Whispers of a terrible tragedy
People walking on Elderslie golf course or on Paisley’s Chain Road used to hear muffled voices echoing from the ground below their feet last century.
Local residents knew the creepy conversations were miners chatting among themselves as they dug for fireclay in the subterranean shafts at the famous Ferguslie Brickworks.
But, strangers with a nervous disposition imagined the weird whisperers spoke of a terrible tragedy which took place at the brickworks once owned by Paisley Provost and historian Robert Brown.
It was a lovely summer evening just after nine o’clock on June 29, 1899, when fire broke out in a two-storey building at the brickworks which produced white sanitary earthenware.
Word reached the Fire Brigade at their Johnston Street headquarters and soon afterwards fire-fighters arrived at the scene.
By-standers clapped and cheered as the horse-drawn carriage headed along Main Road, Ferguslie.
But, ominously, one old woman
Derek Parker knew many of Paisley’s secrets – the grimy and the good.
He wandered every corner in search of the clues that would unlock Renfrewshire’s rich history.
These tales were shared with readers in his hugely popular Parker’s Way column.
We’ve opened our vault to handpick our favourites for you.
yelled: “Guid luck, boys - mind an’ watch yersels!”
Her warning was sadly prophetic. The top floor of the 90 feet by 30 feet building - where the pottery was stored - was blazing fiercely when the firemen assembled their hoses.
The blaze had also reached the bottom floor where wooden boxes were piled up.
Three of the crew - Assistant Superintendent James Wilson, Branchman James Mair and another fireman named Peebles - had climbed onto a coal bing to direct a water hose when one of the building walls collapsed.
Firemen Wilson and Peebles slithered down the other side of the coal mountain to safety.
But part-timer Mair, a slater to trade, fell the other way and was quickly engulfed in billowing clouds of choking smoke and dust beneath the disintegrating wall.
Guided by his terrible screams and glimpsing his brass helmet through the smoke, firemen Wilson and Peebles desperately dug out their colleague from the rocky debris.
Suffering from serious head injuries, the valiant victim was taken to the Royal Alexandra Infirmary but died around midnight.
He was survived by his wife and five children.
Following a funeral service in St George’s Church, Paisley, on July 3, Branchman Mair was buried with full fire-fighters’ honours.
Crowds of mourners thronged the streets as the cortege made its way along Gauze Street and Glasgow Road to Hawkhead Cemetery where the hero of the holocaust was buried.
The coffin was crested with the tunic, belt, axe, keys and helmet worn by Branchman Mair on his final mission.
The cortege included Ferguslie Brass Band playing the Funeral March, uniformed units from neighbouring Fire Brigades and Paisley town councillors and bailies in their civic robes.
Today Fireman James Mair’s headstone still graces a quiet part of Hawkhead Cemetery.
It is engraved with two crossed axes, two crossed water hose nozzles and a fireman’s helmet.
The hero’s memorial is inscribed with the poignant words: “Died at Duty’s Call.”
How to claim:
To claim this fabulosa offer simply visit www.myfabulosa.co.uk add your products to your basket and enter offer code FAB5 to receive £5 off your order total.