wauk mill pond
It is not recorded in the minutes exactly when Wauk Mill Curling Pond was created nor any details of the construction or cost. What we do have is a record of the AGM in 1873 of a debt and the clearance of it by the members, but especially from Colonel Wilson, J. Dick Esq. and Captain Wilson. The club arranged a supper for them in recognition of their kindness.
The pond was built beside the Bannock Burn, on the south bank, down a steep embankment which sheltered the pond on the south side and made it suited for a curling pond. As John Muirhead stated in 1928 ‘It turned out to be an ideal place for a pond, but when the water was first turned on it all disappeared into the Bannock. The members were then faced with the expense of lining the side and part of the end next to the burn with wood, and a considerable quantity of clay was carted from the Carse to puddle it. As the supply of water gave out, we again had to be at the expense of putting in a pipe from the Bannock, at the back of the old spinning mill, to the pond, which has proved ample’. These alterations and repairs to the pond meant that by the AGM of 1874 the club was in debt once more, recorded as £15: 4s 3d. £10 was borrowed to cover payments to be made.
Denny Greens were the first club to play on the new pond in December 1874 competing in an annual match for the J. Dick medal. Borestone became the second club to visit Wauk Mill in December 1878 and this developed into a friendly relationship with regular games mostly played at their pond at Bearside. It was the nearest to Bannockburn. Wauk Mill was big enough for only 3 rinks of ice, so the maximum number of players on the ice at any rinks game could only be 24 men.
At the committee meeting of 15th October 1875, Wm. Muirhead, the chairman reported that he had seen both Sir Alexander Gibson Maitland and his Factor, Mr Fernie, in regard to the question of the club pond rent and had secured the assurance that no rent would be asked from the club for the pond. A very important concession to the finances of the club.
The chairman further reported that Sir Alexander had authorised the club to remove the old office from the Catcraig Quarry for the purpose of rebuilding it at the pond for the use of the club, which the meeting gratefully accepted and as the chairman proposed to do the carting of the stones from the quarry to the pond gratuitously, agreed to recommend to the club to have it removed and re-erected at the pond. The meeting also resolved to recommend to the club the propriety of taking a fresh supply of water by laying a 4 inch pipe from the burn to the pond which could be done at an outlay of from £15 to £20 pounds.
At the AGM following, the treasurer was due £1: 5s 8d, but Colonel Wilson and Captain Wilson each donated £5 to the funds. As recorded in the minutes ‘The obligation on which the committee borrowed £10 from Mr Walls was produced to the meeting and ordered to be thrown into the fire; which was done and the document burned’.
The recommendations of the committee in regard to bringing in a fresh supply of water to the pond and of removing the house from the adjacent quarry to the pond were adopted. A motion “that to meet the expense of this work the sum of £25 should be borrowed by the committee of the ensuing year, the consent of absent members being obtained” unanimously agreed. Entry money was raised to £1 to help pay back the load. Subscriptions however remained at 2/6d. Secretary later reported that he had disposed of the materials of the old house at Canglour Pond for the sum of 5/-
By March 1876, the bill for all the work was over £40.
The club secretary borrowed £36 at 4% interest to cover the bills. It would take until September 1891, some 15 years later to pay it off.
Every year after harvest time, the pond had to be prepared for the next season’s curling. This involved clearing the grass growing in the bottom of the pond, removing sand, keeping the pond holding water, clearing weeds and briar from the footpath, plus any maintenance to the water supply, and house. In 1892 a fence was erected and a convenience added to the house.
In 1881 there were improvements to the intake of water for the pond by creating a dam on the burn to ensure a flow of water into the pond. The pond committee was increased from three to five with a convener.
In 1895, the pond committee were instructed to remove snow from the ice as soon as possible to enable games to be played with little delay.
In August 1897, the pond required several repairs and improvements. A new sluice was fitted along with repairs to the pipes and a brick built cesspool was added for the purpose of catching any sand before it entered the pond.
In 1897, a man was used to watch the ice over Sundays to stop it being ruined by trespassers. It was remarked as successful in 1899 and formally given to the Pond Committee to remit. By 1901 there was a payment for each day the service was required of not more than 1/6d. This continued till 1913.
In 1899, the club agreed to expand the house the cost not to exceed £15. It was finished for a final cost of £8: 0s 6d and the balance cleared in 1901 with club funds at a low of 15/1d.
Between 1913 and 1925 there was no curling at all on Wauk Mill.
Consideration was given to lining the pond with bitumen from advice received from the factor of Sauchie Estate in 1924. The cost was put at £25 to £30. It was decided to do nothing after reviewing the situation.
By 1926, the sluice was again replaced and the weir over the burn reinforced by a tree donated by Sauchie and Barnton Estate. The fireplace in the curling house was also done and replaced by members with a used grate and donated bricks and lime.
There was a long spell of curling in 1929, which lasted over 2 months although only 4 games were officially recorded at Wauk Mill. An ice master appeared at this time called Robert McKenzie who did most of the maintenance of the pond and kept the ice clear of snow and ready to play. He was given an honorarium at the October AGM of 30/-. In subsequent years his efforts were similarly recognised being paid £3 for his work in 1938. However, in January 1940, the pond had not been flooded as expected and after examination the weir was found to be leaking. The Pond Committee proceeded to fix it only to discover the sluice was also leaking and the pond not holding water. After an unsatisfactory discussion with Mr McKenzie he resigned his position. A new pond keeper was agreed, with ice master title being less used, then dropped. Ice duties remained and 2/- per day when ice was available was paid for their efforts, remuneration being £3 rising to £6 in 1949. The last recorded use of Wauk Mill pond was 25th December 1950, when curling was available for a few days but only 6 members turned up. There was no pond keeper that year and at a committee meeting it was reported that the ice had been bearing for a few days and it had been spoiled by children playing on it and breaking it up. The cleaning of the pond was maintained up until 1953 at a cost of £6. At the October 1954 AGM however, the Pond Committee was disbanded and the pond left uncut. The fencing was maintained to retain the right to use it but it was never played on again.
Over its life from 1874 to 1950, there are 78 recorded matches known about. Of those, 48 were club games and only 28 for competitions, the others simply scratch games among club members which because they had no significance may be understated.
Of the 30 inter-club games, only 13 were won. The J. Dick Medal match with Denny Greens was the most frequent, eight recorded, being played alternatively on Denny Greens pond. Almost all the others were friendly matches.
In 1956 an advert appeared in the local paper warning members to remove their stones from the curling house. From there the pond was abandoned and fell into disrepair. The move to indoor curling was now complete.
The pond was built beside the Bannock Burn, on the south bank, down a steep embankment which sheltered the pond on the south side and made it suited for a curling pond. As John Muirhead stated in 1928 ‘It turned out to be an ideal place for a pond, but when the water was first turned on it all disappeared into the Bannock. The members were then faced with the expense of lining the side and part of the end next to the burn with wood, and a considerable quantity of clay was carted from the Carse to puddle it. As the supply of water gave out, we again had to be at the expense of putting in a pipe from the Bannock, at the back of the old spinning mill, to the pond, which has proved ample’. These alterations and repairs to the pond meant that by the AGM of 1874 the club was in debt once more, recorded as £15: 4s 3d. £10 was borrowed to cover payments to be made.
Denny Greens were the first club to play on the new pond in December 1874 competing in an annual match for the J. Dick medal. Borestone became the second club to visit Wauk Mill in December 1878 and this developed into a friendly relationship with regular games mostly played at their pond at Bearside. It was the nearest to Bannockburn. Wauk Mill was big enough for only 3 rinks of ice, so the maximum number of players on the ice at any rinks game could only be 24 men.
At the committee meeting of 15th October 1875, Wm. Muirhead, the chairman reported that he had seen both Sir Alexander Gibson Maitland and his Factor, Mr Fernie, in regard to the question of the club pond rent and had secured the assurance that no rent would be asked from the club for the pond. A very important concession to the finances of the club.
The chairman further reported that Sir Alexander had authorised the club to remove the old office from the Catcraig Quarry for the purpose of rebuilding it at the pond for the use of the club, which the meeting gratefully accepted and as the chairman proposed to do the carting of the stones from the quarry to the pond gratuitously, agreed to recommend to the club to have it removed and re-erected at the pond. The meeting also resolved to recommend to the club the propriety of taking a fresh supply of water by laying a 4 inch pipe from the burn to the pond which could be done at an outlay of from £15 to £20 pounds.
At the AGM following, the treasurer was due £1: 5s 8d, but Colonel Wilson and Captain Wilson each donated £5 to the funds. As recorded in the minutes ‘The obligation on which the committee borrowed £10 from Mr Walls was produced to the meeting and ordered to be thrown into the fire; which was done and the document burned’.
The recommendations of the committee in regard to bringing in a fresh supply of water to the pond and of removing the house from the adjacent quarry to the pond were adopted. A motion “that to meet the expense of this work the sum of £25 should be borrowed by the committee of the ensuing year, the consent of absent members being obtained” unanimously agreed. Entry money was raised to £1 to help pay back the load. Subscriptions however remained at 2/6d. Secretary later reported that he had disposed of the materials of the old house at Canglour Pond for the sum of 5/-
By March 1876, the bill for all the work was over £40.
The club secretary borrowed £36 at 4% interest to cover the bills. It would take until September 1891, some 15 years later to pay it off.
Every year after harvest time, the pond had to be prepared for the next season’s curling. This involved clearing the grass growing in the bottom of the pond, removing sand, keeping the pond holding water, clearing weeds and briar from the footpath, plus any maintenance to the water supply, and house. In 1892 a fence was erected and a convenience added to the house.
In 1881 there were improvements to the intake of water for the pond by creating a dam on the burn to ensure a flow of water into the pond. The pond committee was increased from three to five with a convener.
In 1895, the pond committee were instructed to remove snow from the ice as soon as possible to enable games to be played with little delay.
In August 1897, the pond required several repairs and improvements. A new sluice was fitted along with repairs to the pipes and a brick built cesspool was added for the purpose of catching any sand before it entered the pond.
In 1897, a man was used to watch the ice over Sundays to stop it being ruined by trespassers. It was remarked as successful in 1899 and formally given to the Pond Committee to remit. By 1901 there was a payment for each day the service was required of not more than 1/6d. This continued till 1913.
In 1899, the club agreed to expand the house the cost not to exceed £15. It was finished for a final cost of £8: 0s 6d and the balance cleared in 1901 with club funds at a low of 15/1d.
Between 1913 and 1925 there was no curling at all on Wauk Mill.
Consideration was given to lining the pond with bitumen from advice received from the factor of Sauchie Estate in 1924. The cost was put at £25 to £30. It was decided to do nothing after reviewing the situation.
By 1926, the sluice was again replaced and the weir over the burn reinforced by a tree donated by Sauchie and Barnton Estate. The fireplace in the curling house was also done and replaced by members with a used grate and donated bricks and lime.
There was a long spell of curling in 1929, which lasted over 2 months although only 4 games were officially recorded at Wauk Mill. An ice master appeared at this time called Robert McKenzie who did most of the maintenance of the pond and kept the ice clear of snow and ready to play. He was given an honorarium at the October AGM of 30/-. In subsequent years his efforts were similarly recognised being paid £3 for his work in 1938. However, in January 1940, the pond had not been flooded as expected and after examination the weir was found to be leaking. The Pond Committee proceeded to fix it only to discover the sluice was also leaking and the pond not holding water. After an unsatisfactory discussion with Mr McKenzie he resigned his position. A new pond keeper was agreed, with ice master title being less used, then dropped. Ice duties remained and 2/- per day when ice was available was paid for their efforts, remuneration being £3 rising to £6 in 1949. The last recorded use of Wauk Mill pond was 25th December 1950, when curling was available for a few days but only 6 members turned up. There was no pond keeper that year and at a committee meeting it was reported that the ice had been bearing for a few days and it had been spoiled by children playing on it and breaking it up. The cleaning of the pond was maintained up until 1953 at a cost of £6. At the October 1954 AGM however, the Pond Committee was disbanded and the pond left uncut. The fencing was maintained to retain the right to use it but it was never played on again.
Over its life from 1874 to 1950, there are 78 recorded matches known about. Of those, 48 were club games and only 28 for competitions, the others simply scratch games among club members which because they had no significance may be understated.
Of the 30 inter-club games, only 13 were won. The J. Dick Medal match with Denny Greens was the most frequent, eight recorded, being played alternatively on Denny Greens pond. Almost all the others were friendly matches.
In 1956 an advert appeared in the local paper warning members to remove their stones from the curling house. From there the pond was abandoned and fell into disrepair. The move to indoor curling was now complete.