THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

Fire broke out at Duchally House, Auchterarder, yesterday evening, and in a very short time the whole mansion was destroyed. The house, which belongs to Sir Ruthven G. Monteath, Bart, was in the course of being renovated and enlarged and the workmen had just left off when at quarter past five o’clock a huge volume of smoke was seen to rise from the building. Within half an hour the roof collapsed and the whole structure was gutted. Dundee Fire Brigade were summoned to deal with the outbreak.

50 years ago

Water rationing began yesterday in Kilmarnock, where there has been no real rain since May. In the afternoon, water was cut off from about 80% of the population. Until the emergency ends, there will be no tap water in affected areas between 2.30pm and 6am the following day. Industrial and commercial consumers will continue to get normal water supplies as long as possible. Many people have stored water against the dry periods. Four army tankers are in the town, two of 600 gallons and two of 800 gallons.

25 years ago

Scotland’s showpiece athletics event, the £300,000 Standard Life Princes Street Mile, which was due to take place a week tomorrow, is off. A huge question mark now hangs over the future of the world’s leading road mile. The financial tangle caused by promoter Mike Wilson’s illness has been too great to unravel in the short time before the event. Athletes agent Kim McDonald had a top-class field on standby, including last year’s winners Matthew Yates and Sonia O’Sullivan.

One year ago

Damage inflicted on an ancient Angus monument in a two-day vandalism spree may never be fully repaired, experts have warned. Yobs painted graffiti on 12th Century Arbroath Abbey, smashed a window and set off fire extinguishers after scaling scaffolding that had been erected for conservation. Specialists say it has proved impossible to safely remove the paint from the soft, porous sandstone. One community leader said the destruction had left him “sick to the stomach”.