Remembering Abbeyview
Article written by: Frank Connelly
Our Remembering feature in this issue looks at the area around Abbeyview highlighting some of the big changes that have taken place there over the years.
Our first photograph is of the view looking south down Linburn Road towards its junction with Woodmill Road taken around 1975.
It shows the 'Trondheim' pub which is where 'Luca's Kitchen' restaurant is today. At that time the area on the left was open countryside and woods which was later filled with housing, making up the large Duloch housing development of today.
Typical of the memories of children living in Abbeyview of this area is this from Brian Campbell: "That tree on the left was great for climbing up and jumping onto bales of hay. Before the Trondheim pub was built, that area was for the 5th November bonfire.”
Vicky Kendrick no longer stays in Dunfermline but has similar memories of the area: "I left Dunfermline years ago. This is exactly how I remember this area. I used to live opposite Trondheim Parkway. The farmland mentioned had a long lane leading to Calais Woods. Spent many hours as a child playing up there. A taste of countryside living alongside the dreary, drab urban housing schemes where we all lived.”
The flats in the distance on Trondheim Parkway have all since been demolished. Although very much sought after when they were originally constructed, the flats later gained a less favourable reputation as mentioned in this extract from the Dunfermline Press in January 1998: 'Trondheim Parkway has been earmarked for demolition in a radical attempt to tackle Abbeyview's housing problems. A report considered by agencies involved in the regeneration of the area suggests 331 flats should be knocked down, including all 160 in Trondheim Parkway, dubbed the “Street of Shame” following special investigation by the Press last October. Also included are flats in Inchkeith Drive, Drum Road, and Dunn Crescent.'
Our second photograph is also of Linburn Road, this time looking north around 1964 with some of the houses in Calais View in Abbeyview visible on the hill on the left which are still there today. Both names of Duloch and Calais are derived from the Gaelic with Duloch being 'dubh loch' or 'black loch', and Calais (pronounced Kay-liss) meaning 'place of woodland'.
With a rapidly growing population in Abbeyiew, Dunfermline Cooperative Society decided to have a major presence in the area by opening a store with an adjoining chemist shop, and our next photograph shows the crowds that turned out in 1958 for its official opening.
Our final photograph shows the junction of Wedderburn Street and Blacklaw Road, with many of the flats and houses still to be built on the hill in the distance when this was taken around 1952.
