The pier smiddy was owned by Tayfield Estate, and closed in the 1940s. The last tenants were the Don family, but prior to that the Smiddy had been worked by Willie Young, whose son John T Young established the bicycle repair shop on the High Road which became the successful Young's Garage on Boat Road.
This photograph shows JT Young's first premises on the High Road, where by 1896 he had established his successful cycle repair business. In the early 1900s he embraced motor transport and expanded down into Boat Road. With further expansion, the business occupied the entire site of Scotscraig Apartments.
An advertisement for JT Young, Motor Engineer, probably 1920s.
Salmon fishing was carried out all along the Tay estuary. The main stations in Newport were at Craighead, below the road bridge, and at Woodhaven. Fish were sold in Dundee market or shipped on ice to London.
Rankine's joinery business was situated in what is known as The Old Boathouse at Woodhaven until the 1990s. This newspaper article describes the firm at the time of its centenary in 1975.
Dr Thomas Stewart, "Docy Tom", succeeded his father Dr John Stewart as Newport's general practitioner. He lived and worked at Lovaine on Cupar Road, and was assisted by the apparently rather flamboyant Dr Montague Rust.
The general practice surgery was at the rear of the building, entered through the back yard.
Bottles from William Doig the Chemist.
Two toilet flush pull chains from local plumbers, Betsworth and Barlow who operated between 1894-1970s and James Jack and Sons, 1880-1980.
Doig the chemist’s apprentices' drawer. It has been signed by all trainee chemists dating back to 1887.
Suppository Makers from Doig's chemist shop.
Pill boards from Doig the Chemist's shop.
Pestle and mortar from Doig the Chemist's shop.
Three Newport butcher shops.
Steele and Brodie workshop, Kilmany Road, Wormit.
Newspaper cutting about Steele and Brodie.
Framed painting of the pier smiddy.
Framed drawing of Sandy Rankine's joinery workshop in Woodhaven.
Those of a certain age will remember using these old stamp machines. You popped in your penny, or two or three (old pennies of course, pre-decimalisation of 1971), and out came your stamp. In the days when snail mail was the only form of communication, these machines were lifelines when the post office was closed. ...
A magazine article from 1974 noting the history of the joinery business based at Woodhaven. It was started by William Buist in 1875, continued by his grandson William Rankine after World War I, and taken over by next generation Sandy Rankine in the 1960s.
William Willocks would later become a local joiner and undertaker, with workshops in both Robert Street, Newport and Bay Road, Wormit. From the 1940s until the 1960s he operated the successful carpet beating works at Wormit.
During 2019-2020 this ground at the rear of the Newport Hotel was being cleared for possible future house building. The photographs show what appears to be extensive cellar space. These cellars would have provided storage space below the old stabling for the inn.
The story of Wormit's Steele and Brodie beehive works from Brian Nish.
This medicine bottle from Doig the chemist was dug up in the garden of Hazel Cottage (66 West Road). From the late 1870s William Doig had chemist shops both in Newport and in Dundee (as the bottle says). He eventually gave up the Dundee shop in the early 1900s which gives a date for the ...