13 Alma Terrace

This house has its place here for two reasons.

The McIntosh Family

Firstly, it has been owned and occupied by the same family for over 100 years. In 1921 the house was bought by Annie McIntosh, and she and her husband Andrew lived there until their deaths in 1959 and 1961. The house then passed to their daughter Sheila and her husband John Muirhead. Today in 2023 it is occupied by their great-grand-daughter and her children. There may be other houses in Newport or Wormit with this claim to fame, but we don’t know them.

Andrew McIntosh and daughter Sheila on a deserted Kirk Road.

Annie and Sheila McIntosh

Jim Muirhead

Of further interest is the fact that it was home to Scotland’s most successful paralympian Jim Muirhead. The grandson of Andrew McIntosh, Jim lived here as a schoolboy in the 1950s and 60s. His loss of sight at age 16 put an end to swimming training with the British Olympics team, but he was soon invited to join the paralympians instead. Between 1976 and 1984 he went on to win 5 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals. In recognition of his achievements Jim was Sports Personality of the Year in 1974, and in 2012 he was asked to carry the Olympic flame over Tower Bridge.

Jim died in 2021.

Thanks to Julie Anderson for information and photographs.