| Description
| Horse drawn fire engine with water cistern, hose, pump and ladders. Painted red, brown and black, made in 1875 by Herkless & Small of Shuttle St, Glasgow. 'Straven Castle' painted on rear box.
There was a disastrous fire in Strathaven on Hogmanay night 1874/5 and the Hamilton fire engine, which had struggled through deep snow drifts,arrived too late to save the lives of 2 elderly ladies. After this tragedy, Mr Thomas Tennant of Priestgill purchased this engine and presented it in 1876 to the Local Authority in Strathaven, where it was used for many years. Was displayed in Fire Brigade HQ on Bothwell Rd, Hamilton for some time before donation. Its location immediately before its gift was in the spare left hand bay alongside the in-service fire engines at the fire station in East Kilbide where Museum education officerTerry Mackenzie viewd it with curator Gavin Walker in April 1975. It was formerly on display in the old Hamilton District Museum from 1975 until 1995 and has was re-displayed at Low Parks Museum reception in 2007. |
