Pentland Hills and T Plantation circa
1914 (Photographer Unknown Edinburgh Libraries, Museums and Galleries Collection)
This wonderful
old photograph from a century ago shows three school-girls
walking down Swanston Road through the farmland
and fields.
There is no sign of Swanston Farm
or
Swanston Golf Club. The Old Schoolhouse in Swanston Village was in
existence so perhaps the
girls are heading
off to school in the morning.
Swanston Farm, Robert Hope
The Pentland Hills and
the T Woods can be
seen clearly in the distance.
The scree slopes of Caerketton were no different fifty
years later when
in the 1960s the Blades;
the Hoggs; and the Hoffmanns stood at
their
living room windows
looking out for the number 16
bus.
There are hay stacks in one of the
distant fields and one
of the girls is only
wearing
a blouse, so
we
might surmise it
is late summer. They are all
dressed
smartly in their straw hats; skirts; and dresses and
each of them is carrying a metal
case perhaps containing
their books and school
lunches.
On a fine late summer morn at the commencement of a new term after the school summer holidays or in early autumn the
walk would be refreshing and
enjoyable.
However, on a bitter
winter's morning,
in
the semi-darkness or in the
cold of a March
morning
with
a biting wind, it would have been quite a different story.
At least they walked
together which would
have eased their
passage and no
doubt they will have enjoyed the company. Still,
it's a long exposed
country lane
and one which we at The Stair often travelled on our adventures to the
Pentland Hills half a century later
and half a century ago.
I wonder where the girls are coming from
as back then there wouldn't
have been many houses in Fairmilehead.
Perhaps they were sisters and lived
at the old Hunters Tryst Farm.
It's a lovely photograph
capturing a moment in time. I also
wonder who the
photographer was.
Was it set
up or just serendipity? Perhaps their mum
or
dad wanted to capture a special
moment in time to treasure and hold
dear in their hearts, before the girls grew up,
left home and moved
on to follow life's journey.
They are all
smartly dressed
and
don't look poor. Their outfits - straw hats,
skirts and dresses remind me
of the two girls in The Railway Children. They all
look very lady-like; quite
composed and serene,
but
not prim. If there
had been a companion photograph
taken at the end
of the school day it would have looked quite different. We would of course see their faces and
perhaps
being
the end of the day and free from
school,
we
might have seen
them un-lady-like taking to their
heels, racing downhill from Swanston Village to head homewards for their
tea and back
to the welcome bosom of the family home.
Because we can't see the
girls’ faces it adds to the
elusiveness of the subject
material. It forces the viewer to use their imagination; and of course one can't
but help wonder what happened
to each girl. The First
World War was only a matter of months away. Did they go on to become
wives and mothers or follow
a career in nursing or teaching? Did
they remain
in Edinburgh or move on to
other towns or even make a life
for themselves abroad?
In a way,
the photograph reminds
me of the cover of the novel Three German Farmers
On The Way To A Dance by
Richard Powers which was based on
an old photograph.
It seems to me that in the hands of a fine novelist such
as Joan Lingard a rather good story might
be weaved.
Joan Lingard
Postscript: If you look more closely the girls aren't carrying schoolbags at all! Still, much of my musings on what happened to the girls remains true so I thought I would leave the vignette as it stands!
