2011

NS3975 : Memorial to Archibald McMillan

taken 15 years ago, near to Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland

Memorial to Archibald McMillan
Memorial to Archibald McMillan
This stone is located at the south-eastern corner of the old kirkyard of NS3975 : Dumbarton Riverside Parish Church.

If the monument shown here is the original one, then most of it is now buried (the old churchyard contains other stones that are now largely buried, e.g., NS3975 : Plaque at the site of John Aroll's gravestone). The original is described as being about ten feet high. In addition, it was originally "surmounted by a beautifully-carved casket adorned with Greek ornaments". The inscription is as follows:

"Archibald McMillan (Shipbuilder)
Died 27th December 1854 Aged 61
Wife Catherine Smith
Children,
Peter, died 21st January 1828,
aged 2 years 3 months,
Peter, died 20th May 1833, aged 5."

The person commemorated here was the founder of the shipbuilding firm of Archibald McMillan and Son, which was established in 1834 at a site upriver from NS3975 : Dumbarton Bridge. See NS4075 : The McMillan Monument for further details of the founding of the firm, and for references. The firm later relocated to a site next to Dumbarton Parish Kirkyard (in which the memorial is located; click on the end-note title for related images).

In 1910, McMillan was granted permission to buy part of that kirkyard (which had by then been closed to burials for many years), thereby expanding his shipyard at its expense. The shipyard closed in 1930, and its site was next occupied by a distillery, only remnants of which survive at the time of writing: NS3975 : Remains of Ballantine's Distillery.

Archibald's wife Catherine was originally from Luss (NS359929), and she was buried beside the church at West Bridgend (NS3975 : Dumbarton West Kirk). Archibald's son John McMillan, along with Peter Denny, presented Levengrove Park as a gift to the town and people of Dumbarton: Link

[For further biographical details, and for details of the memorial, see Donald MacLeod's "The God's Acres of Dumbarton" (1888).]
Dumbarton Riverside Parish Church

The church was built from 1810-11 (architect John Brash), and stands on the site of the previous parish kirk. See its listed building report – LinkExternal link (at Historic Environment Scotland) – for an architectural description. The associated parish kirkyard was reduced in size several times, and much of what was left of it was cleared away in 1972 to make way for the present-day church halls. Only a few of its memorials remain; see Link for details.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Lairich Rig and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Burial ground, Crematorium other tags: Gravestone Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
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Grid Square
NS3975, 679 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Lairich Rig   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 16 April, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 14 November, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NS 3979 7518 [10m precision]
WGS84: 55:56.5728N 4:34.0099W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NS 3979 7518
View Direction
SOUTH (about 180 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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