Inner city overcrowding meant the housing emphasis in Dundee shifted from central areas to peripheral sites in the 1940s.
‘Model’ estates – like the 2,800 homes built at Fintry between 1949 and 1960 – were created and people moved in droves to the brave new world on the boundary.
There were 2,000 cottages built and 800 tenement flats on farmland following the sheer growth in demand for housing following the Second World War.
Fintry became a tight-knit community and provided a secure home for working-class people who were ready to help each other when times were tough.
The scheme is served by the 32 and 33 bus and most people went to Fintry Primary before going up to Linlathen High, which opened in 1958.
There were problems in the 1960s and 1970s when the Fintry Shams did battle against the Hilltown Huns, Kirkton Huns, Lochee Fleet and the Beechie Mob.
On Friday evening the youth club would put on a disco at the Fintry Community Centre which would bring the heavy metal crowd, punks and skinheads together.
The 1980s brought a BMX track alongside the pitch and putt at Finlathen Park, although both were consigned to history by the following decade.
Fintry’s peaks and troughs over the coming years would coincide with the peaks and troughs of the city itself.
Its people has always been Fintry’s greatest asset.
Some famous ex-residents have included former Rangers and Scotland footballer Derek Johnstone and Placebo lead singer Brian Molko.
We have dived into our achieves and found photos which show how life has changed since the scheme started taking shape in the 1950s and 1960s.
The early years
Our first photograph, from 1956, shows the viaduct that passes over Finlathen Park and connects the communities of Fintry and Linlathen.
The bridge is more than 175 years old and collapsed in the summer of 2019 but repairs have since been made to restore it to its former glory.
Shaping a community
This image from June 1961 is a general view of the entrance to the estate from Claverhouse Road with the Fintry Road tenements on the right.
Farmland still dominates most of the left of the picture, before the dual carriageway was built, and it’s fascinating to see some of the vehicles passing through.
So much has changed but so much remains the same!
The Fintry shops
The names might have changed over the years but the row of shops near the top of Fintry Road look the same today as they did back in 1967.
Johnston’s Stores is prominent at the bottom of the picture and look at those bikes parked outside the shop!
These days you’d struggle to get a parking space outside the shops but clearly that wasn’t the case some 55 years ago when this shot was taken.
Further down the road
Fintry Road has two shopping sections and this 1971 image shows the VG store alongside the Fintry Post Office and the Dolphin Bar.
If memory serves, there also used to be a ride-on dolphin in the post office!
As for the ‘real’ Dolphin, well, it was around this time that the Chief Constable of Dundee City Police described it as “the worst public house in the city”.
It lost its licence back in 1973 but has never lost the affection of its regulars!
Fintry Fort
The Fort and Stockade was a popular play area in Finlathen Park.
This picture from August 1977 shows it being used by a group of youngsters, although it would be good to know what actually became of the play area.
Get in touch, please, if you can tell us.
It appears to have been situated down from where the adventure playground was built in the 1980s, before most of that was broken up in the 1990s.
Fintry Community Centre
Disco nights were extremely popular at the Fintry Community Centre.
At the height of Night Fever, it seems that disco was all the rage in Fintry and this image was taken during a competition at the centre in September 1980.
Top disco dancer (according to our caption) Elaine Hennessy judged the competition, which was launched to find “Dundee’s Disco Kid”.
Did they unearth the next John Travolta?
BMX track
Dundee’s first BMX cycle track was built in Finlathen Park.
Costing £840, the track was complete with straights, humps, bumps and jumps and proved hugely popular during the BMX craze of the 1980s.
This picture of three youngsters in full flow was taken in April 1984, although we’re not sure whether that white cardigan would pass a safety inspection.
Sadly, the BMX track didn’t outlast the BMX craze and only the odd hump amid the overgrown grass gives any clue that it ever existed.
Death swing
People of a certain age will well remember the adventure playground at Finlathen Park.
It was situated on the other side of the Dighty from the BMX track and included an aerial runway that was labelled a ‘death swing’ in the summer of 1984.
That’s because a 13-year-old girl was injured after an accident on the swing, which prompted a safety inspection to be carried out by Dundee District Council.
Safety officer Robert France declared himself satisfied with its safety when he tried it out for size – cheered on by some Fintry worthies.
Unofficial play area
This shot was taken in 1989 during improvement works on the Fintry tenements.
Cladding work was being carried out and this would be a familiar scene across the estate as youngsters scaled the heights once the workers had gone.
Our image suggests some of the scaffolding was perched precariously on wheels but this was Fintry in the 1980s, where little concern was given to such matters.
High times indeed!
Netball heroes
Fintry Primary School’s netball team was among the best in the city.
Netball was played by boys and girls at the school although only girls would compete in competition and they happened to be quite successful when they did.
This picture shows the girls from the 1991 team displaying another trophy.
Did anyone from Fintry go on to have a career in netball?
The Hap
The Hap was the go-to place for bits and bobs when it opened in August 1998.
Fancy goods, bedding, toiletries, greeting cards and stationery were being advertised at the ‘new’ Hap, which suggests this might have replaced an old model?
Either way, you can see how popular it was on the opening day and the shop was situated on Fintry Road just up from Fintry Nursery School.
The Hap is long gone but the building is still used as a shop today.
School days
Fintry Primary School has always been at the heart of the community.
A new campus which replaced the previous building opened in 2009 and was certainly popular with these children, who were pictured before the ribbon-cutting.
The old place has never looked better!
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