Memories of Woodhaven Farm

Written by Ena Scott (nee Gleig) in 1989. Ena was born in 1912 and lived nearly all her life in Woodhaven and Wormit, dying in Newport in 1998. She grew up at Woodhaven farmhouse and moved to Naughton Road after her marriage.

My parents came to Woodhaven Farm in 1907. At that time the estate was owned by Sir Alan and Lady Corbet, parents of Lady Lambe of Knockhill, and grandparents of the present laird Mr Andrew Mylius. The farmhouse is a listed building built around 1770. Adjoining the farmhouse were farm buildings and there had once been a brewery and bakery. Gradually, that part has been converted into 9 small houses and a shop. I think there are only 5 now and a general store. The previous tenants to stay in the farm were a Dundee Jute Merchant bachelor, Henry Rhind and his spinster sister, who had lived there for 70 years, with a break of 10 years. No child had been born in the farmhouse during that time and as my mother was expecting a child, Henry Rhind said he would give my mother a silver tankard if mother would call him Henry. Mother said what if the baby is a girl? Then he said to call her Henrietta. But Mother would not agree and my sister was called Dorothy! She was the first baby born in the farmhouse after 70 years and I was the last, that was not today or yesterday!

There was a beautiful fruitful garden with many interesting plants, shrubs and trees. There were 3 archways formed by Tay whale jawbones and it is not many years since they were removed. (A Tay whaling captain had stayed in Woodhaven.)

The house was very well built, stone floors in the back premises with a solid stone staircase, and in those days, the only heating was coal and wood fires with lamps and candles for lighting. When gas lighting came to Wormit my parents were scared of it and only installed it downstairs and we continued to use lamps and candles upstairs. In fact, electricity was not put in till after World War II. In recent years the house has been sold and has been modernised and pointed all in keeping with the original.

Being on a dairy farm, with all the milking done by hand, my parents were kept very busy, but for a child farm life was wonderful and for all the children in the village, the farm was the gathering point. Many a game of football, hide and seek, kick the can, rounders, tig etc were played in the farmyard. That is if we weren’t fishing with a bent pin and worms to catch puddles (minnows) at the Mars Pier. One day I excelled and caught 72 – that day Towser our cat was very happy! All the local children learned to swim at the Mars Pier.

When a squad of workers were required on the farm, the Mars Boys from the Training Ship were called in. (See Ena’s Memories of the Mars.) In the farm garden was a Walnut Tree which had grown so high that there was a fear it might fall and cause an accident on the main road. The Mars boys were asked to take it down carefully without mishap or breaking walls or other trees, which they did, and they were given the tree for work in the woodwork classes and many pieces of furniture made from this tree are still in many local homes. The boys also helped my father when potatoes had to be lifted and when the travelling threshing mill came – twice each year.