Land Owners and Leases

 
The Ferryhills Golf Course in all its variants was laid out on land leased from the owners of Cruicks Estate, which consisted of Cruicks (Manor) House and Cruicks Farm. The spelling is sometimes given as Cruicks and sometimes as Crooks.

The Land Owners

From 1890 to 1940, the golf course years, there were three sets of owners:

1) Adam Will – who signed the first lease in 1890, and his descendants – Alexander Will and Thomas Milne.
2) The Admiralty – who bought the land in 1921,
and
3) The Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company Limited who bought the land in 1928. They had leased the land from 1909 until 1928.

The Leases

Dunfermline Golf Club leased the land for Ferryhills Golf Course directly from Adam Will in 1890, then from his son Alexander in 1893.
In 1909, they became sub-tenants to the Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company, who were principal tenants to the then owner Thomas Milne.
In 1921, they became sub-tenants to the Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company, who were then principal tenants to The Admiralty.
Finally in 1928, they became tenants to the Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company.

The story of Adam Will and his family is quite complicated, so we should probably start a little earlier with the first known owners of Cruicks.

1843 to around 1880 – the earliest owners of Cruicks

The earliest record that we have is from 1843, when the owner was Alexander Dalziell, age 64, a “landed proprietor and farmer of 60 acres, employing 3 labourers.

By 1861 the owner is William Shearer, age 43 “a farmer of 88 acres, employing 2 men 2 women 1 boy. He may have died in 1861, because the 1862 P.O. directory gives the occupant as Mrs William Shearer.

In 1868 the owner is W. Amos, farmer.

Then in 1871, we find Major General Graeme Alexander Lockhart, age 57, retired on full pay, living in Cruicks Manor House. The farmhouse is occupied by W. Wilson, farmer.

This is the first time that there is a record of an occupant of Cruicks Manor House. It is likely that the farm existed before the house, which was built some time in the 1860s.

The 1880s – Adam Will

The 1871 Slater’s directory for Inverkeithing has this entry:

This is first North Queensferry record we have of Adam Will, who leased land to the Dunfermline Golf Club in 1890, to create the first 9-hole course on Ferryhills.

Although he owned Lucknow Quarry – which became Cruicks Quarry – he was living in St Peter Parish in Dundee, where he is listed as a “builder and contractor”

The 1871 census records for St Peter, Forfarshire includes Adam Will and family:

He is also listed in the 1881 census records for St Peter:
 

So it would appear that Adam Will was a Builder and Contractor from Dundee, who owned Lucknow (Cruicks) Quarry in North Queensferry.

This is corroborated by an article in the Dunfermline Press of March 19 1887 lists the bidders for a contract to supply causeway stones to Dunfermline Council.

One of the bidders was: Adam Will, Dundee, offering stone from Cruicks Quarry.

But the story is a little more complicated, because he is listed in the P.O. Directories in both the 1878 and the 1882 to 1885 editions as the occupant of Cruicks Farmhouse, with his occupation given as farmer.

There is no occupant listed for Cruicks House in either of these editions.

1886 Slater’s directory, lists Adam Will as a farmer at East Clepington in Dundee. (This almost certainly the same Adam Will.)

He appears in Cruicks Farmhouse in the 1886 to 1889 PO directory

and again in the the 1893 – 1896 PO Directory

The most interesting record of Adam Will comes from the VALUATION ROLL FIFE 1881-82.

Here are all the properties owned by Adam Will, with their occupiers or tenants.

So Adam is running two farms – one at Cruicks, and the other at East Clepington; his building and contracting business in Dundee; Cruicks Quarry; and he owns several properties in Cruicks and Cruickness.

1890 – the first lease

In June 1890, Dunfermline Golf Course agreed a 5-year lease on a parcel of land from Adam Will, for a 9-hole golf course at Ferryhills.

1892 – an amendment to the original lease of 1890

The extension of the course from 9 holes to 18 holes in May 1892 was probably covered by an amendment of the original lease to add land which formed part of Cruicks Estate to the field of the original 9-hole course.

1892 – Adam Will dies, leaving his various business interests to his family

Shortly after agreeing to the extended lease in May 1892, Adam Will died, in East Clepington, on 29th June 1892, at the age of 70.

The building and contracting business was taken over by his eldest son Alexander, while his third son, Robert, focussed on Cruicks Quarry.

Adam Will’s Family

Alexander Will

Alexander is Adam’s eldest son. When Adam died in May 1892, Alexander took over the running of his father’s contracting business in Dundee – still under the name of Adam Will, until his death on 9th March 1900.

Robert Will

Robert is Adam’s third son. He was married in Crooks House in 1885

The 1891 census record for North Queensferry lists the occupant of Cruicks Farmhouse as Robert Will, quarry foreman, and his family. While Cruicks is occupied by William Lindsay, a farm labourer, and his family. (Presumably Robert was now in charge of the Cruicks Quarry business.)

1893 – a new nineteen year lease of the entire Cruicks Estate

As membership continued to grow, Dunfermline Golf Club found that the club’s 18-hole course was rather restricted, so on 11th November 1893 they signed a new nineteen years’ lease covering the entire grounds of Cruicks Estate. This new lease would therefore run until 1912, and presumably was agreed with Alexander or Robert.

1897 – Cruicks House becomes the Golf Club House

The 1893 lease of the estate of Cruicks did not immediately include the house of Cruicks, because this was the subject of an existing lease – presumably to William Lindsay. When William’s lease expired on 20th May 1897, Cruicks House was added as a clubhouse, to replace the pavilion on top of Ferry Hills.

(We have no record of Robert Will at this time. He may have moved to Dundee to work in the main family business.)

The North Queensferry census records for 1901 has the occupants of the Golf Clubhouse as Robert Allan, club master, his wife, Sarah, and a servant Margaret Nairn. There is no entry for Cruicks Farmhouse

The 1911 census has the Golf Clubhouse occupants as Alice Love, club mistress, her son John, and servants Margaret and Eliza Samuel, with Cruicks Farmhouse occupied by John Wallace and his wife Catherine – John is the green keeper.

But that is jumping ahead of the story, so back to 1900.

1900 – Thomas Milne takes over Adam Will’s business

When Alexander Will died in 1900, the building and contracting business was taken over by Thomas Milne, and his son Alexander Milne – again trading under the name of Adam Will – but with no connection to the estate of Alexander Will.

Thomas Milne was Adam’s son-in-law. He had married Adam’s eldest daughter Louisa on June 21 1878.

1909 – a new lease of the lands of Cruicks

In 1909, Thomas Milne decided to lease Cruicks Estate to the Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company Limited, with a sub-lease to Dunfermline Golf Club.

The Club signed up to a new 19 year sub-lease, (with the Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company as the main tenants) to run from the expiry of the current lease in 1912, so lasting until 1931.

“Negotiations have been proceeding between the officials of the Dunfermline Golf Club and the Tilbury Contracting Company regarding the renewal of the club’s lease for the golf course at Ferryhills, North Queensferry, which is the property of Mr Newton’s trustees.”

Who is Mr Newton? The answer is (probably) found in the Club’s Title Deeds of 1921, which refer back to the 1909 lease:

“[Dunfermline Golf Club] are Sub-tenants of the Land of Crooks under a Sub-Lease entered into between . . . The Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company Limited . . . [and] . . . Thomas Milne and Another, the trustees of the late Adam Will, Builder and Contractor, Dundee, the then owner of said lands and [Dunfermline Golf Club], dated 3rd July 1909.”

I.e. in 1909 the land is owned by Thomas Milne and Another. Presumably “Another” in one of “Mr Newton’s trustees.”

The quarry workings were presumably intended to provide stone for construction at Rosyth, where the Admiralty had purchased land in 1903 to build a dockyard and oiling facilities. However, Easton Gibb and Son, the main contractor for the dockyard, was unable to agree terms with Tilbury and instead used freestone from Castlandhill Quarry. So, despite Cruicks quarry being leased to Tilbury, it remained quiescent until 1920.

1921 – the Admiralty purchases Cruicks Estate

Three years after the end of WWI, The Admiralty purchased Cruicks Estate from Thomas Milne. They leased the land to the Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company, with Dunfermline Golf Club as sub-tenants.

Activity at the quarry increased immediately, and the quarry workings encroached on the golf course, swallowing up several tees and holes.

The Club leased new adjacent parcels of land, and reconfigured the course, but eventually decided to move to a brand new course at Torrie in 1928.

1928 – The Admiralty sells Cruicks estate to Tilbury

While Dunfermline Golf Club were negotiating the terms of the new course at Torrie, the Admiralty decided to sell Cruicks Estate to the Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company. (They also sold part of Inverkeithing Bay to Thomas Ward, the ship breakers, who had leased this land since 1922.)

When Dunfermline Golf Club moved to Torrie, a local group set up the Ferryhills Golf Club, and leased the Ferryhills course from the Tilbury Company. They proved to be amenable landlords, and the Ferryhills Club and Course enjoyed eleven happy years from 1929 until the membership collapsed with the outbreak of WWII, and the closed in 1940.