Headswood Cottage, Denny...a little history.

Post by **Anne H** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 1:55 pm

Thanks very much, Diane. It would be lovely if you could manage to take a picture of the cottage...after chapping on the door for permission, of course.

Enjoy your nice sunny day!

Regards,
Anne H

diane.campbell · Post by **diane.campbell** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:42 am

Hi Anne

Went to the cottage last night and a little old lady answered the door - I explained the situation and she said it was ok to take a couple of pictures. She then said wait a min and she came back with an old black and white picture of the cottage (she never said when the pic was taken). Basically it hasn't changed that much apart from the double garage extension and a large extension to the rear as mentioned in a previous post. There was a small outbuilding in the back garden in the photo and the lady said that was a grocery shop. She then asked me what the names where you were looking for and I said"Ellis" she told me that not long after they moved in in 1978 that someone had visited the cottage from the Ellis family but that was all the detail she gave me. The cottage today sits at the front of a large field with cows - the area around the cottage is mostly farm land with a large farm directly across the road. Hopefully I have included one of the photos of how it looks today but if you want to send me a pm with your e-mail addresss I will send the other 3 photos.

Thanks for making what would have been a boring mon night rather exciting.

Diane

http://talkingscot.com/gallery/displayi ... ?pos=-1855
<gallery URL added, LesleyB>

Post by **Anne H** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:05 pm

WOW, Diane...glad you had an exciting night because I'm thrilled to bits with my Tuesday morning!

Thank you so much for the photo and the additional information. I can picture the surroundings in my mind. It's a lovely cottage, and the strange thing is that I could have sworn I'd seen it before...impossible though since I've never been to Denny.

Sounds like a very nice lady in the house now...and now I know there are others out there with an interest in the same family and cottage....I'll have to have a look for them on GR.

Thanks again, Diane, I love the picture and am about to send you an email with my email address since I'd love to have the other pictures.

Regards,
Anne H

d11mps · Post by **d11mps** » Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:53 pm

Hello, I can explain the Headswood cottage thing re the tombstone etc as my address is Headswood Cottage!

Post by **Anne H** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 2:34 pm

Hi d11mps,

...and a warm welcome to TalkingScot!

What a lovely surprise to see Headswood Cottage pop up again and from someone who actually lives there. I'd love to hear more about the tombstone etc...I'm all ears (and eyes).

Regards,
Anne H

d11mps · Post by **d11mps** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:09 am

Hello,
I grew up in Headswood House and later moved into the cottage. My mother discovered the booklet that referred to the tombstone and we thought we'd worked it out untill... my neighbour at Headswood Lea mentioned that her titles were in the name of Headswood Cottage. It is disappointing. My friend and neighbour does think the stone was in her home but her former husband has perhaps disturbed it or unwittingly removed it when they renovated. I've lived at headswood for almost 46 years and as my friend's title has the same name, we've actually changed our property's name. This must confuse those searching for sites etc. as Lesliepark House was opposite us and was demolished in the 1960s but its name has been given to a new property opposite Headswood Lea(cottage).!
Very confusing.

Post by **Anne H** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:59 am

Hello again,

Yes, changing names of houses and streets can be confusing…but fascinating stuff!

Tell your neighbour her former husband didn’t unknowingly remove or cover up the stone…it would appear that the stone was never in that particular Headswood/Headswood Lea Cottage. I’m not familiar with the booklet you refer to, but according to the New Statistical Account for Scotland, which I believe was published in 1845, the tombstone that was found was placed in the lobby of the cottage for everyone to see upon entering. The original Headswood Cottage was later called Headswood House so it would have been in the house where you grew up…you and your family were walking over a piece of hidden history and didn’t know it. I’m sure it was probably long gone by the time you lived in the house. A new Headswood Cottage was built around 1870 and that’s now your neighbour’s cottage, Headswood Lea.

I actually emailed Falkirk Council and a very nice lady confirmed that Headswood Cottage was changed to Headswood Lea (although I don’t know when the name changed, but had to be sometime after 1945). I was also given the name of Geoff Bailey who is the Local History expert in the Council as the person to contact for more historical information on the area….I didn’t get around to doing that yet to ask about the tombstone…but now I know it’s no longer there and wasn’t in the cottage my Ellis family lived in for all those years.

By the way, thank your friend from me for allowing Diane to take the photo...she has a lovely looking cottage. I wonder how many rooms were in the cottage when my Ellis' lived there…must have been big enough for twelve people.

Regards,
Anne H

d11mps · Post by **d11mps** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:00 am

Wow! That's fantastic. I really wish my mum had known all this. It is quite unnerving how places change. I know another lady (she now lives in Grangemouth) and her aunt lived in Headswood Lea for many years. She remembers a little shop further along at the roundabout and can recall so much about the area.

Post by **Anne H** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 3:50 pm

Your friend's aunt must be a mine of information...wish I could get to hear all her memories about the place.

Regards,
Anne H