Blow up Inverkeithing paper mill
Siew Peng Lee • Published 3 Aug 2012 08:00
8 Comments
AN iconic Inverkeithing landmark is to come tumbling down - and YOU could be one of the lucky ones to blow it up.
The chimneys of the derelict Caldwell's Paper Mill in Harbour Place will be demolished on 12th August, and The Keithing, the town's community newsletter, has launched a competition offering residents the "chance of a lifetime" to push the button.
Run in conjunction with demolition firm Dem-Master, which is currently dismantling the building, the competition has already excited interest in Inverkeithing residents.
The competition is the brainchild of Angela Morrison, of Preston Crescent, who came up with the idea while out photographing the building.
Angela, who contributes to The Keithing, said, "I live opposite the mill and see it every day.
"I had been in touch with the site foreman because I was interested in going in and taking photos as the building was coming down.
"When he said the chimneys were coming down I said I was sorry to hear that because they are such a part of the town's history.
"He said they were coming down because they are so badly damaged and couldn't be saved.
"He also said I had been the only person to have been in there, and I thought this was a good way to let people know about it.
"I'm very interested in community spirit and I'm all for bringing everybody together.
"I would rather people who live locally get the chance to do this rather than just Dem-Master pressing the button.
"To me it's the chance of a lifetime - the chance doesn't come along very often to do something like this and it would be a shame to miss it."
The competition is divided into two categories, for under-18s and over 18s.
It comprises guessing where a picture was taken and answering one of three simple questions.
Entry forms are available from the civic centre and local shops, including Kingdom Insurance, Lindsay & Gilmore, Classic Creations Cakes, Inglis Vets and Maurizio's.
Angela will also have forms at her stall, Squiggly Faces, at the Inverkeithing Highland Games on Saturday.
Answers should be posted in the entry box in the civic centre. The closing date is 5pm on Friday 10th August.
The chimneys will come down at 10am on Sunday 12th August and everyone is invited to a small reception in the Friary afterwards.
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Read the full story in this week's Press
This article appeared in Dunfermline Press 03 Aug 12
Have your say. Post a comment on this article.
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B2theB
145 posts
Aug 3, 10:34
Report commentAaaaw !
I saw "blow up Inverkeithing" and was all excited, but alas, my hopes are dashed !
Recommend?
Yes 15
No 4
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AHigherPlace
1 post
Aug 5, 12:27
Report commentI have a collection of photographs taken inside the building over the last few years. As a ruin it's been used for filming (short film about the apocalypse) and it's been frequented by some of Fife and Edinburgh's most talented graffiti artists. Some of the graffiti inside is spectacular. I nipped over the wall myself on Sundays and captured the decay of the building over time. Fascinating stuff. If anyone is interested in them I can make them available.
It's a sad day. this place has seen generations of local men women through their working lives. It's easy to observe a direct link can be between the fall of the Papermill and the town of Inverkeithing itself. Like so many small Scottish towns, where mining or historically sound industry have been the pillar of the working ethic, community spirit and economical stability, Inverkeithing has slowly faded in the wake of the loss of the Papermill.
I for one will be deeply saddened to see the twin sentinels that have marked the skyline I identify with home taken down.
Anon (incase I get arrested for trespassing ;o)
Recommend? Yes 10
No 0
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DunfermlineEast
137 posts
Aug 5, 16:28
Report comment"Inverkeithing has slowly faded in the wake of the loss of the Papermill."
When it finally closed (there is a world wide glut in paper production) 160 jobs went - which is around 3% of the population of Inverkeithing. If 3% of the population losing their jobs causes a town to fade then there are serious problems with that town!
Recommend? Yes 3
No 2
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B2theB
145 posts
Aug 5, 18:52
Report commentDunfermline East, it's not so much the loss of the papermill, but add that to the gradual closing of Rosyth dockyard, RNAD Crombie, as well as the mines etc.
the mill was almost the straw that broke the camel's back.
those were the biggest employers around the area, and with them gone, there aren't (or at least weren't) really a lot of employment options around the area without traveling for miles.
Quite a few employees managed to get jobs at Lexmark, but we all know how that story finished !!
Recommend? Yes 9
No 0
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DrewCarnegie
65 posts
Aug 6, 19:00
Report commentDunfermline East, Inverkeithing's biggest problem is Fife Councils insistence in relocating undesirables to the town over the last twenty years
Recommend? Yes 4
No 0
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woobles
2 posts
Aug 7, 18:52
Report commentWhat time is the demolition due to take place?
Recommend? Yes 0
No 0
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Ralph66
1 post
Aug 13, 13:53
Report commentI was out on saturday evening and managed to get some photos of what was left from the high street car park
I see the mill chimneys everyday from my house and its a sad day to see it gone.
Having lived in the town all my life it seems as if its drifting away into insignificance. As a few of us will remember there was a time when everyone knew each other now i step outside to strangers. There is no community feeling being left.
With the end of the mill finally there are even less reminders of old inverkeithing i remember such a shame :(
Recommend? Yes 1
No 0
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joking333
1 post
Apr 25, 11:43
Report commentMy grandfather, father, mother, uncles and aunts all worked there, my father for 40 years. Mind you, my brother and I took Dad (Gordon King)'s advice not to work there!
Recommend? Yes 1
No 0
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