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Lanarkshire - a Description
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Lanarkshire, one of the south-western counties of Scotland, and the most important county of the country. It ranks only tenth among the Scottish counties as to area, but is by far the most populous—containing, indeed, more inhabitants than the three next in order all taken together, and fully a quarter of the whole population of Scotland—and the most valuable, as the valuation, exclusive of burghs, is greater than that of the next two in order taken both together. It is bounded N by Stirlingshire and the detached portion of Dumbartonshire, NE by Stirlingshire, Linlithgowshire, and Edinburghshire, E by Peeblesshire, SE and S by Dumfriesshire, SW by Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire, W by Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, and NW by Dumbartonshire. Its greatest breadth, from E to W, is near the centre, from the point on the W on Glen Water (afterwards the Irvine), where the counties of Ayr, Renfrew, and Lanark meet, to Tarth Water E of Dolphinton, and this measures in a straight line 33 miles. Its greatest length, from NW, at the bridge over the Kelvin beyond Maryhill near Glasgow, to Earncraig Hill on the SE, is 50 miles. The total area is 881 square miles, of which at the time of the Ordnance Survey, 564,283·928 acres were land, 27·408 foreshore, and 4556·320 water, but there falls to be added to the water space and deducted from the land space other 83·75 acres for the Queen’s Dock, and 34·66 for Cessnock Dock. The land area is therefore 564,215·518 acres, of which barely one-half is cultivated, there being 256,737 acres in 1895 under crop, bare fallow, and grass, while 20,592 were under wood, most of the rest being rough hill pasture, barren moorland, or covered with pit, etc., refuse. Although the most populous county in Scotland, it is, in consequence of its size and of the barren nature of the southern part, not the most densely populated, being beaten (but somewhat narrowly) in this respect by both Edinburgh and Renfrew, which have respectively 1199 and 1187 persons to the square mile, while Lanark has 1186; the next, far behind, being Clackmannan with 605.
The county boundaries were readjusted by the Boundary Commissioners in 1891 in so far as connected with the adjoining county of Dumfries, and in 1892 in connection with that of Renfrew. The parishes of Kirkpatrick-Juxta and Moffat, that were partly in Lanarkshire and partly in Dumfrieshire, were placed wholly in the latter county. Culter parish, that was partly in Lanarkshire and partly in Peeblesshire, was restricted to its Lanarkshire portion, the Peeblesshire portion going to the Peeblesshire united parish of Broughton, Kilbucho, and Glenholm. There was thus no alteration in the boundaries with Peeblesshire. Of the parishes partly in Lanarkshire and partly in Renfrewshire, Cathcart was placed wholly in the latter county—the detached part, however, of its Lanarkshire portion going to the parish of East Kilbride. This, since its Renfrewshire detached part was transferred to the Renfrewshire parish of Eaglesham, is wholly in Lanarkshire. Govan parish, after giving off small portions to the parishes of Renfrew and Eastwood (in Renfrewshire), was placed wholly in the county of Lanark. For alterations on the boundaries of the interior parishes see the separate articles throughout the work.
Commencing at the NW corner the boundary line skirts the E end of Renfrew, crosses the Clyde below Whiteinch, and passes irregularly by Scaterig to the Kelvin immediately W of Maryhill. It follows the line of the Kelvin, except for a very short distance, to a point ¼ mile below the mouth of the Luggie, whence it strikes along the course of a small burn to Boghead near Lenzie, and from that almost due E to the Luggie beween Barbeth and Deerdykes. After following the course of the Luggie to near Torbrex it strikes E to the course of a small burn and passes down it to the Avon near the bend to the E of Fannyside Loch, follows the course of the Avon for ὧ mile, and then curves south-eastward to Black Loch, across which it passes to North Calder Water between Black Loch and Hillend Reservoir. It follows this stream to the sharp bend immediately E of Hillend Reservoir, and then strikes again SE to Forrestburn Water, which it follows to near Eastercraigs Hill (824 feet) in Linlithgowshire, whence it strikes across to a burn that joins the How Burn and flows into the river Almond. It follows this to its junction with the How Burn, and then passes northward across Polkemmet and Fauldhouse Moors to Fauldhouse Burn, which it follows to its junction with the Breich, takes the NW branch at Darmead Linn, follows it for 1 mile, then crosses to the centre branch, and follows this to the top of Black Hill (950 feet). Thence it goes N to Leven Seat (1133 feet), and from that follows the watershed between the Clyde and Almond basin by the SW end of Cobinshaw Reservoir (a small portion of which is in Lanarkshire) to Whitecraig (1425), whence it follows the course of Medwith Water to the Junction of Garvald Burn, and so to Felton E of Dolphinton station on the Caledonian and North British Joint line between Carstairs and Leadburn, and thence south-westwards to Broom Law (1399). From the SW shoulder of this hill it follows the course of the upper part of Biggar Water, and from that, first W and then SE, following in the main the course of the stream, to the top of Scawdmans Hill (1880 feet), and from this it passes irregularly westwards, following at first the watershed between the Clyde and Tweed basins till it reaches Clyde Law (1789), and then from that to the point (1566) S of the source of the Tweed where the counties of Peebles, Dumfries, and Lanark meet. The principal summits along this line are Culter Fell (2454 feet), Glenwhappen Rig (2262), Hillshaw Head (2141), Coomb Dod (2082), Culter Cleuch Shank (1801), Black Dod (1797), Bog Hill (1512), and Fletcher Hill (1522). From the point where the counties meet the line strikes south-westward across the valley of Eyan Water by Black Fell (1522 feet), Greenhill Dod (1403), Campland Hill (1571), and Mosshope Bank (East 1670; West 1583) to the shoulder of Rods Hill at the 1750 contour and along the watershed between the Clyde and Annan basins by BeId Knowe (1661) and the shoulder of Mosshope Fell, then across the valley of White Burn (Clyde) between Torrs (1598, Lanark) and Rivox Fell (1593, Dumfries), and thence in a zigzag westward to Whiteside Hill (1817). From that it passes SW across Crook Burn (Clyde) to Lamb Hill (1777 feet), and thence again along the watershed S and W by the S summit of Earncraig Hill (2000) to the NE summit of Cana Hill (2190). From this the line strikes northward and north-westward along the watershed between the basins of the Clyde and Nith to Whiteside Hill (1285 feet) E of Glenrae Burn, where it strikes across the valley of the burn, reaches the watershed again at Long Knowe (1216), and thence westward to Mount Stuart (1567), where it strikes across the hollow of a burn flowing from the NE into Spango Water (Nith), and so to the point on the shoulder of White Hill on the 1250 contour where the counties of Dumfries, Ayr, and Lanark meet, at what is known as Threeshire Stone. The principal summits along the line from Cana Hill to this point are Wedder Law (South 2185; North 2043), Scaw’d Law (2166), Little Scaw’d Law (1928), Durisdeer Hill (1861), Well Hill (1987), Comb Head (1998), Lowther Hill (2377), Wanlock Dod (1808), Sowen Dod (1784), Snarhead Hill (1663), Reecleuch Hill (1416), Slough Hill (1419), Bught Hill (1481), Leftshaw Hill (1513). From Threeshire Stone the line takes an irregular northerly direction along the watershed between the basins of the Clyde and the Ayr by Stony Hill (South 1843; North 1771), Cairn Table (1944), Little Cairn Table (1693), and Brack Hill (1306) to the reservoir on the head waters of the Douglas (Clyde) E of Glenbuck station on the Muirkirk section of the Caledonian railway. It crosses this reservoir near the centre and crosses the top of Hareshaw Hill (1527 feet), to Galawhistle Burn, along which it turns westward for 1 mile and then strikes westward again along the watershed to the head of the Avon, the chief hills being Priesthill Height (1615 feet), Goodbush Hill (1556), Bibblon Hill (1412), and Wedder Hill (1342). From Avon Head the line follows the course of the Avon for about 5 miles, and then turns up the course of a burn which joins it from the N, and follows this to its source near Meadowfoot, whence it strikes irregularly across to the point between Quarry Hill and the Laird’s Seat on Glen Water, where the counties of Ayr, Renfrew and Lanark meet, and roughly follows Glen Water to its source. From that it passes to Threepland Burn and along the course first of it and then of the White Cart as far as Netherlee, where it passes up the course of a burn from the E and along by the E side of the grounds of Cathcart Castle to the boundary with Glasgow, which it follows westward and northward, then along the boundary of GOVAN parish to Renfrew. The whole boundary is therefore almost coincident with the watershed of the middle and upper part of the basin of the Clyde, and the county is almost equivalent with the district known as Clydesdale.
Districts and Surface.—According to Hamilton of Wishaw—’ The shyre of Lanark was anciently of greater extent than now it is; for there was comprehended in it the whole sheriffdome of Ranfrew lying laigher upon Clyde, called of old the Baronie of Ranfrew (and is yett so designed when the Prince’s titles are enumerate) untill it was disjoyned therefra by King Robert the Third, in anno 1402, at such tyme as he erected what had been his father’s patromine, before his accession to the Crown in ane Princapalitie, in favour of his sone, Prince James And then, because of the largeness of its extent, it was divyded into two Wairds, called the Upper and the Nether Waird; and the burgh of Lanark declared to be the head burgh of the upper waird and Rutherglen of the nether waird: and since the dissolving of the shire of Ranfrew from the sheriff- dome of Lanark, the burgh of Lanark is the head burgh of the sheriffdome of Lanark, and Rutherglen the head burgh of the nether waird thereof.’ And he adds that, about the year 1455, the predecessor of the Duke of Hamilton became by the gift of James II. heritable sheriff, and that from that date the sheriff-deputes held courts at Lanark and Hamilton, the latter being ‘more centricall for the nether waird than the burgh of Rutherglen.’ From this time till the middle of the 18th century the county continued to form two wards; but then, in consequence of the increase of the population, a fresh division was made into three wards—the Upper, Middle, and Lower—Lanark still remaining the county town and the chief town of the upper, while Hamilton became the capital of the middle ward, and Glasgow of the lower; and in consequence of the rapid increase of some of the coal towns of the middle ward, this has been again sub-divided into two portions, with the seats of administration at Hamilton and Airdrie. The upper ward contains 332,337·536 acres, of which 1874·864 are water; the middle ward 194,211·438, of which 1868·038 are water; and the lower ward 42,318·682, of which 847·168 are water and 27·408 are foreshore. Politically the county is divided into six divisions—Govan, Partick, North-West, North-East, Mid, and South—each division returning a member to serve in parliament.
The surface of the county is very varied, but, speaking generally, rises from NW to S and SE up the valley of the Clyde, and from this again towards either side, the highest ground lying mostly along the borders; while the whole of the S is simply a choppy sea of rounded bill tops, with great undulating stretches of moorland, stretching away brown and bare as far as the eye can reach. ‘The mountains,’ says Mr Naismith in his Agricultural Survey of Clydesdale in 1794, ‘are so huddled together that their grandeur is lost to the eye of a beholder. When he traverses a hollow only the sides of the nearest mountain are presented to his view; and when he climbs an eminence he sees nothing but confused group of rugged tops, with the naked rock frequently appearing among the herbage.’ But though they thus lack the greatness of the Highland mountains, the hills of this beginning of the Southern Uplands have peculiar characteristics of their own. They are, says Dr John Brown, ‘not sharp and ridgy like the Highland mountains—
‘“Curling their monstrous heads and hanging them,”
like the fierce uplifted waves of a prodigious sea; they are more like round-backed lazy billows in the after’ swell of a storm, as if tumbling about in their sleep. They have all a sonsie, good-humoured, buirdly look.’ Sir Archibald Geikie has the same praise for it. ‘It is, he says in his Scenery and Geology of Scotland, speaking, however, generally of the Southern Uplands, ‘in short, a smooth, green, pastoral country, cultivated along the larger valleys, with its hills left bare for sheep, yet showing enough of dark bushless moor to remind us of its altitude above the more fertile plains that bound it on the northern and southern sides. Yet with all this tameness and uniformity of outline, there is something irresistibly attractive in the green monotony of these lonely hills, with their never ending repetitions of the same pasture-covered slopes, sweeping down into the same narrow valleys, through which, amid strips of fairy-like meadow, the same clear stream seems ever to be murmuring on its way beside us. Save among the higher districts, there is nothing savage or rugged in the landscape. Wandering through these uplands, we feel none of that oppressive awe which is called forth by the sterner features of the north. There is a tenderness in the landscape—
‘“A grace of forest charms decayed
And pastoral melancholy “—
that, in place of subduing and overawing us, calls forth a sympathy which, though we cannot perchance tell why it should be given, we can hardly refuse to give.’
The difference in the names of places is also to be noted, there being a total absence of the Celtic titles that prevail to the N of the central valley of Scotland. The heights are all hills, or dods, or laws, or rigs, or fells, or heads, or banks, with one or two cairns; but bens and sgurrs and meals are totally absent. On the NE border the hills do not rise to 1000 feet till near the point where the counties of Edinburgh, Peebles, and Lanark meet, and here the SW end of the Pentland Hills slopes out in White Craig (1425 feet), Black Birn (1213), Harrows Law (1360), Black Law (1336), Bleak Law (1460), Mid Hill (1347), and Left Law (1210). West of the Clyde at Symington are the Tinto Hills, the principal being Tinto Tap (2335 feet), Scaut Hill (1925) to the E, and Lochlyock Hill (1734) to the W. Beside the heights already mentioned as occurring along the borders of the county, the others in the district, 5, SE, and SW of Tinto attain a height of from 1000 to 2403 feet. Only a few of the more important summits can here be given. About Lamington, Lamington Hill (1614 feet), Broadhill (1520), and Dungavel Hill (1675); along the SE towards the border, Ward Law (1578), Woodycleuch Dod (1769), Snowgill Hill (1874), Windgill Bank (1842), The Seat (1939), Rome Hill (1852), Tewsgil Hill (1867), Dun Law (1669), Blackwater Rig (1676) Fairburn Rig (1779), Midge Hill (1613), Yearngill Head (1804), The Dod (1599), Lady Cairn (1716), Harleyburn Head (1776), Erickstane Hill (1527), Tomont Hill (1652), and Wintercleuch Fell (1804); in the extreme S, Comb Law (2107), Rodger Law (2257), Ballencleuch Law (2267), and Shiel Dod (2190); about the village of Leadhills—which is itself 1307 feet above sea-level, and the highest inhabited land in Scotland—are Rake Law (1620), Wellgrain Dod (1613), Harryburn Brae (1829), Louisie Wood Law (2028), White Law (1941), Dun Law (2216), Dungrain Law (2186), and Green Lowther (2402, the highest hill in the county); near Crawfordjohn, Black Hill (1260), Drake Law (1584), and Mountherrick Hill (1400); along the upper waters of the Duneaton and Douglas, Common Hill (1370), Craig Kinny (1616), Wedder Dod (1507), Fingland Hill (1511), Douglas Rig (1454), Dryrigs Hill (1443), Achandaff Hill (1399), Hartwood Hill (1311), Urit Hill (1476), Parish-holm Hill (1400), Windrow Hill (1297), and Hagshaw Hill (1540); W of the upper waters of the Douglas, Meikle Auchinstilloch (1609), Nutberry Hill (1712), Auchingilloch (1514), Dunside Rig (1308), Harting Rig (1475), and Side Hill (1411); near the point on Glen Water, where Ayr, Renfrew, and Lanark meet, Muir Hill (1096), Laird’s Seat (1185), Ardochrig Hill (1130), and Ellrig (1215), from which the ground slopes northward to the Clyde.
Though the upper ward is, as we have seen, much more extensive than either of the other wards, it is comparatively far less valuable. Its uplands occupy a very large proportion of the area, and at least ⅗ of the entire area are occupied by poor pasture or waste, and un-improvable moorland. The remainder, however, contains, especially along the Carlisle road, and among the verdant holms which in many places stretch along the Clyde and its tributaries, well wooded, fertile, and in some cases highly cultivated tracts. Many of the hills are green, even to the very top, and produce pasture the quality of which is attested by the excellence of the sheep reared on it. In the lower part of the ward the hard and barren aspect is entirely softened; and hill and dale, and wood and meadow are combined so as to produce scenery noted for its beauty, the district around the Falls of Clyde near Lanark being particularly well known. Though the middle ward is essentially lowland, the surface is very varied, and except in the alluvial meads along the streams but little of it is flat. High hills occupy the SW border, and lofty moors stretch along the NE, while the centre slopes away from the valley of the Clyde in rolling undulations. The most fertile district is the central one, along both banks of the Clyde from end to end of the ward, measuring upwards of 12 miles in length and nearly 6 in average breadth. The drive from Lanark to Bothwell is remarkably fine. The hills are covered with pasture or copse to the very top, and dotted all along are policies of mansion-houses well wooded with fine old trees. Here, too, are the orchards for which Clydesdale has been famous since the days of the Venerable Bede, and which still produce excellent crops of apples, pears, plums, gooseberries, currants, and strawberries. The last three, though of later introduction than the others, are those that are now mostly attended to. It is in this ward also as well as the lower part of the upper ward that the coal and iron industries, to be afterwards noticed, are mostly concentrated. The lower ward is generally level or with but gentle undulations, the only considerable height being the ridge of Cathkin and Dechmont (602 feet) along the SW border. Small, however, as the district is, compared with either of the other two, it yet derives very great importance from containing the city of Glasgow and its environs; while the artificial deepening of the Clyde, and the improvements in its navigation, give this district and its vast population and manufactures all the same advantages of commerce as if it lay on the coast. In the upper ward there is very good shooting.
Rivers and Lochs. —The drainage of the county is almost entirely carried off by the Clyde, which, rising in the extreme S of the county, flows at first N to between Pettinain and Carnwath, and then in a general north-westerly direction to the Firth at Dumbarton. The course of the river and its tributaries are separately noticed in the article CLYDE, and we shall merely here mention the drainage basins. The rainfall of the extreme S is carried off by Daer Water (the principal source of the river) and the burns that flow into it, the principal being Crook Burn (E), which rises at Queensberry Hill in Dumfriesshire, and Powtrail Water (W), which is erroneously marked on the Ordnance Survey map as Potrail. On the E and N of the main basin the district S of Culter is drained by Culter Water; about Biggar by Biggar Water, and the burns that join it flowing through Peeblesshire to the Tweed; E and NE of Carnwath, at the end of the Pentland Hills, by the South Medwin and the North Medwin, uniting to form the Medwin which joins the Clyde at the sharp bend between Pettinain and Carnwath; NE of Lanark by Abbey Burn (N) and Dippool Water (E), which unite to form Mouse Water joining the Clyde about 1 mile below Lanark; between Lanark and Wishaw by Fiddler Burn, Jock’s Burn, and Garrion Gill; N of Wishaw by South Calder Water joining the Clyde opposite Hamilton; S of Coatbridge by North Calder Water joining the Clyde below Uddingston, and by Forrestburn Water flowing to the Avon between Linlithgowshire and Stirlingshire; the rest of the N by the Luggie, flowing into the Kelvin, and the Kelvin itself, both streams running part of their course along the borders of the detached portion of Dumbartonshire already noticed. As the Clyde runs nearer to the E and N sides of the county than to the SW and W, the tributaries that join it from these directions are much larger and more important than those just given. Duneaton Water, Douglas Water, and the Avon, which are considerable streams, are noticed particularly in separate articles. The district about Leadhills is drained by Glengonner Water and Elvan Water; between Cairntable and the Clyde about Crawfordjohn by Duneaton Water, SW and NE of Douglas by Douglas Water, S and N of Lesmahagow by the Nethan; about Strathaven, Stonehouse, and Lanark by the Avon; between Hamilton and East Kilbride by Rotten Calder Water, which joins the Clyde below the mouth of North Calder Water; and farther W on the border of Renfrewshire by the White Cart. The scenery along the Clyde and its tributaries, which is in many places very beautiful, is noticed partly in the articles on these streams themselves, and partly in the separate articles on the parishes through which they flow. The lochs of Lanarkshire are neither numerous nor important. Between Glasgow and Coatbridge are Hogganfield, Frankfield, Bishop, Johnston, Woodend, and Lochend Lochs; the N shore of Bishop Loch is occupied by the policies of Gartloch House, and the SE end of Lochend Loch by the woods of Drumpellier. To the E of Airdrie, and between that and the border of the county, are a reservoir near Chapelhall, and NE from that Lilly Loch, Hillend Reservoir for supplying the Monkland Canal with water, and Black Loch on the border and partly in Stirlingshire. North of Dunsyre, in a bleak district of considerable elevation, is Crane Loch, and W of Carnwath is White Loch with banks partly wooded. South-east of Lanark, and surrounded by wood, is Lang Loch. None of them are of any great size, the largest being Hillend Reservoir, 1 mile long, ½ wide, and covering 307 acres; Bishop Loch, 1 mile long and 2 furlongs wide; and the reservoir near Chapelhall, 6 furlongs long and 2 wide. For fishing the lochs are almost worthless, but in the rivers good sport is in many cases to be had, trout varying from ¼ lb. to 5 lbs.
Geology. —The geology of this county possesses features of special importance on account of the remarkable development of the Carboniferous formation, with its valuable beds of coal, ironstone, and limestone. This great formation occupies the whole of the Clyde basin, from Crossford, at the mouth of the Nethan Water, to the limits of the county round Glasgow. Briefly stated, it may be said to form a trough or syncline running in NNE and SSW direction; the centre being occupied by the highest members of the system, while the lower divisions come to the surface in regular succession round the edge of the basin, save where the natural order is disturbed by faults. To the S of this area of Carboniferous rocks lies the Douglas coalfield in the heart of a great development of Lower Old Red Sandstone strata; while beyond the limits of the Old Red Sandstone, in the uplands in the S of the county, we have a portion of the belt of Lower Silurian rocks which stretch from sea to sea.
Beginning with the Lower Silurian rocks forming the high grounds round the sources of the Clyde, they are bounded on the N by a line drawn from the village of Crawfordjohn, NE by Roberton, Lamington, to the edge of the county near Culter. This line indicates the position of a great fault which brings the Lower Old Red Sandstone into conjunction with the Lower Silurian rocks. To the S of this dislocation the Silurian strata are thrown into a synclinal fold, in the centre of which occur grits and conglomerates yielding fossils of Caradoc age. These are underlaid by black shales charged with graptolites, grey and olive shales, flags and greywackes, with a band of fine conglomerate locally known as ‘the Haggis Rock.’ To the N of the fault just referred to, strata of Upper Silurian age occur in the midst of the Old Red Sandstone area, in two separate tracts which have been revealed by the denudation of the later formations. They occur along the crests of anticlinal folds running in a NE and SW direction. One of these areas of Upper Silurian rocks extends along the arch of the Hagshaw Hills N of Douglas; while the other is traceable from the Logan Water SW by Nutberry Hill and Priesthill Height, to the Greenock Water N of Muirkirk. In each case, on the N side of the anticlinal fold, there is a regular ascending series from the Upper Silurian rocks into the basement beds of the Lower Old Red Sandstone, while on the S side of the arch, the natural succession is disturbed by a powerful fault. At the top of the series the strata consist of sandy flags and shales with green shales, sandy mudstones, and sandstone bands graduating downwards into blue shales with calcareous nodules. The latter horizon yielded the famous specimens of Eurypterids to the late Dr Slimon of Lesmahagow, the best examples having been obtained in the Logan Water above Dunside. Below this horizon the beds consist of alternations of yellow crusted greywackes, flags, and shales. The base of the series is not reached, however, but altogether there must be about 3500 feet of strata exposed in the various sections.
The Lower Old Red Sandstone, as developed in the county, is divisible into three groups, which are here stated in ascending order—(1) a lower group consisting of alternations of conglomerates and sandstones, with occasional green and red mudstones; (2) a middle group composed mainly of contemporaneous volcanic rocks, save at the top where thin intercalations of sandstones and conglomerates are met with; (3) an upper group consisting of sandstones, grits, and conglomerates, with pebbles of porphyrite. The lowest of these groups is most largely developed in Lanarkshire. It extends from Tinto Hill N by Carmichael and the well-known ravine of the Clyde near Lanark, to a point on the river not far from Crossford. It forms a tongue also to the NE of Lanark in the direction of Kilcadzow, while, towards the W, the members of this group are traceable by Lesmahagow to the Upper Silurian tract of Nutberry Hill. But further, they cover the whole area between this Upper Silurian tract and the Lower Carboniferous volcanic rocks of the Avon, arid they are also met with on both sides of the Upper Silurian anticline on the Hagshaw Hills.
The members of the middle group extend along the margin of the Douglas coalfield, lapping round the S and E slopes of Tinto, and stretching N as far as Thankerton and Covington. In this district the volcanic rocks are inclined to the S, but they reappear at Lamington with a N dip. On the slopes of Tinto the members of the lower group are inclined, to the N, and they are covered unconformably by the green and purple porphyrites and melaphyres of the middle division. It is evident, therefore, that we have, in the Tinto area, a continuation of the marked unconformity between these groups which obtains in the Pentlands. This unconformability is, however, merely local, for when we pass W to the section in the Duneaton Water, we find a regular ascending series from the one group into the other. Sir Archibald Geikie has suggested that this local unconformity, which extends from Midlothian into Lanarkshire, may be connected with the early stages of the volcanic activity which resulted in the ejection of the lavas and ashes constituting the middle group of the Lower Old Red Sandstone.
The strata comprising the upper subdivision lie in a synclinal fold of the volcanic series between the Clyde at Lamington and the Duneaton Water. At the base the beds consist of grey grits and yellow sandstones passing upwards into massive conglomerates, which are overlaid by chocolate sandstones. In this group we have indications of the cessation of volcanic activity. The sand stones at the base are largely composed of trappean detritus, and the pebbles in the conglomerates are composed mainly of porphyrite obtained from the degradation of the previously erupted lavas.
The Upper Silurian and Lower Old Red Sandstone strata are pierced by dykes and sheets of quartz-felsite. These intrusive masses may be traced along the S side of the Upper Silurian tract at Nutberry Hill, whence they are continued W into Ayrshire. In the Old Red Sandstone areas the quartz-felsite has been injected mainly along the lines of bedding, and hence the trend of the intrusive masses varies with the strike of the strata. The crest of Tinto is composed of a great intrusive sheet of pink felsite, which is evidently older than the volcanic series of the Lower Old Red Sandstone, inasmuch as the latter group laps round the felsite and reposes on it unconformably. Similar intrusive masses occur in the Nethan Water section at Lesmahagow, and in the Clyde at Hazlebank. On the county boundary, between Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, at Blackside End, SW of Strathaven, there is an interesting example of local metamorphism; the felspathic sandstones and grits having been converted into crystalline rocks, such as minette and granite.
The order of succession of the various divisions of the Carboniferous system in the basin of the Clyde may by readily grasped from the following table, condensed from the official reports of the Geological Survey; the different groups being given in descending order:
Coal | (2.) Sandstones, shales, marl, and fireclays, with no workable coal seams. | |||
Millstone Grit. | Coarse grits and sandstones, with thick beds of fireclay. Thin coals and ironstones and thin limestones are occasionally associated with this division. | |||
Carboniferous Formation. | ||||
| (3) Limestones sandstones and shales, with thin coals. | |||
Calciferous Sandstone Series. | (2.) Sandstones, shales, marl, and fireclays, with cement-stone bands (cementstone group). In the W of Lanarkshire this group is represented by a great succession of interbedded volcanic rocks. (1.) Red sandstones and conglomerates, with cornstones, resting unconformably on older formations. |
Round the SE margin of the Clyde basin the two subdivisions of the Calciferous Sandstone series are typically represented. The lower red sandstone group extends from Hyndford Bridge on the Clyde E by Carnwath at the county boundary at Dunsyre Hill, being a continuation of the Cairn Hill sandstones of the Pentland chain, while the members of the cementstone group lap round the tongue of Lower Old Red Sandstone at Kilcadzow. In this portion of the basin there is clear evidence of the gradual disappearance of the lower group, and of the overlap of the cementstones, for in the section of the Mouse Water and its tributaries the latter rest directly on the Lower Old Red Sandstone. This overlap gradually increases towards the W, for between the valley of the Clyde and Strathaven the Carboniferous Limestone rests immediately on the Old Red Sandstone. Though the general type of the cementstone group in the SE part of the basin is widely different from that in the basin of the Forth, yet it is important to note that at Auchengray there is a thin development of white sand stones and dark shales at the top of the series which evidently represent the oil shales of Midlothian. These two groups are also met with in the basin of Carboniferous rocks at Douglas. They flank the basin on the E side, dipping below the Carboniferous Limestone series at Ponfeigh, and they also occur at the SW margin in the Kennox and Carmacoup Waters. In this area additional evidence is obtained of the gradual disappearance of both these divisions of the Calciferous Sandstones, and of their being overlapped by the Carboniferous Limestone. In the Nethan section, about a mile S from Lesmahagow, and again in the district of Kennox Water, the latter series rests unconformably on the Old Red Sandstone. In the W of Lanarkshire, however, along the W margin of the Clyde basin the cementstone group is replaced by a great succession of contemporaneous volcanic rocks, consisting of porphyrites, melaphyres, and tuffs indicating prolonged volcanic activity in the early part of the Carboniferous period. This great volcanic plateau dips underneath the Carboniferous Limestone of the Clyde basin, reappearing to the N in the chain of the Campsie Fells. Along the junction line between the volcanic series and the overlying Carboniferous Limestone, ashy grits and shales intervene, which have been derived from the denudation of the trappean masses.
The Carboniferous Limestone series forms a belt of variable width round the Clyde basin, extending from East Kilbride by West Quarter to Auchenheath near Lesmahagow. From thence it crosses the Clyde at Crossford, and is traceable by Carluke and Wilsontown to the county boundary. Along this area the triple classification of the series is clearly marked, but perhaps it is most typically developed in the neighbourhood of Carluke. In that district the lowest group contains from twelve to fifteen beds of limestone of variable thickness; the middle group comprises five seams of coal from 3 inches to 4 feet thick; while the upper division includes three beds of limestone. The Gair limestone, long known for its fossils, is the highest band in the Carboniferous Limestone series of Carluke, and is on the same horizon as the Levenseat limestone, N of Wilsontown, and the Castlecary limestone of the Stirlingshire coalfield. Between Glasgow and the Kelvin valley this limestone has not as yet been identified, and hence the Robroyston or Calmy limestone is regarded as the top of this series in that neighbourhood. In the Auchenheath district the most valuable mineral is the Lesmahagow gas coal, which occurs in the middle group. The same subdivisions are traceable in the Douglas basin, but they approach more nearly to the types met with in the Muirkirk coalfield. The limestones of the lower division are not so largely developed as at Carluke, but the coal seams of the middle division are more abundant, and they are associated with blackband and clayband ironstones. At the base of the upper division a band of limestone, upwards of 7 feet thick, is met with, which is on the same horizon as the ‘Index’ limestone of the Stirlingshire and Dumbartonshire coalfields. Attention has already been directed to the proofs of overlap in the Clyde and Douglas basins; but still more conclusive evidence of this is supplied by the occurrence of a small outlier of Carboniferous Limestone on the hills of Old Red Sandstone a mile S of Tinto, while a similar patch occurs not far to the SW. These phenomena point to the uneven contour of the old land surface on which the Carboniferous strata were deposited, and to the gradual submergence of the old land during the deposition of the higher groups.
The Millstone Grit series occurs in the S and SE portions of the basin, where it is of considerable thickness; it is also found in the N part of the basin between Hogganfield and Glenboig; on the W side it is thrown out by faults bringing the Coal-measures into conjunction with the Carboniferous Limestone and the vo1canic rocks of the Cathkin Hills. This group yields excellent fireclays in the N part of the county, which are worked at Glenboig, Gartcosh, and Garnkirk.
The Coal-measures, with their overlying red sandstones, occupy a wide area, extending from Glasgow E by Coatbridge and Airdrie to the county boundary at Fauldhouse Moor. Towards the S they run up the valley of the Clyde as far as Dalserf, while in the Douglas basin a small outlier is also met with. A vertical section of the Clyde coalfield comprises upwards of eleven beds of coal, of which the Ell, the Pyotshaw, the Main, the Splint, the Virtuewell, and the Kiltongue seams are the most important. The bands of ironstone vary in number from four to seven, the highest being the Palacecraig band, which, however, is only of local occurrence. The coalfield is traversed by numerous faults, many of which run in an E and W direction, repeating the various seams and causing them to spread over a wider area. The red sandstones forming the upper division of the Coal-measures probably rest unconformably on the lower group, but the evidence is not so conclusive as in Ayrshire.
Throughout the Carboniferous area various intrusive sheets of basalt rock occur, partly in the Carboniferous Limestone series, partly in the Millstone Grit, and partly in the Coal-measures. Of these the largest masses occur in the neighbourhood of Shotts; others are to be met with at Hogganfield near Glasgow; while still smaller bosses come to the surface near Carluke and Wilsontown. In the Carluke district also, at Yieldshields, and to the E of Kilcadzow, several ‘necks’ pierce the Carboniferous strata which represent old volcanic orifices, probably of Permian age. Still more interesting are the long narrow dykes of basalt of Miocene age which are found throughout the county. Two of them run parallel with each other from the Hagshaw Hills near Douglas, SE by Abington to near the county boundary.
In the N part of the Clyde basin another of these dykes is traceable from Chryston by Greengairs to Limerig.
The direction of the ice-flow in the upper part of the county is toward the N, but on reaching the great midland valley where the ice from the southern uplands coalesced with that streaming from the Highlands, the trend veers round to the E. Throughout the county there is a great development of boulder clay and deposits of sand and gravel, either in the form of high level terraces, or ridged up in long kames as on the mossy ground NE of Carstairs. The 100-feet, 50-feet, and 25-feet sea-beaches are also represented in the lower reaches of the Clyde. The shelly clays occurring along the estuary will be referred to in connection with the geology of Renfrewshire.
Soils and Agriculture.—It may generally be said that in the centre and W of the county the soil is cold and clayey, and everywhere intermixed with tracts of bog, while in the SE the soil is light and open. In the S a very large proportion of the parishes of Douglas, Whiston, Lanington, Culter, Crawfordjohn, and Crawford may be said to be uncultivated, while considerable tracts of East Kilbride, Avondale, Lesmahagow, and Carmichael, as well as of New Monkland, Shotts, Cambusmichael, as well as of New Monkland, Shotts, Cambusnethan, Carluke, Carnwath, Dunsyre, Walston, and Dolphinton are in the same condition. In the upper ward altogether the soil is poor thin moor or wet moss, and there is in consequence but little tillage, the district being mostly suited for rough feeding for stock, and hence it is given up to sheep and dairy farming. Where cultivation is carried on the principal crops are barley and oats, though wheat is found to thrive in the lower valleys. The climatic conditions are much the same as in any other tract of the same altitude, with keen winter frosts and the winds chilly even at midsummer. In the middle ward on the ground farthest from the Clyde, and occupying about of the whole district, the soil is peat and improved moor; in the centre, strong clay intermixed with sand; and along the banks of the Clyde and its large tributaries, fertile alluvial deposits overlying gravel. The climate is mild, though somewhat damp. Of the 715 acres which in 1895 were occupied by orchards within the county, the great proportion is in this ward. Even in the lower ward the soil is to a considerable extent of a mossy or moory nature, and was originally in many places bleak and unkindly, but the greater part of it has now been brought into a state of high cultivation. Between 1882 and 1895 a considerable advance in the production of the market garden has to be recorded, the number of acres that were occupied as market gardens having increased from 319 in the former year to 1684 in the latter. The climate, though mild, is damp, rain falling very frequently.
Westerly and south-westerly winds prevail during, on an average, 240 days in the year, and as they come from the Atlantic, with but little modification from the intervening land, they have all the mildness derived from contact with the heated waters of the Gulf Stream, and, being at the same time heavily charged with vapour, they generally, when they come in contact with the colder rising grounds, cause heavy rains. In the middle ward rain often falls on the heights on both sides, while the trough of the Clyde escapes. Winds from the NE are next in frequency to those from the SW, and though cold are generally dry, and the same may be said of the winds from the N and NW, which are least frequent of all. East winds, though sharper than those from the W or SW, are so modified by the high ground to the E that they seldom bring to Lanarkshire such cold and damp as they diffuse along the eastern seaboard. In the low grounds intense frost is seldom of long continuance, and deep long-lying snow is very rare. The most dangerous period of the year for agriculture is seed-time, for owing to continuous wet weather sowing must either take place while the soil is quite unfit for it, or is kept back till an unduly late period.
Notwithstanding, however, all the drawbacks of climate, the agriculture of Lanarkshire is now in a high condition, and the progress of the improvement that first began with vigorous draining, enclosing, and planting operations in the latter half of the 18th century has been ever since steady and rapid; and, though a great deal still remains to be accomplished before matters can attain to the high standard that prevails throughout the Lothians, it must be remembered that there are here much stiffer obstacles to contend against. The areas under the various crops at different dates are given in the following tables :—
GRAIN CROP—Acres.
Year | Wheat | Barley or Bere | Oat. | Total |
1854 | 6,441 | 2,543 | 56,117 | 65,101 |
GRASS, Root CROPS, ETC.—ACRES.
Year | Hay and Grass | Permanent | Turnips | Potatoes |
1854 | 97,120 | 73,597 | 10,886 | 8,017 |
while there are about 5200 acres annually under beans, rye, vetches, fallow, etc. As 1854 was the first year of the agricultural returns, it is possibly not very accurate, for the figures look unduly high. The acres under sown crop, exclusive of hay and grass, amount as given in that year to 93,040, but in 1866 the number was only 72,509; in 1868, 72,293; in 1870—the highest year— 77,179; in 1874, 70,943; in 1882, 71,726; and in 1895, 57,737. The average therefore, leaving 1854 and the abnormally high year 1870 out of account, is about 69,000 acres, The total area under crop, bare fallow, and grass of all kinds has increased from 251,121 in 1882 to 256,737 in 1895, and it is noteworthy that until 1895 the whole increase has been in permanent pasture, the grass under rotation having fallen off considerably, but in that year, as will be perceived from the table, the result has been greatly reversed. The farms are mostly worked on the five shift rotation. The average yield of wheat per acre is 32 bushels; barley and bere, 35; oats 34; turnips, 15 tons; and potatoes, 4½ tons.
The agricultural live stock in the county at different periods is shown in the following table, and attention may be directed to the very considerably increased numbers of the sheep and cattle within recent years which it reveals :—
Year | Cattle | Horses | Sheep | Pig | Total |
1854 | 58,954 | 7,241 | 127,916 | 8,891 | 203,002 |
Throughout the county generally the cattle are Ayrshires of greater or less purity, or crosses produced by breeding with Ayrshire cows and a shorthorn bull, and in the upper parishes there are also considerable numbers of Highland cattle kept. There are many large dairy-farms, partly for the supply of milk and butter to Glasgow, and, particularly in the upper ward, for the manufacture of Dunlop cheese, the most esteemed qualities coming from Carnwath and Lesmahagow. The sheep stock is about equally divided between Cheviots and blackfaced, though crosses from Cheviot rams have now become pretty common. Down to about 1790 there were none but blackfaced, and though Cheviots were introduced about that year they made very slow progress, and it was not till after 1840 that they became at all common. The horses are of a breed which, from having originated in the district, is known as the Clydesdale, and which has now attained a world-wide celebrity. The tradition, as given in the old Statistical Account, was that Clydesdales resulted from a cross between a Flemish stallion and a Scotch mare, the former having been introduced by the Duke of Hamilton about the middle of the 17th century; but Aiton in his Report on the Agriculture of Ayrshire (1810) combated this, and maintained that the breed was originated by John Paterson of Lochlyoch, in Carmichael, who, between 1715 and 1720, brought from England a Flemish stallion, and so improved his stock that it became the most noted in Lanarkshire. Though this is undoubtedly true, it is also certain that there were, at a much earlier date, horses in or about Clydesdale noted for size, for we find in the Rotuli Scotiæ for 1352 a safe conduct granted by King Edward to the Earl of Douglas for ‘ten large horses belonging to the said William Douglas to come from certain places in Scotland’ into Teviotdale, and these, some of which would undoubtedly be about Clydesdale, may have prepared the way for subsequent improvements. However this may be, Clydesdales still retain many characteristics of their Flemish origin, and it is certain that they originated and were brought to a state of consider able perfection in the 18th century in the upper ward, and particularly about Lamington, Libberton, Roberton, Symington, Culter, Carmichael, and Pettinain. In the beginning of the 19th century breeding spread from the upper ward to other parts of the county, and even. to districts outside, and in 1823, at the Highland Society’s show at Perth, a premium of £10 was offered for the best Clydesdale, fitted for working strong lands, the object being to encourage ‘draught-horses calculated for the strong lands, of which there cannot be a better model than the Clydesdale horse.’ Breeding is now general all over the world, but the cradle of the race can still hold its own. The points of’ a good Clydesdale are—head with a broad jaw ending in a muzzle which is not too fine or tapering, but has large open nostrils; neck, strong and massive; shoulder, more oblique than in the English draught-horse (and hence the admirable quick step); strong forearm, broad flat knee, moderately sloped pasterns of medium length; broad low-set hind quarters, with muscular thighs, and broad well-developed hocks; the average height is from 16½ to 17 hands, and the colours that are preferred are different shades of brown; generally a portion of one of the legs at least is white, and there is a white star or stripe on the face. Some of the sheep farms are of considerable size, the largest being of course in the upper ward. The area under sheep alone is probably nearly 200,000 acres, and there are about 30,000 acres quite waste. The largest proprietors are the Earl of Home, the Duke of Hamilton, Sir S. M. Lockhart, Sir E. A. Colebrooke, the Earl of Hopetoun, Sir Wyndham Anstruther, and Lord Lamington, each of whom holds over 10,000 acres, while the Duke of Buccleuch and Colonel Buchanan of Drumpellier are also extensive holders, Of the total of about 20,000 persons who hold land within the county, about 89 per cent. hold less than one acre. Excluding the villa residences about the large towns, some of the principal mansions are Hamilton Palace, Abington House, Aikenhead House, Allanton House, Auchinairn House, Auchingray House, Auchinraith, Avonholm, Barlanark House, Bedlay, Bellahouston, Biggar Park, Birkwood, Blackwood, Bothwell Castle, Bothwell Park, Bonnington, Braefield House, Braidwood, Cadder House, Caldergrove, Calderpark, Calderwood, Cambusnethan Priory, Cambuswallace, Carfin House, Carmichael House, Carmyle House, Carnwath House, Carstairs House, Castlemilk, Cathkin House, Cleghorn House, Cleland House, Cliftonhill House, Coltness House, Corehouse, Cornhill, Craighead House, Craigthornhill, Crossbasket, Crutherland, Culter House, Daldowie, Dalserf House, Dalziel House, Dolphinton House, Drumpellier, Douglas Castle, Douglas Park, Earnock House, Easterhill House, Eastfield, Edmonston Castle, Fairhill, Farme House, Frankfield House, Garnkirk House, Gartferry, Gartsherrie, Hailside, Hartree House, Jerviston House, Kenmure House, Lambhill House, Lawmuir, Lee House, Letham House, Lymekilns House, Mauldslie Castle, Milton Lockhart, Monkland House, Murdoston House, Muirburn, Netherfield House, Newton House, Robroyston, Rocksoles, Rosehall, Ross House, Smyllum, Springfield, St John’s Kirk, Stonebyres, Symington, Tannochside, Thornwood House, Torrance, Udston House, Viewpark, Westburn House, Westquarter House, Wishaw House, and Woodhall.
Industries.—The cotton goods for which Glasgow is the great depository are to a very considerable extent woven in different villages and parishes throughout the county, this branch of manufacture alone yielding support to a very large proportion of the population. Prior to 1700 the manufactures of Lanarkshire were few and unimportant, and even down to 1727 they continued to be less extensive than those of either Perthshire or Forfarshire. About 1750 they began to develop rapidly, and this became still more the case after the impulse given to the cotton trade by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1784. Lanarkshire was particularly qualified for embracing, this new industry—first, from its possession of an inexhaustible supply of coal; and next iron having the seaports on the Clyde, by means of which the merchants of Glasgow could hold communication with almost all the markets of the world. And so wealth flowed into the county; old coal mines were worked on improved principles with renewed spirit, and new ones opened; the iron trade came into existence; and hundreds, crowding to all the centres where minerals abounded, pushed the county into the first rank for population, wealth, and importance The extent and richness of the mineral resources have been noticed in the section dealing with the geology, and it remains here to notice their economic importance. The coal and iron pits and works are scattered all over the northern part of the county, and are noticed in connection with the various parishes in which they occur, or in separate articles dealing with the various towns and villages; but they are principally concentrated about Glasgow, Coatbridge, Airdrie, Hamilton, Wishaw, and Lesmahagow, where the furnaces for the manufacture of pig-iron are in some places so numerous as to form a characteristic feature of the district. Everywhere there are constantly clouds of smoke, the glare of furnaces, and all the clatter of rolling mills, foundries, and works for the manufacture of different kinds of machinery. At Garnkirk, and elsewhere in Cadder parish, fireclay of excellent quality abounds, and is largely worked; and weaving and dyeing, though now pretty much monopolised by Glasgow and its neighbourhood, are still carried on to a considerable extent at several places elsewhere. For the cotton, flax, and silk manufactures, as well as some details of the ironworks, reference may be made to the article GLASGOW. In 1892 there were 72 blast furnaces, with an average of fully 53 in blast throughout the year, in which about 690,000 tons of pig-iron were made. Of minerals there were raised in the same year 115,287 tons of iron ore; value at the mines, £51,879. Of lead-ore, 2019 tons, from which 1477 tons of lead were obtained by smelting, and 1736 oz. of silver. Of coal, 15,252,977 tons—value, £4,182,051—out of a total for Scotland of 27,191,923 tons. Of fireclay, 256,653 tons; value, £41,090. Of oil shale there have been produced 126,619 tons, of which, however, a small quantity was got from Renfrewshire; and of limestone, 41,153 tons. Owing to the discovery of large quantities of bituminous shale, the manufacture of paraffin has been extending very rapidly in the neighbourhoods of Airdrie, Lanark, and other places and bids fair to become one of the most important trades in the district. In connection with the various mines some 40,000 persons were employed, including about 100 females. The first ironstone work in the county was begun at Wilsontown in Carnwath in 1781; and the lead comes from the SW border of the county about Leadhills, near the source of Glengonner Water, in Crawford parish. Here mining operations have been carried on for a long time, for mention of lead from this locality is made in the accounts of the sheriff of Lanarkshire for 1264, and Leslie also speaks of it in his Scotiæ Descriptio. In the same neighbourhood gold is to be found over a district measuring about 25 by 12 miles. The gold mines of Crawford Muir are said to have been discovered in the reign of James IV., and in the time of James V. they were of considerable value, and were carried on for the benefit of the Crown. The celebrated ‘bonnet pieces’ of James V. were made from this gold; and at the festival given in honour of the King’s marriage with Magdalen of France, it is said that cups filled with it were set on the table. In 1542, 35 ounces of it were used in the manufacture of a crown for the Queen, and 46 ounces in the manufacture of that for the King; while, according to a MS. in the Cottonian Collection, the annual value of the workings at the same time amounted to a sum equivalent to £100,000 sterling. After that it fell off very rapidly, and now the quantity found is so small that it hardly repays the time spent by some of the miners of the neighbourhood in searching for it during leisure hours.
Communications, etc. —The Roman roads by which the district was traversed during the time that the Wall of Antoninus was held are noticed subsequently. Some parts of the modern Lines of roads coinicide with the old ones. The main routes are now (1) roads passing from Glasgow to Edinburgh by Bathgate and by Shotts and Midcalder, and a road from Lanark to Edinburgh, joining the second of the two just mentioned at Midcalder; (2) roads passing from Glasgow up both sides of the valley of the Clyde to a point 2 miles N of Abington, where they unite. At Abington one branch passes by Glengonner Water to Leadhills and into Nithsdale; while another keeps to the Clyde to Wellshot Hill, 2½ miles S of Crawford, where it divides, and one branch passes by Powtrail Water to Nithsdale and the other by Clydes Burn to Annandale. Main roads also run up the valley of the Avon into Ayrshire by Darvel, and up the valleys of the Avon, Nethan, and Douglas into Ayrshire by Muirkirk. In the upper part of the country the main cross roads pass from Lanark eastward by Biggar, from Douglas to Wiston, and from Douglas to Abington; while in the lower district they form such an extensive network as to be beyond particular mention. For the purposes of the Road Act of 1878, the upper and lower wards and the two divisions of the middle ward are treated as if each was a separate county. Railway communication was first opened up for a considerable part of the county by the opening of the Caledonian railway in 1847; and now the lower part of the county, with its extensive mineral traffic, is accommodated by lines far too numerous to be particularly mentioned. Main lines pass from Glasgow by Coatbridge and Bathgate to Edinburgh (North British), and by Shotts and Midcalder to Edinburgh (Caledonian); southward up the valley of the Clyde on the NE and E side to Clydes Burn, and up this into Annandale, and from NE to SW by a line from Edinburgh by Carstairs and Muirkirk to Ayr—both of the latter routes being on the Caledonian system. The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire railway of the same system connects these two counties by way of Glasgow. The Forth and Clyde Canal passes through the NW corner of the county; and the Monkland Canal, branching off at Maryhill N of Glasgow, winds eastward by Coatbridge to Calderbank. Several new bridges have lately been erected, the most important being those over the Clyde at Cambuslang, Dalmarnock, and Rutherglen (1894).
In 1893 the supply of water of the middle ward had become so inadequate that in the summer something approaching a water famine was experienced. Nine water-supply districts had been formed, but only six of these had been provided with water, and even these had been inadequate from the beginning or had become so from the natural increase of the districts—those outside these water-supply districts having to be content with water from wells, pits, and streams, all more or less contaminated. The District Committee of the County Council resolved to introduce a general supply commensurate with the needs of their district. The plan adopted has the Glengavel Water as a source of supply, with a reservoir near High Plewlands having a catchment of 3700 acres and a capacity of 600,000,000 gallons. From the reservoir a 21-inch pipe, capable of carrying 2,500,000 gallons per day, leads to filters on the high ground above Strathaven railway station, at an elevation sufficient to supply Strathaven and the whole middle ward by gravitation, with the exception of a few places either too distant or too elevated, and which must be dealt with separately. The scheme was estimated to cost over £200,000.
The royal burghs in Lanarkshire are Glasgow, Lanark, and Rutherglen; the parliamentary burghs are Hamilton and Airdrie; the burghs of barony are Biggar, Strathaven, and East Kilbride; and the police burghs are Biggar, Govan, Kinning Park, Motherwell, Partick, and Wishaw. Places of over 2000 inhabitants are:—Airdrie, Baillieston, Bellshill, Blantyre, Bothwell, Cambuslang (including Kirkhill, Coats, Silverbanks, and Wellshothill), Carluke, Coatbridge (including Gartsherrie, Langloan, High Coats, and Burnbank), Glasgow, Govan, Hamilton, Holytown (including new Stevenston), Kirkintilloch (part of), Lanark, Larkhall, Mossend, Motherwell, Newmains (including Coltness Ironworks), Partick, Ruthergien, Shettleston (including Eastmuir and Sandyhill), Stonefield, Stonehouse, Strathaven, Tollcross, (including Fullarton), Uddingston, and Wishaw (including Craigneuk); places with populations between 100 and 2000 are Allanton, Auchenheath, Auchinairn, Auchentibber, Avonhead, Bargeddie and Dykehead (including Cuilhill), Barnhill, Biggar, Bishopbriggs, Blantyre Works, Bothwell Park, Braehead, Braidwood (including Harestanes and Thornice), Broomhouse, Busby (part of), Cadzow, Calderbank, Caldercruix, Carfin, Carmunnock, Carmyle, Carnbroe and Brewsterford, Carnwath, Carstairs, Carstairs Junction, Castlehill, Chapel and Stirling Bridge, Chapelhall, Chapelton, Chryston and Muirhead, Cleland (including Omoa), Clyde Iron-works, Clydesdale (including Fulwood and Milnwood), Crossford, Darngaber (including Quarter), Darngavel, Douglas, Douglas Park, Dunlop Place, Dykehead, Eastfield, East Kilbride, East Langrigg) Eddlewood, Faskine and Palace Craig (including Hillhead), Ferniegair, Flemington, Forth, Garnkirk (including Crow Row and Heathfield), Garnqueen and Glenboig, Gartcosh, Gartgill, Glengowan, Greengairs, Halfway, Hallside, Hamilton Palace Colliery Rows, Harthill, Haywood, Hazelbank, Jerviston Square and Coalhall, Kirkfieldbank, Kirkmuirhill, Lambhill, Law, Leadhills, Lesmahagow, Longriggend, Millerston and Hogganfield, Moffat, Morningside and Torbush, Mount Vernon, Muirhead or West Benhar, Muirmadken, Nackerton (including Aitkenhead), Netherburn, Newarthill, New Lanark, New Monkland and Glenmavis, Newlands, Newton, Newton Colliery, Overtown, Plains, Riggend, Rigside, Roughrigg, Salsburgh, Shotts Ironworks (including Torbothie), Southfield and Blackwood, Spittal Colliery Rows, Stane (including Burnbrae), Stepps, Swinhill, Tannochiside, Tarbrax, Thornwood, Udston, Waterloo, Wattston, Westburn, West Langrigg, West Maryston, West Quarter, Whiterigg, Wilsontown (including Rootpark), and Yieldshields Roadmeetings, besides a few smaller villages.
The county has forty-one entire quoad civilia parishes. These with reference to the different wards are:—Upper Ward—Biggar, Carluke, Carmichael, Carnwath, Carstairs, Covington and Thankerton, Crawford, Crawfordjohn, Culter, Dolphinton, Douglas, Dunsyre, Lamington and Wandell, Lanark, Lesmahagow, Libberton, Pettinain, Symington, Waiston, and Wiston and Roberton. Middle Ward—Avondale, Blantyre, Bothwell, Cambuslang, Cambusnethan, Dalserf, Dalzell, East Kilbride, Glassford, Hamilton, Old Monkland, New Monkland. Shotts. Stonehouse. Lower Ward—Cadder, Carmunnock, Glasgow—Barony, City, Gorbals, and, Govan — Maryhill, Rutherglen, Shettleston, and Springburn. The quoad sacra parishes of Airdrie, Baillieston, Bargeddie, Bellshill, Burnbank, Cadzow, Calderbank, Caldercruix, Calderhead, Chapelton, Chryston, Clarkston, Cleland, Coats, Coltness, Dalziel South, Douglas Water, Forth, Flowerhill, Gartsherrie, Garturk, Greengairs, those connected with GLASGOW, Harthill, Hogganfield, Holytown, Kirkfieldbank, Larkhall, Lanark St Leonards, Law, Leadhills, Lenzie (part), Overtown, Stonefield, Uddingston, Wishaw, and Rutherglen West and Rutherglen Wardlawhill, are also included. Nine of the parishes are in the presbytery of Biggar in the synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, and the others are in the presbyteries of Glasgow, Hamilton, and Lanark in the synod of Glasgow and Ayr. Exclusive of those in Glasgow and its neighbourhood, including Govan, there are 60 places of worship connected with the Free Church, 45 in connection with the United Presbyterian Church, 1 in connection with the United Original Seceders, 4 in connection with the Congregational Church, 13 in connection with the Evangelical Union, 7 in connection with the Baptist Church, 2 in connection with the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 2 in connection with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, 12 in connection with the Episcopal Church, and 32 in connection with the Roman Catholic Church. In the year ending Sept. 1894 there were in the county 387 schools, of which 279 were public, with accommodation for 181, 665 children. These had 178,056 on the rolls, and an average attendance of 146,541. The staff consisted of 1898 certificated, 541 assistant, and 959 pupil teachers. The parliamentary constituencies of the six divisions in 1895-6 were—Govan, 12,070; Partick, 13,633; North-Western, 12,659; North-Eastern, 14,549; Mid, 12,008; and Southern, 9208.
Lanarkshire—exclusive of Glasgow, which was constituted a county of a city in 1893, with the lord provost as lord-lieutenant—is governed by a lord-lieutenant, a vice-lieutenant, 56 deputy-lieutenants, and 389 justices of the peace, of whom 75 are for the upper ward, 156 for the middle ward, and 158 for the lower ward. The County Council is composed of 70 elected members—12 for the upper ward, 29 for the middle ward, and 21 for the lower ward, besides 5 for the burgh of Coatbridge, 2 for that of Rutherglen, and 1 for that of Lanark. There is a sheriff-principal with five substitutes for general county purposes, besides resident substitutes for Lanark and Hamilton, and for Airdrie. Ordinary courts are held at Glasgow on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays during session, small debt courts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays all the year round, a debts recovery court every Monday during session, and criminal courts as required. Appeals to the sheriff-principal in lower ward cases are heard every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, and in cases from other parts of the county every Wednesday. At Lanark the sheriff-substitute sits on Mondays and Thursdays, and at Hamilton on Tuesdays and Fridays. At Airdrie the sheriff-substitute sits on Tuesdays and Fridays, and a small debt circuit court is held at Wishaw every third Thursday. The police force, exclusive of the burghs of Airdrie, Glasgow, Govan, Hamilton, Kinning - Park, and Partick, which have separate forces, consists of 246 men (1 to each 1178 of the population), under a chief constable with a salary of £600 a year. The county prison is at Barlinnie to the E of Glasgow, and the County Lunacy Board, together with those of Glasgow and Govan,have the management of Kirklands Asylum, Bothwell. In 1895 the average number of registered poor was 15,184 with 9876 dependants, while the receipts for poor law purposes amounted to £244,794, or about a quarter of the whole sum for Scotland. There are poorhouses for Barony, Cambusnethan Combination (including the parishes of Bothwell, Cambusnethan, Dalziel, and Shotts), Glasgow City Parish, Govan Combination, Hamilton Combination (including the parishes of Avon, Blantyre, Cambuslang, Dalserf, Glassford, Hamilton, East Kilbride, and Stonehouse), Lanark, New Monkland, and Old Monkland. The proportion of illegitimate births averages fully 6 per cent, the average death-rate about 22 per 1000. Connected with the county are the third and fourth battalions of the Cameronians (formerly the Second Royal Lanark Militia), and the third and fourth battalions of the Highland Light Infantry (formerly the First Royal Lanark Militia), all with headquarters at Hamilton, two regiments of Yeomanry cavalry, with headquarters at respectively Lanark and Glasgow; a battalion of Artillery Volunteers with headquarters at Glasgow; a battalion of Engineer Volunteers with headquarters at Glasgow; and nine battalions of Rifle Volunteers, of which the second have their headquarters at Hamilton, the fifth (disbanded in 1897), the ninth at Lanark, and all the others at Glasgow; these battalions form the Glasgow Volunteer brigade, with headquarters at Glasgow. Besides the six county members and the seven returned by Glasgow, Rutherglen, Hamilton, Airdrie, and Lanark unite with other burghs outside the county in returning other two members. Valuation exclusive of burghs, but inclusive of railways and canals, (1674) £13,436, (1815) £686,531, (1875) £1,714,183, (1883) £2,144,453, (1895) £2,082,995, of which £311,926 was for the upper ward, £1,047,685 for the middle ward, and £723,384 for the lower ward. Pop. of registration county, which takes in part of Broughton from Peebles, and parts of Cathcart, Eaglesham, Eastwood, and Renfrew from Renfrewshire, (1831) 317,329, (1841) 427,738, (1851) 533,169, (1861) 640,444, (1871) 787,005, (1881) 942,206, (1891) 1,091,703; civil county (1801) 147,692, (1811) 191,291, (1821) 244,387, (1831) 316,819, (1841) 426,972, (1851) 530,169, (1861) 631,566, (1871) 765,339, (1881) 904,412, (1891) 1,105,899, of whom 550,847 were males, and 555,052 females. These were distributed into 234,681 families occupying 220,820 houses with 560,996 rooms, an average of 1.97 persons to each room, which is only surpassed among Scottish counties by Shetland, where the average is 2.03. —Ord. Sur., shs. 30, 31, 22, 23, 24, 15, 16, 1864-67.
Lanarkshire anciently belonged to the Caledonian tribe called the Damnii, and was over-run by the Romans when they extended their territories to the Wall of Antoninus, between the Firths of Clyde and Forth. This wall passed through the north-western corner of the county N of Bishopbriggs and Cadder, and communication was kept up with the South by roads which passed from Annandale and Nithsdale through the S part of the county, and uniting to the N of Crawford village and the E of Crawford Castle, wound from that down the valley of the Clyde. Near Little Clydes Burn there is a camp on the line of it, and in places the present road coincides with it, e.g. on both sides of Elvanfoot and Watling Street in Crawford village. The Roman occupation of the district must have been principally military, for traces of roads and camps are found, but not of towns or villages. Coins, weapons, and other relics of the Romans have also been found in many places. After the departure of the Romans, the district was held by the old tribe, who now become known as the Strathclyde Britons, with their capital at Alcluith, Alclwyd, or Dunbreatan, the modern Dumbarton. This nation in 654 aided Penda, King of Mercia, against Osuiu or Oswy, King of Anglia, and on the victory of the latter fell under his sway, and were subject to Anglia for thirty years till 684. On the defeat of Ecgfrid by the Picts, the Dalriadic Scots and the portion of the Britons who dwelt between the Solway and the Clyde regained their freedom. In 756 Edgbert, King of Northumbria, and Angus, King of the Picts, united against the district and took possession of it, though how long they kept it does not appear; but part of Edgbert’s army was lost from some unascertained cause, but seemingly not in battle, while they were between Strathaven and Newburgh on their way home. Independence must have been, at the very latest, regained by a little after the middle of the 9th century; for in 870 the Ulster Annals mention that Alclwyd was besieged and captured by Northmen, and the same authority mentions the death of Artgha, King of the Strathclyde Britons, in 872. In 875 the lower part of the county was laid waste by the Danes. Within the next forty years the kingdom prospered, and by the beginning of the 10th century it extended from the Clyde southward to the Derwent in Cumberland. The then king, Donald, dying, however, without heirs, the King of Alban, who had been Donald’s ally and friend, was chosen ruler, and the kingdoms united. In 945 Eadmund, King of the Saxons, conquered it and handed it over to Malcolm, a gift which was confirmed by Siward to the succeeding Malcolm in 1054. In after years it was associated with the career of Wallace, whose first exploit was that of driving the English out of the town of Lanark. After the triumph of Bruce, the county enjoyed peace till the time of James II., when the ambition of the Douglas family and the intrigues of the first Lord Hamilton plunged the district into all the horrors of civil war, as is recorded in Grey’s MS. Chronicle:—’ In March 1455 James the Second cast doune the castel of Inveravyne; and syne incontinent past to Glasgu, and gaderit the westland men with part of the Areschery [Irishry) and passed to Lanerik, and to Douglas, and syne brynt all Douglasdale, and all Avendale, and all the Lord Hamiltoune’s lands, and heriit them clerlye; and syne passit to Edinburgh.’ From this time there was again quiet till the escape of Queen Mary from Lochleven Castle and the battle of Langside (see GLASGOW); and from this again till the time of the Presbyterian persecution in the reign of Charles II., in the troubles of which time, the oppression of the ‘Highland Host,’ the Pentland Rising, the battles of Drumclog and Bothwell Bridge, Lanarkshire had its full share, while the great tracts of moor in the upper districts afforded many places of shelter, both to those who were in danger of their lives and to those who wished to hold meetings for worship. The Revolution of 1688 brought more peaceful times, and Glasgow was the first place in Scotland where the Declaration of the Prince of Orange was published. The inhabitants of the county, however, were bitterly opposed to the Union in 1707.
The sheriffdom of Lanark is said to date from the time of the lawgiving David I. After passing through various hands, the office came into the possession of the Douglases, and after their downfall was given in fee to the Hamiltons, who held it as a hereditary appendage to their titles, but at the request of Charles II. the holding was surrendered, and was regranted to them, as deputies for the king. In 1716, the heir of the Hamilton estates being under age, the Earl of Selkirk was made sheriff, and held office till his death in 1739, when James, sixth Duke of Hamilton, took possession of it without any formal appointment, and held it till 1747, when the hereditary jurisdictions were abolished. The duke claimed £10,000 as compensation, but the claim was disallowed. The chief antiquities of the county are the traces of the Roman occupation already noticed, several British camps or strongholds, and many cairns in the upper ward; and the ruins of Douglas Castle, Craignethan Castle, the Tillietudlem of Sir Walter Scott—Bothwell, Avondale, Dalziel, Carstairs, Boghall, and Lamington; interesting churches are at Biggar, Carnwath, and Hamilton; and remains of a priory at Blantyre. New Orbiston, near Bellshill, was in 1827 granted by Hamilton of Dalzell to Robert Owen as the site of a socialistic village, which, however, very soon fell into decay.
See also Leslie’s Scotiæ Descriptio (1578); four large volumes of Topographical Collections referring to Lanarkshire, formed by the late James Maidment, Esq., advocate, and now in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow; Naismith’s Agricultural Survey of Clydesdale (1794); Hamilton of Wishaw’s Descripton of the Sheriffdom of Lanark and Renfrew (Maitland Club, 1831); Irving and Murray’s The Upper Ward of Lanarkshire Described and Delineated (Glasgow, 1864); Thomson’s Martyr Graves of Scotland (Edinb. 1875; and 2d series, 1877); P. Dudgeon’s Historical Notes on the Occurrence of Gold in the South of Scotland (Edinb. 1876); R. W. Cochran-Patrick’s Early Records relating to Mining in Scotland (Edinb. 1878); a paper on the ‘Gold-Field and Gold Diggings of Crawford-Lindsay,’ by Dr W. Lauder Linsay, in vol. iv. of the Scottish Naturalist (1878); essays by the Earl of Dunmore and Thomas Dykes, Esq., in vols. i and ii. of The Clydesdale Stud Book (Glasgow, 1878 and 1880); and works referred to under BIGGAR, CLYDE, COATBRIDGE, COWTHALLY, GLASGOW, GOVAN, LEADHILLS, LESMAHAGOW, PARTICK, and RUTHERGLEN.
From Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, 1896