Theme: A Spot on the Map. (I have been unable to keep up with the weekly stories.)

Airth, Stirlingshire, Scotland. The name Airth comes from the Gaelic Aird meaning a height or a hill, where the original village stood.

Airth was once a Royal Burgh; it is 6 miles (10 km) north of Falkirk town on the banks of the River Forth. A Royal dockyard was created on the banks of the river in 1506 and was used to build and refit early Ships of War. The shipping fleet was destroyed in 1745 by Bonnie Prince Charlie, which curtailed Airth’s further development as a port.

The earliest part of Airth Castle dates from the late 15th century; it is now a hotel. There is also a ruined parish church dated to the 12th century. There are several interesting grave inscriptions inside the church and many grave markers in the extensive graveyard.These include three cast iron mortsafes dating from the body snatching days.

My GGGFather Dr. Thomas Lyle lived in Airth between about 1830 and 1853. He trained in Glasgow, studying anatomy, surgery, chemistry, medicine, midwifery and infectious diseases at Glasgow University. Quite possibly some of the anatomy lessons involved bodies obtained through the body snatchers! He practiced in Glasgow for a time, advertising as a surgeon in 1825.

Why move to Airth? As far as is known there were no relatives of Lyle or his wife in the area. The birth of his second stillborn son in Glasgow he attributed to his wife being exhausted from ministering to their eldest son Thomas, ill with an ‘intermittent fever’. Perhaps this prompted their move to the country north of Glasgow, a day’s coach ride away. Or more likely it was his desire to live in the country so he could more easily follow another of his interests, that of bryology. Also a quiet place where he could write poetry and study music. According to the British Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 34, 1893: “(Thomas Lyle) was the author of several lyrics, but is remembered solely for the beautiful song ‘Let us haste to Kelvin Grove, bonnie lassie, O’ first published anonymously in the ‘Harp of Renfrewshire’ in 1820. Lyle contributed to RA Smith’s ‘Irish Minstrel’, and edited ‘Ancient Ballads and Songs’, London 1827. The latter work contained several of his own songs, including a version of Kelvin Grove somewhat different from the original.”

The 1841 Census for Stirlingshire showed the family living in Airth Village. Thomas gave his age as 45 and his wife’s as 40; the children’s ages were given as 15, 14, 13, 7, 6 and 4. Not all agree with birth entries in the family bible, but were probably rounded up – Thomas was closer to 50 and his wife to 44.

By 1851 however the family was scattered. Thomas (“Surgeon in General Practice”) and Margaret were still in Airth, together with the eldest boy Thomas aged 27, “Assistant” presumably to his father. Dr. Thomas filled in the Census form himself and added the details of their two neighbours as well.

The other children were lodging in Glasgow and all were employed. Apparently doctoring in a village did not pay! More likely Thomas spent most of his time on his other interests. He maintained a voluminous correspondence with a noted expert on Bryology, and we know from the letters he received in return that he eventually returned to Glasgow for the sake of his wife’s health. She died a year later in 1854; Lyle died in 1859 from typhus which was endemic at the time.