Grangemouth Evangelistic Mission at one time used the burgh court-room butthey now have a hall of their own in Hawthorn Street. One sect of Christian Brethren hasits headquarters in the Albert Hall in York Lane and another in rooms elsewhere. Two roomsin Nelson Street are used by Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons are at the momentendeavouring, with little success, to establish a bridgehead.

Church organisations include Sunday schools, Bible classes, Woman'sGuilds and all the fellowships, clubs for various purposes and youth organisationsnornially associated with the work of the Churches

At one time Grangemouth enjoyed the reputation of being a 'Kirk- going'place and, no doubt, the reputation was worthily earned. And while the 'Kirk-going' is notso marked as it was, there is still a strong congregational allegiance which is expressedin the phrase 'Oor Kirk' and which obviously stems from the chequered dissenting historyof the churches. On the other hand, large numbers of townspeople, who could not be calledirreligious, are indifferent to the churches and their activities. Hostility to the Churchis never encountered. Morning congregations are, on the whole, fairly large. Eveningservices are sparsely attended, particularly in summer; as the old headle nid, 'When theweather's ower bad, they'll no come oot, and when it's ower guid, they'll no come in.' Theobservance of Holy Communion still commands the attendance of most church members andcongregations are very much enlarged on these occasions. There are many enthusiastichelpers in all the congregations. Kirk sessions and boards of manage ment draw theirmembers from all classes of the community and particularly from among younger men.Voluntary workers on behalf of the Church are numerous. The general prosperity of thetowns people is reflected in the figures of Christian liberality; congregational youthorganisations are very fully attended and adequately staffed with leaders and teachers.Ministers are much encouraged in their work by the support and loyalty they enjoy in acommunity which is sympathetic to the services they seek to render.

Way of Life.Living ina welfare statebrings much for which one may be thankful. The health and welfare of old and young arecared for as never before. In Grangemouth this is being done by panels of doctors, threedoctors in each panel, who discharge their duties with the customary professional courtesyand efficiency. The services of the district nurses are appreciated beyond the power ofwords to express. There is now no hospital in the town but Palkirk Royal Infirmary servesthe needs of this community as well as others.

Nevertheless, no matter how far and wide the welfare net is cast thereare always those who slip through the meshes and these are the special charges of thevoluntary social service worker. In Grangemouth there is no shortage of such workers. The'Old Folks' Treat' com mittee, for example, arranges for the old age pensioners, atpresent numbering approximately450,to have a bus trip on a summer afternoon andat Christmas a treat in the town hall. This is a big undertaking but it is made easy bywilling and sympathetic helpers, the wholehearted response by the townspeople to thedoor-to-door collection and the generous support of local firms and industries, some ofwhose workers have agreed to a weekly deduction from wages to help to finance this serviceto the aged. Much also is done for the old folks by other organisations, the combinedservices reaching a climax at Christsnas when voluntary social workers, particularly thosein the W.V.S., extend their activities to Falkirk Royal Infirmary where, as has been said,Grangemouth patients are nursed and treated. In a sense there are no 'old people'nowadays; there are simply some who have had more birthdays than others. Compared with'old folk' of, perhaps, fifty years ago, old people of to-day look so much more youthfuland healthy, retaining a keen interest in local and national affairs.

Leisure hours may beoccupiedin many interesting ways. Insummer afternoons Zetland park usually presents a busy scene. Local people are justlyproud of the park. which is one of the most beautiful sports and pleasure grounds in theneighbourhood. and make full use of its amenities. Special care is taken in maintenance ofthe park, and the tree-lined paths and secluded garden of shrubs and flowers are kept inexcellent order, to be appreciated by those who seek exercise. and, in days when walkingas a leisure time occupation is not popular, by those who seek rest and relaxation.

The park provides the setting for Grangemouth's 'big day' the annualChildren's Day; this festival day was instituted in 1906; in 1909 it was decided to electa May Queen and to hold a crowning cereniony, a procedure which has continued ever since,with the exception of the war years. Each school in turn has the privilege of electing thequeen. and to be chosen is to be given high honour amongst the school population. On theday appointed, the third Saturday in June, the school children, numbering approximatelythree thousand, proceed through the streets which are lined with spectators; the infantstravel in gaily decorated lorries and the seniors are on foot, along with the members ofthe uniformed organisations, marching to the accompaniment of eight bands. When theprocession returns to the park the crowning ceremony is carried through and then thepupils of each school are conducted to places reserved for them, for lemonade. buns andsweets. The rest of the afternoon is occupied with children's sports and the evening isspent at the fair ground. Though it is called 'Children's Day' it could more appropriatelybe called' Parents' Day' or 'Re-union Day.' Hundreds of exiled 'Portonians' return to meetwith old friends on this day. An indication of its importance may be found in the factthat at Jubilee Day in1959the crowd in the park was estimated at thirty thousand.

In winter, leisure hours outside the home are spent at the variousclubs, guilds and meetings in churches and halls, according to one's interests and taste.There is only one cinema in the town and the fact that no second one is planned wouldindicate that one is adequate to meet the demands of those who wish to spend a leisurehour at a fllm show. Summer and theatre outings are very popular; these are sponsored bythe various organisations and. in some cases, by private parties. Public houses are wellpatronised, especially on the evenings after the weekly pay-day. 'Bingo' has an almostcompelling attraction for the smailminded and is played in many places in the town,including the community centres, and on Sundays as well as on week nights. There is atleast one Bingo Brake Club' the members of which travel for 'away games.'

Most of the big industries work on the shift system and as a result theworkers cannot always have their leisure hours at the same time as the other members ofthe family; this also affects the leisure time of the housewife, reducing it to a minimum.In some cases shifts are so arranged that the worker finds himself at regular intervalswith two or three days' leisure at a time. Placed in this situation some men take on sparetime jobs to occupy their enforced leisure and to earn 'an extra stijiling.' Others,disliking leisure and preferring 'overtime' work for the extra money it yields, havedeveloped the 'overtime technique' to a modern fine art.

Victoria Public Library makes a very large contribution to theoccupation of leisure hours. It was established in 1887 as part of the celebration of thejubilee of Queen Victoria. Some small private libraries existed before then but the onlylibrary of any size has been the burgh library. The townspeople are justly proud of theimposing building, situated at Charing Cross and having accommodation for a reference andmagazine room, reading room, children's reading room and lending department and an adultlending department. In 1961 membership of the library was recorded as 6,900 adults and2,200 children. Stock totalled 30,897 books including 807 works of reference and 11,368works of fiction. Children's books numbered5,486.Issues for the year 1960-1included 128,485 works of fiction, 7,199 of history and travel, 2,572 of sociology; issuesof children's books totalled 25.362, a figure which represents an increase of fifty percent over the total for the previous year. The influence of television as a distractionfrom reading is now fading. Fiction reading declined for a time but has recently risen.Reading in all classes of non-fiction is rising, too, and there is quite a demand fortechnical material from local industry - for example. for books on chemistry and marineengineering. Such in fact are the demands on the library that at the time of writing plansare in hand for an extension of the premises. Apart from library books. reading materialin the homes is in the main confined to newspapers and magazines. Of the weekly palrerstheGrangemouth Advertirer,now in its sixty-first year, is the most popular,providing, as it does, all the local news. TheFalkirk Heraldcomes second, withlocal news from a wider area. Others have precedence according to taste. Of the nationaldaily papers theDoily RecordandDaily Expressare most co~monly read. OnSaturday evenings the 'pink' and 'green' sports editions are eagerly bought up by thefootball fans. Business men read eitherThe Glasgow Heraldor theScotsmanandhave been known to buy a 'pin~' There is a wide range of weekly papers for the children;their choice is usually of profusely mustrated 'comics.'

It is not at all easy to assess the force of the impact of stateeducation on the citizens of Grangemouth. Compulsory state education in early daysresulted in an appreciable improvement in mental activity. One sometimes wonders if itseffects are now more obvious in the improved physical condition of the children than inany substantial academic advancement. Opportunities for better education were never soplentiful and available but it remains to be seen how advantage will be taken of these andtheir purpose achieved school children in Grangemouth are well fed. well clothed, healthy,boisterously happy and a joy to see. They travel to the various schools, some by bus, someon foot and many on bicycles. Every encouragement is given to a pupil to attain thestandard within reach of liis capacity. Further education classes are fairly well attendedand much appreciated; a wide choice of interesting subjects, academic and practical, isoffered.

In no respect does family life in Grangemouth differ from family lifein any town in Scotland today. When it is compared, however, with family life of thirtyyears ago, many differences are visible. Families are not so large as they once were, theaverage being two or three. Most baptisms take place in church at the request of theparents, although some of these may not be seen in church again until the next occasion.Marriages, too, almost all take place in church. Few of these are marriages of necessity,perhaps because we live in days of 'family planning.' In most cases much expense islavished on the wedding 'reception' and generous hospitality extended to friends of thefamily from far and near. The minister usually presides at the reception and proposes thetoast of 'Bride and bridegroom.' The average age of the bride is twenty-two and of thebridegroom twenty- five. Funerals are undertaken by Falkirk firms as there are no undertakers in the town at present; they are generally private, confined to members of thefamily, friends and near neighbours. The mourners no longer appear in funeral garb, thoughthe mourning is, naturally, as sincere as ever. There is rigid adherence to the custom ofallocating 'cords' in order of precedence.

It may be said that there is not so close a bond in the family as thereonce was. The growth of organisations for young people and women has been accompanied by adecline of the central position formerly occupied by the home. Not a few married womencontinue to work to supplement the family income, to secure for themselves 'pin- money'and to help to meet hire purchase commitments. In these cases children of pre-school ageare often placed in nurseries; this enables the mothers to undertake work outside thehome. When these women are out of work it is not an uncommon sight to see the pram withbaby in it standing outside the Labour Exchange while mother is within giving thenecessary signatures to qualify for unemployment benefit.

There have been welcome improvements in living conditions and a greatincrease in wages and spending power. This is apparent in homes well furnished andequipped with comforts and labour-saving devices. Children are given much more money tospend than formerly and are much less appreciative of all that is given by parents oroutside bodies by way of treats or special occasions. In some ways, on the other hand,life is more diflicult for them. The peace and silence conducive to earnest study is sooften absent from the home. Concentration is disturbed by television and the record playerso that homework suffers and the results appear in school record cards. There are childrenin the town who have been brought up in a materialistic atmosphere and led to assess thevalue of 'things' as of more importance than mental, moral and spiritual riches. Too manyof them show little respect for the possessions of others. Property, both public andprivate, is made the target for vandalism. It would, however, he difficult to prove thatjuvenile delinquency is on the increase. In bygone days delinquency, not then known bythat name, was not recorded in the statistics of juvenile courts but was dealt with by theparents, and sometimes by the local policeman, who detected the offence and meted outappropriate punishment to save the other members of the family from the stigma of courtproceedings.

Few families find their entertainment within the homes of theirparents. The teen-age members go their separate ways, mostly to 'the dancing.' Father andmother are left alone with radio or television and these are used, on the whole, more forlight entertainment than for information or education. Most people listen to the weatherforecast and news bulletin at 6 p.m. and thereafter select the programmes they wish tohear and See. A few switch on, in the eanly morning, receivers which are allowed to remainon until late evening when they cease to emit sound or picture.

Gambling and betting on racing, by both sexes, is more widespread thanmay be generally believed, while the football pool coupon is to be found in the majorityof homes. There are a few betting shops in the town, and, as in most places, betting takesplace in premises unlicensed for the purpose. On the whole, drinking is not so prominent afeature as it once was; though there is indulgence by both sexes. It is rarely that onesees an intoxicated person, apart from a few foreign seamen, on the streets. Statisticsfor the country as a whole show that the amount of alcoholic liquor consumed in recentyears has risen steeply and Grangemouth carries its share of this increase. In theirdrinking habits young people show a preference for the cocktail bar.

In general, the homes in Grangemouth are happy places where husbandsand wives are loyal to each other; it is very rarely that marriages are broken up anddivorces are very rare indeed. Children are well cared for and given every opportunity toachieve success. Family life is still valued highly and jealousy safeguarded as thestronghold of all worthwhile life and character. The relationships between families arevery happy, making the town a happy place.

Most citizens are proud of the town, its amenities and its administration. There appears, however, an unwillingness to take an active part in civic affairs andit is left to the few to shoulder the burden of responsibility and at the same time toincur the criticism for the manner in which they do it. I-ocal government has becomealinost a full-time occupation for the councillor and it is for this reason that men,preoccupied with business, cannot take part in it as some would like to do.

The rapid expansion of the burgh and the large increases in populationhave been reflected in particular ways in the life of the cornmunity. The change in a fewyears from a large village, in which the inhabitants were known to one another, to a busytown in which even the location of some of the new streets is not immediately known to thenative Portonian has not been an easy transition. For some time Portonians outnumberedIncomers but that time has passed and the Portonians are now very much a minority. Nolonger can the native of the place recognise everyone he meets. Yet he has welcomed theIncomer most cordially and made him feel at home. The Incomer tends, perhaps, to be alittle slow to adapt himself to life in the new community but he has a large contributionto make in shaping its character. There are exceptions, among whom the most noteworthyhave been the people who came to the town some years ago in the shale mining industry tocontinue work in Scottish Oils. Although, in the main, concentrated in a self-containedarea they have so unreservedly entered into the spirit and life of the community as tobecome an essential part of it. The process of transition and absorption, however, goeson. Many of the original characters, in which this town was rich. characters distinguishedfor their fund of natural talent, pawky humour and homely philosophy, have disappeared,or, perhaps, are not so noticeable in the busier modem world. The talent, the humour andthe philosophy remain, however, as characteristics of the people of Grangemouth; they havea past for which they are grateful and of which they are proud and a future which they arefacing with confidence and hope and very considerable energy, allied to a flexibility ofoutlook, a willingness to be first in the field, to encounter the setbacks in hope of therewards. For fullest fruition of these qualities a strong sense of citizenship isessential. Knowing that it is only from such a sense of citizenship or 'pride of place'that the full and integrated community can spring. The immediate task of all who love thePort is to consider how that spirit and pride can best be fostered.

continued ..

Written. 1961.