Amid the visual melée of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery’s east court, sheltering in a small unsigned alcove, is a modest assortment of photographs, household objects, written records and other memorabilia. But linger awhile and the display begins slowly to unravel its meaning and purpose — it’s here under the auspices of the small-scale, community-based initiative Here We Are. Established in 1998 and based in the village of Cairndow on Loch Fyne — not 50 miles distant from Glasgow city centre — this development trust and social enterprise exists mainly to help with the development and sustainability of the local community.
In 2009 Here We Are received £49,000 of Heritage Lottery Funding for an unusual local history project — Our Houses: Their Stories. Propelled by the enthusiasm of prime movers Alice Beattie and her daughter, Dot Chalmers, it seeks to illustrate and document the links between the village houses and the people who inhabit them.
“This is the biography of the houses of Cairndow as well as the story of those who lived — and live — in them and their livelihoods and their occupations. It is about the impact of where you live on your life: and on your way of life on your house,” said Christina Noble, one of the project’s directors.
“One of the first things we did was to photograph all Cairndow’s 107 houses. In our early days Alice Beattie meticulously recorded data about who lived in which house from the first 1841 Census. More recently, as we collected, scanned and catalogued our photo collection we began to amass a photo gallery of people who had lived, and live, in Cairndow.”
Cairndow, which lies in the parish of Kilmorlich, was fortunate in having records from sources, including the local estate (many of the houses were “tied”). But more recent technology has allowed the organisers to record extensive audio and video interviews with Cairndow’s inhabitants, many of whom talk passionately about the relationship with the houses they inhabit. Touchscreens allow links to be made with particular families and their place of residence; or to access the history of habitation relating to a particular dwelling.
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Very few of the village’s houses are modern,so time has allowed the accumulation of memory, experience emotion, and a sense of continuity — all of which have affected the occupants.
Although currently modest in scope, it’s easy to see how Our Houses: Their Stories could act as an inspiring model for community participation at a national level by fostering social cohesion.
Our Houses: Their Stories can also be seen at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, from Sunday until April 2.