Largs man influenced curling in Scotland

He was a founder member of the Largs Curling Club which was instituted in December 1813 and became the Noddle Club in 1814.

Dr Cairnie made Scotland's first artificial curling pond at Curling Hall.

The rules of curling observed in Largs in 1833 were drawn up by Dr Cairnie and when he founded The Royal Caledonian Curling Club five years later it can be taken as fairly certain that the international rules were based on those evolved by the famous Largs curler.

Some rare recollections include details about the entrepreneurial curler playing on with great style despite losing an arm in a bad accident.

Historian James Meikle penned an intriguing article in 1895 about the great man and revealed that in his latter years, he was forced to play with only one arm after an incident involving a powder flask.

This picture of John Cairnie hangs in Largs Museum

Meikle revealed: "Dr Cairnie was an excellent player as well as a devoted admirer of the game. The dexterity with which he could thrown the channel stane in his later years was all the more wonderful from the fact that he had only one arm.

"Working with a powder flask too near the fire one day in Curling Hall, an explosion took place, by which one of his arms was so severely injured that it had to be amputated.

"As showing the determined nature of the man, he made several trips to Paris for the sake of getting the injured arm properly treated." In his later years, it was also recalled by Meikle how Dr Cairnie also took a lively interest in the sport even when he was unable to play.

"One of his last acts even though he was unable to play was driving over the hill to Kilbirnie in his yellow painted coach, drawn by his pair of pretty little black horses, to witness a great game between Largs and Kilbirnie. He had the pleasure of seeing the efforts of his townsmen crowned with success. A hardy, frugal lot those old weaver/fishermen players of Largs must have been. Some of them wrought at their looms half the night to make up to some extent for the loss of time on the morrow, and besides walked to Kilbirnie and back again, a distance of at least 16 miles.

Dr Cairnie was a surgeon in the service of the East India Company , and on retiring from active professional life, settled down in Largs and built himself a home called Curling Hall at the Castle Bay area of Largs, including building the famous pond outside which was remembered in the article.

Meikle said: "The making of the artificial pond about 100 yards from the sea edge of one of the mildest spots on the Firth of Clyde, was considered to be one of his greatest works. Curling could be enjoyed four hours after frost, and with the thermometer never below the freezing point.

"The famous pond was simply a beautifully laid pavement of carefully dressed and jointed freestone, sunk a little way - not more than six inches at the very most.

"It was flushed with water in the doctor's day from a force pump and in an incredibly short period of time, a sheet of ice on which capital sport could be enjoyed. It was customary to flush it on the first sign of frost at night, and in the morning, it was ready for the use of the curlers."
You can see a painting of the original Largs pond here 

In the year 1833, Dr Cairnie also made some interesting scientific observations as he tried to obtain the best possibilities for curling.

In his diary, he said: "From January 9 to February 1, there has been excellent ice on our artificial pond for 14 days, although the thermometer during that period has only twice been observed as low as the freezing point, and that only for a very short space of time. We are perfectly certain that the pellicle of ice begins to form at 34 degrees of Fahrenheit, On one of the nights alluded to our pond was completely frozen to the bottom although the thermometer was never lower than 34 degrees." Meikle recalled: "He had a club attached to the pond, which was known as 'Cairnie's Own' and that it was a high honour to belong to it - independent altogether of the close fellowship it enabled one to have with an enthusiast like the Doctor - may be gathered from the fact that the membership was restricted to 10. In these days Largs was one of the keenest curling centres in Scotland with subscription to Largs Curling Club 1s, while the Gogoside Club was 4d." He also kept a very fine set of named and numbered stones with titles including Mars, Venus, Thistle, Rose, William Tell, Peel, La Liberte. No 1 was Napoleon, No. 2 was Nelson, and next came Largs.

For years after Doctor John Cairnie died, the artificial pond was well maintained and used until 1885 when it was demolished by house owner John Clark who had to make room for conservatories, although a model of two curling stones were carved into the building in respect of its sporting heritage and background.

Discussing the history of the sport in Scotland, Meikle said: "The honour of initiating the Royal Caledonia Club in Edinburgh is generally conceded to him. Certain it is, at any rate, that he presided at the first public meeting held in connection with its formation, and he was its first president."