Biography:Hugh Gilmour
Hugh Gilmour
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| Given name: | Hugh |
| Middle name: | |
| Family name: | Gilmour |
| Place of birth: | |
| Place of death: | Stevenson, Ayrshire |
| Year of birth: | 1758 |
| Year of death: | 1822 |
| Profile: | Composer, Musician |
| Source of information: | http://www.ayrshirehistory.org.uk/Bibliography/pdfs/an14.pdf |
Biographical notes
A church memorial from Hugh's son Robert noted "though blind from infancy a singular gifted…. Died 28th,April 1822, aged 64.
The following article, which mentions prominently Hugh Gilmour, appeared in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald of December 29th, 1860:
How the Carpenters of Saltcoats and West Kilbride Gave the Press-Gang the Slip
It is now more than eighty years since the circumstances I am about to narrate occurred and it is somewhere about fifteen years since my grandfather used to relate the story with great glee to a group of young people who sat around the blazing hearth eagerly listening to his funny remarks and anecdotes.
The story commences with the launch of a vessel which took place at Mr. Porter's ship-yard, in Saltcoats, about the year 1789 or 1790, and as launches are generally regarded as auspicious events by carpenters so it was on the present occasion. As was customary then (and I believe is at the present day in Ardrossan) a ball was given to the carpenters in the evening of the same day of the launch, and this evening it was announced to take place in Mr. Campbell's hall. It had just struck five o'clock, and the most of the workers had left the ship-yard and were returning home in order to get prepared for the approaching ball.
Seven o'clock was the hour at which the ball was to commence, but it was long past that hour before the whole company was assembled. About half past past eleven the dancing appeared to be going on in good earnest, and the hall at this moment presented one of the most animated scenes that can possibly be described. On a platform elevated about three feet from the floor sat an old blind man with a fiddle, who showed great dexterity in handling the bow. In one part of the room sat a loving pair talking to each other in the most confidential manner of their prospects of the future, seemingly unconscious of what was going on around them. In another part sat some half-dozen of the fair sex eagerly discussing the merits of some sweetmeats and oranges that had been left them by their admirers as a parting gift, while they had betaken themselves for a short time to another room to enjoy a few minutes chit-chat and a comfortable smoke. In the centre of the floor about fifteen couples tripped it most gracefully on the light fantastic toe; and in another part of the room one might be seen who appeared not to be quite sure whether he should trip in on the crown of his head or the soles of his feet; however in the midst of his reverie his foot caught in the folds of a lady's gown, and he fell flat on the floor to the small amusement of the dancers, as he lay howling out at the full pitch of his voice, "Britannia rules the waves."
The one half of the evening had been spent in this agreeable manner, and all went merry as a marriage bell till about one o'clock, when a private messenger found his way into the hall, and in a somewhat startled manner told one of the carpenters that they had been betrayed by S___, who had given information to the press-gang at Irvine of the night's meeting, and that they now stood outside the door ready to seize them. The looks of the astonished carpenter after receiving this bit of information can be easier imagined than described. For a moment or two he appeared irresolute what to do. However, it was not his own personal safety alone that depended on the issue of events, so he at once communicated the unwelcome tidings to the rest of his comrades, who were not at that time engaged with the dance.