Bilbo Baggins and Giffnock

These gates with the name “Dunavon” on them are all that remains of the once large Victorian villa that was built on the land behind them.
In its place, two blocks of flats named Hutchison Court replaced the villa in the 1970s.
I wanted to know more about Dunavon and who had lived there.
The 1901 census on the ScotlandsPeople website records that Hugh Brown and family lived there. Hugh’s occupation is stated as a muslin manufacturer.
The Brown family were still living there in 1906/7 according to the PO Directory for that year.
The 1907/8 PO Directory gives the owner as Andrew H Holm.
Andrew Holm, according to the 1911 census, was married to Jessie Wilson and together they had six children. Andrew’s occupation was stated as a distiller of whisky. Further research found that he was a partner in the company behind Lagavulin Distillery and later the producer of White Horse whisky. One of their children was Jean who married James Cuthbert an apprentice architect and later a noted psychiatrist. On 12th September 1931 they had a son, Ian Holm Cuthbert. You may know him as the actor Sir Ian Holm. One of the many parts he played was Bilbo Baggins. Sir Ian died in June 2020.


Family History - Portal to the Past