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The Airdrie Rob Roy Club was a literary, musical, social and drinking club with restricted membership and grandiose (or tongue-in-cheek) affectations. It seems to have grown out of a 'Grand Excursion' by the Airdrie Joint Stock Company to Alloa (a brewery town) in May 1866. The club itself was founded on 11 February 1867. In addition to their regular ordinary meetings they also had annual extraordinary meetings which involved excursions to far flung locations such as Aberfoyle, Moffat, Beattock, the Trossachs and Crieff. Extremely interesting and entertaining accounts of these excursions, some with photographs, have been left in the minutes. Full membership of the club was restricted to twenty individuals (called 'Knights'). There were also up to 10 probationary members. Members included a number of the town's better known businessmen and managers such as Andrew Ramsay, draper & future town councillor; William Baird, architect & town councillor; William Fleming, postmaster; and George Laing, prison governor.
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