Gourock pt2

The Tower Hill

After a quick search on Google. I found that there is very little that explains what the Tower Hill was once used for instead all that appears are images of the place and the actual Tower. Onone website it said that it used to be used as a former lookout and study of one of the Lairds of Gourock House. Which used to stand close by. So instead I will tell you what I heard about the place from locals whilst growing up in this town.

Lookout during the World Wars - I was once told that it was a lookout for enemy planes, U-boats and ships and due to the Tower Hill being so visible it was easy to alert others. This does seem possible though the Tower itself did exist before that so that cannot be the reason it was built. Yet on the grounds of the Tower Hill Park there is a Royal Observer Corps(ROC) post. I once came across this a few years back and always wondered what it was. Once day the padlock was broken and I opened it and looked in and saw ladders leading down into darkness. The place was covered in spider webs so I did not climb down also the fear of what I may find stopped me from doing so. I managed to find more information on this ROC post and found that it was used during World War II.

ROC Post

Gourock ROC Post

It was an entrance to a copper mine - This was a common one that I heard though the location to the mine is located on Kirn Drive which is on a completely different side of Midton. The entrance has since been walled up and most passers by would think it was just a wall.

Copper Mine Entrance

Bunker - Like the others, I have heard this one a few times. Basically it was believed that the Tower was once open so that during the bombings in World War II locals could use it. Though this does make sense, at the time the town was smaller and houses were not very close to this Tower so it would be very inconvenient.

In short, it would be cool to know what it was used as in the past but now it is a great place to go on a warm day because the view is impressive.

The Tower

View from the Tower Hill

Granny Kempock

Located just behind Kempock Street is a stone which is referred to as the Granny Kempock. It is an odd shape and its origin is unknown. It is believed that it is an old altar to the pagan god Ba'al. There is a local superstition that when sailors are going on a long voyage of a couple who are just married must walk around the stone seven times for good luck. From where the stone is located and with the fencing around it I can imagine that this would be rather difficult.

There are also stories that say it was once a witch that had turned to stone.

The Granny Kempock

The Granny Kempock plaque