Waterside, East Dunbartonshire - History

History

In former times, Waterside was characterised by its neat and tidy weavers' cottages on the north bank of the Luggie river, and its picturesque mills on the south bank. In between lay a well-built mill dam.

Many of the former weavers' cottages survive but the mills have long since been demolished. The mill dam has collapsed into a scattering of stones on the river bed. The upper of the two mills, built in 1779 as a lint mill for the processing of flax for the local linen industry, was situated beside the dam, and was a popular subject for picture postcards. Further downstream was the Earl of Wigton's ancient corn mill of Duntiblae, where local people took their grain for grinding. A lade, or water course, led from the mill dam first to the lint mill, then several hundred yards downstream to the corn mill, to supply both with water. Remains of the lade channel can still be discerned on the south bank of the Luggie, near the footbridge.

The corn mill was burned down during the middle years of the nineteenth century but was rebuilt as a factory for making spades and shovels. The lint mill was later adapted as an auxiliary of the shovel works.

Another interesting building at Waterside is the former Subscription School, which survives just north of the footbridge. An inscription provides the information that it was erected in 1839 by Wm Aitken & Co., contractors. The Subscription School was superseded by Gartconner School and later served as a meeting place for a variety of local organisations.