Tribute paid to trailblazing Motherwell publican and lawyer Trixi Givens

She was a familiar figure at what is the oldest continuously inhabited residence in the district and was in her 92nd year.

Trixi was born on September 2, 1930, and lived in the tenement building at 157 Craigneuk Street, Wishaw, above the family-owned public house – the ‘Beehive Bar’.

Trixi was the youngest of three siblings. She attended St Patrick’s Primary School in Shieldmuir, Elmwood Convent in Bothwell then St. Joseph’s Convent School in Girvan before heading off to Glasgow University, where she would graduate in Arts in 1952, then Bachelor of Laws at Glasgow’s Bute Hall in May 1954.

She took over the license for the ‘Beehive’ on her 21st birthday, making her the youngest licence holder in the country, at the same time as studying for her degree.

Trixi served her Legal apprenticeship with Alex McGregor and Co., then Messrs MacDonald & Jamieson, both of Glasgow, before setting up her own company – ‘Givens, Givens & Co.’ – with her older brother John, at North Claremont Street, Glasgow.

She re-located the business to Motherwell in the late 1960s and operated successfully there, until her retirement in 2006.

She was a fourth generation publican. Both her parents came from trade families. Her association with the licensed trade can be traced back more than 140 years. In September 1980, she was the first woman elected to the Board of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association. At the ‘Bullfrog’, Trixi and her elderly mother ran a tight ‘shop’ – she always used the old fashioned terminology for a Public House. In over 40 years in business there, the assistance of the local constabulary was never required to quell any disturbance.

She was a Notary Public, a member of the Faculty of Procurators of Glasgow and a reporter to the Children’s Panel. Trixi was a Christian lady in all aspects of her life.

Of mild eccentricities and generous nature, she always gave of her best and will be fondly remembered by all who knew her.