Tragic Fire at Seafield School - 1952

[Penny Tray]

Surfing for news updates on the death of 6 children in a Derby fire on 11 May, I came across a newspaper article reporting the death of 6 Glasgow boys in a dormitory fire at Seafield Residential School, Ardrossan, on the night of 10/11 February 1952.

At the subsequent Fatal Accident Inquiry at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, Leading Fireman Robert McKie expressed the opinion that the fire was caused by "faulty building construction" in the Viking Dormitory.

What a terrible tragedy!

[Meg]

I was at Seafield a couple of weeks ago for the first time - it's now a Quarriers Home and I was at a review meeting there. Waiting to go into the meeting, I was sitting in the entrance hall enthralled at just what a lovely place it was, and thinking how much I had wondered about it growing up. I believe it was a doctor's house in days gone by, and I think my dad's mum spent a couple of years in service there at the turn of the last century. I think it was called Eastpark home when I was growing up and was a holiday destination (or respite care) for poor kids from Glasgow. Do you know if the children who died in the fire might have come from the city?

Meg

[Penny Tray]

Meg,

All six boys came from Glasgow. East Park Home, incidentally, has to the best of my knowledge always been located in Maryhill Road, Glasgow. They however, would send kids to Seafield which was maintained by Glasgow Corporation.

[little plum]

I was informed of this incident some years back by an elderly gent (ex Glasgow) who happened to be a resident in the school at the time. I might add, he wasn't there for the good of his health.

[Poppy]

I remember going to Seafield Residential Home in the mid fifties. I went with Cissy Lewis and Nessie Breckenridge gents barbers, to cut the boys hair one Wednesday afternoon every month. It was very entertaining and afterwards we always had tea and ginger snaps.

[George Ardrossan]

Here is a photo of Seafield School taken in January 2008.


Seafield School was built in as Seafield House in 1820 for Mrs Bartlemore. It was substantially rebuilt in the Scottish Baronial style in 1858. The tower at the rear was added in 1881. Around that time, it was owned by Archibald Douglas Bryce-Douglas (1841-1891), an esteemed marine engineer and shipbuilder. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, it was a hydro or hydropathic hotel. From at least the 1950s to around 2000, it was called Seafield Residential School. In late 2004, North Ayrshire Council sold its interest in it to Quarriers who renamed it Quarriers Seafield School.

Archibald Douglas Bryce-Douglas, shown below, was an esteemed marine engineer and shipbuilder. He was born in Saltcoats and died in Ardrossan. He owned Seafield House from at least the mid 1880s till his death there in 1891.


He donated the ship, called the Bryce-Douglas, on the steeple of Barony Saint John's Church in Ardrossan.


Extracts from Ardrossan and Saltcoats Heralds giving a profile of the life of Archibald Douglas Bryce-Douglas can be seen on viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10203&start=12#p104758.

George

[little plum]

North Ayrshire Council sold its interest in it to Quarriers who renamed it Quarriers Seafield School.George

George, it was Strathclyde Regional Council that owned it, not North Ayrshire. I seem to remember when Strathclyde broke up into shires the school lay empty for a period of time before Quarriers reopened it.

[George Ardrossan]

Little Plum

I think we are both right. There are indicators that North Ayrshire and Strathclyde Regional Councils were both involved with Seafield School.

I got my information from North Ayrshire Council minutes of meetings which are available online.

The minutes of the Corporate Services Committee meeting of 31 August 2004 on http://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/ChiefExec/minutes.nsf/0/0bc8b4eb1b0d140880256f0100335c08?OpenDocument state that:
'North Ayrshire Council holds a long term lease over the site of Seafield School, Eglinton Road, Ardrossan. Quarriers Homes sub lease the property from the Council and have now made an approach to purchase the Council's long term leasehold.'.

Searching for further information on Seafield School, I found that at the Support Services Special Sub Committee meeting on 18 November 1998 on http://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/ChiefExec/minutes.nsf/0/7f0c3e132486cb5680257677005a0cdf?OpenDocument, it was recorded that:
'The Sub-Committee met on site and took up its remit to examine the buildings and the boundary wall at Seafield School, Eglinton Road, Ardrossan and to consider the requirements for future maintenance... Confirmation was given that Quarriers Homes had always been aware of the requirements of the lease and that the work carried out by the former Strathclyde Regional Council ...'.

I think that at the time of the fire in 1952 and for several years following that, the building was owned by or leased to Glasgow City Council. I guess that Strathclyde Regional Council may have taken it over and with the reform of local government in 1995, it was disaggregated to North Ayrshire Council who sold it to Quarriers in 2004.

George

[Bob Bryden]

My Uncle Robert & Aunt Isabel Kellie used to live at Seafield Schol until they emigrated to London, Ontario, Canada in 1966 to join Uncle Jim & his family. Uncles Robert & Jim were 2 of Mum's brothers. Uncle Robert looked after the grounds I believe. Not sure whether he'd anything to do with building maintenance. Both he & Aunt Isabel died several years ago in London, Ont. I now wonder whether Uncle Robert was there at the time of the fire. No way of telling I suppose. I visited them several times at Seafield. In later years I believe my Aunt Mary Nicol ( one of Mum's sisters who lived in Barrie Terr. ) worked at Seafield too as a cleaner or in some sort of maintenance role - got a photo somewhere of her & a group of other women workers taken at the school - if I can find it I'll post it. The only one I recognise is Aunt Mary. Some of you may recognise some of the others.
Bob