Events

THE AUTHORS of a book about Madeleine Smith, the young woman from Rhu who was alleged to have murdered her lover, told her story at a packed meeting of Helensburgh Heritage Trust on Wednesday November 28.

It was standing room only when burgh-born Eleanor Gordon, Research Professor in Economic and Social History at Glasgow University, and Dr Gwyneth Nair, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of the West of Scotland, spoke to members and guests in the upstairs meeting room at Helensburgh Tennis Club in Suffolk Street.

HELENSBURGH Heritage Trust's first meeting of the 2012-13 winter season had four speakers instead of the expected one.

A good attendance in the upstairs meeting room at Helensburgh Tennis Club on Wednesday September 26 were expecting to listen to the Trust's hon president, Malcolm Baird, speak about how his father, John Logie Baird, related television to print. However Professor Baird had a very sore throat, and his talk was read for him by Trust chairman Stewart Noble.

MEMBERS of Helensburgh Heritage Trust enjoyed a fascinating talk by J.Craig Osborne of the Scottish Maritime Museum on 'The Comet and her Creators' at the final open meeting of the winter season in Helensburgh Tennis Club on Wednesday March 28.

Mr Osborne, author of a booklet with that title in 2007, spoke and showed images of the men who built Henry Bell's Comet, telling the story of the inventor from his birth in Torphichen in 1767 and the men with whom he worked to build and operate the two Comet steamships.

AN expert on the history of Henry Bell and the Comet gave a fascinating talk to Helensburgh Heritage Trust's second open winter meeting on Wednesday October 31.

John Ransom spoke to members in the meeting room at Helensburgh Tennis Club about his new book 'Bell's Comet: How a Paddle Steamer Changed the Course of History', which he wrote to mark the Comet's bicentenary this year.

SOME help is needed by Helensburgh Heritage Trust for the Comet Bicentenary celebrations!

At the pier car park on Saturday August 4 Helensburgh will be celebrating one of the most important events in its history, and indeed in the history of the West of Scotland.

THE Helensburgh area had two legal distilleries — and many illicit stills.

John Ashworth OBE, retired chief executive of the Chivas Brothers group, told the Helensburgh Heritage Trust meeting in Helensburgh Tennis Club on Wednesday evening that one distillery was at Altdonaig, Rhu, and the other behind the Victoria Hall in the burgh.