Clydesdale's Heritage

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Clydesdale's Heritage View our stored Photo Gallery at:
https://clydesdalesheritage.org.uk/postcards/ One of our aims was for volunteers to visit schools and explain the project.

The purpose of the Clydesdale Heritage Project is to encourage local schools, organisations and local people to take an active interest in their Heritage. Initially the project concentrated on getting people involved through a series of local road shows which will explain what the project is about. Some of these have already taken place but he bulk will be took place from September, 2011. We wished to get local children involved with activities such as creating local heritage trails. Since Archaeology is a prominent part of what the Society does outdoor activities are important. There are still opportunities to be involved in excavations such as Hyndford Mill, Biggar Archaeology’s Project in Clydesdale. Field walking, especially from November to May, is an activity that we are always involved in and we have made some interesting discoveries from all periods of Clydesdale’s history. Identifying monuments in the landscape goes hand in hand with field walking. As a Society we have a particular niche project in this area and that is recording and looking at old farm buildings. Already a substantial number of farms have been visited and photographed. Training will be provided both for the archaeology and the fieldwalking. The continuing project also includes other areas of training that are important. These training events include photography, studying old maps, researching archives, using records and putting information on the Internet. Already several photography courses have taken place. It is our intention to have further courses. After courses have taken place, it is hoped that volunteers will make a contribution towards putting information on to the Clydesdale Heritage website, either themselves or through their local web editor. The project now is to publish a book on the History of Clydesdale which will be available free of charge and can also be read here on this website. Downloadable versions will be made available in iPad and Kindle eBook formats. Three issues which relate to archaeological matters are currently being commented on. The first is the proposed erection of a windfarm at Cartland Muir near Lanark. The Chairman of the Archaeological Society has been asked for his views regarding the archaeology. He has stated that there could be a problem regarding the limestone mines that have resulted in the digging of tunnels under Cartland Muir. This operation was fairly large, indeed sufficiently big for a special railway siding to be constructed. This information is available on the 25th Ordnance Survey of the area in 1911. Another area of concern regarding Cartland Muir is that the proposed new road system to the site will destroy part of the Roman Road running towards Kilncadzow. The second issue is the erection of an Incinerator at Dovesdale, near Stonehouse. The concern here is related to the failure of South Lanarkshire Council to provide information relating to the impact on archaeology and heritage to the councilors prior to the granting of planning permission. This is unusual as South Lanarkshire are normally good at ensuring the necessary archaeological reports are included in planning enquiries

The third current area of concern is the threat to the Buffer Zone of the New Lanark World Heritage Site. The Society is opposed to the idea of quarrying being extended into the World Heritage site at Bonnington. The principle of such development is one of great concern in terms of a precedent and effectively means that both local and national Heritage are effectively threatened. In essence this is a test case regarding quarrying within a World Heritage Buffer Zone. Regarding the archaeology, remnants of the 18th century garden of Bonnington have been identified plus an Iron Age round house and enclosure. Obviously these observations would have to be confirmed by archaeology. What is not supposition is the Medieval Drove Road to Tullieford plus the estate wall alongside the Drove Road. The estate wall dates to the early 18th century and was constructed as a result of an Act of Parliament allowing the Carmichaels to enclose their estate. The concerns of the Society have been referred to UNESCO, the Scottish Government and Historic Scotland.

Here is a photo of a member of the Lanarkshire Yeomanry . Unfortunately neither the soldier or the Photographer identifi...
15/10/2026

Here is a photo of a member of the Lanarkshire Yeomanry . Unfortunately neither the soldier or the Photographer identified. The card was not used. May have been given to girlfriend or wife.

W.a Gray , the photographer mentioned here in connection with Douglas is a photographer that I have never heard of befor...
13/10/2026

W.a Gray , the photographer mentioned here in connection with Douglas is a photographer that I have never heard of before. Think he was operating about the 1880's

I have done two scans so that the message being sent to Kathie Ferguson can be read in 1902 one still had to write on th...
13/10/2026

I have done two scans so that the message being sent to Kathie Ferguson can be read in 1902 one still had to write on the front of a card.

This is a view of Lesmahagow Station which was only built in 1905 and closed sixty years later as a result of the Beechi...
13/10/2026

This is a view of Lesmahagow Station which was only built in 1905 and closed sixty years later as a result of the Beeching cuts.

This is a black and white print purchased by myself of James Naysmyth's work. Possibly done from the sketches that he d...
13/10/2026

This is a black and white print purchased by myself of James Naysmyth's work. Possibly done from the sketches that he did on his visit to the Falls on May 28th 1847. The original sketches are in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.

This is a fine view of Cora Lynn and Cora Castle done by James Naysmyth, artist who visited the Falls of Clyde omn May 2...
13/10/2026

This is a fine view of Cora Lynn and Cora Castle done by James Naysmyth, artist who visited the Falls of Clyde omn May 28th 1847.
This view is posted courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Here is a picture of David Dale's House which is mentioned in the previous article. No heard anything more about the bis...
13/10/2026

Here is a picture of David Dale's House which is mentioned in the previous article. No heard anything more about the bistro project mentioned in the previous article. Hope it is dead and buried.

This week we are looking at threats to Clydesdale's Heritage if you ve any concern , please contact us. Threats to Clyde...
13/10/2026

This week we are looking at threats to Clydesdale's Heritage if you ve any concern , please contact us.

Threats to Clydesdale’s Heritage

This week’s article is about possible threats to our Heritage. These we should take seriously as interest in Tourism and Family History are playing a significant part in our economy by generating income from visitors. If we neglect our Heritage then we will have nothing to offer them . The role of our cultural Heritage can not be understated.

The first area of concern is New Lanark and its status as a World Heritage Site . In the recent past there was a proposal to turn David Dale’s House into a bistro. This plan is frankly unsuitable for New Lanark and in my view is an insult to the memory of David Dale . The house should be restored to commemorate his life and contribution to the history of Scotland. Without Dale there would be no New Lanark. Apart from that he was the man who put the Royal Bank on the map and he was the first major figure in Scotland to start the opposition to the inhumane trafficking of slaves. In many ways his achievements are just as important as those of Owen.

The second threat to New Lanark as a UNESCO World Heritage site is the proposal to build chalets in the lands of Braxfield which are an integral part of the World Heritage Site. If they were approved then New Lanark’s World Heritage Status would be taken away.

Another threat to Heritage is the growing trend by local authorities to demolish parts of grave stones or lay them flat or indeed support them with unsightly bits of timber. This is completely unacceptable and the excuse is they might fall on somebody. Warning signs and CCTV cameras would be a much better solution, and a reminder that graveyards are not playgrounds.

It has come to my attention that parts of the Lang Whang are threaten with the creation of yet more windfarms. Recent drone surveys have shown that there are significant numbers of Neolithic and Bronze Age tombs in the area. This is one of the most sensitive archaeological areas in Scotland. In 1988 the Lanark and District Archaeological Society did significant work in this area when trees were being planted and we found everything from Mesolithic blades of obsidian dating back to 6500 B.C .

A similar threat to an area of archaeological importance is the proposal to built a few windfarms near the Cairngryffe Quarry which is rich in Prehistoric monuments mainly cairns but a couple of sites of Bronze Age dwellings have been discovered. Having dug on of theses I can say that the discoveries that the Lanark and District Archaeological Society made were important and included both Prehistoric pottery and bits of a cannel coal necklace.

In conclusion it is impossible to preserve everything but I think that the best parts of our Cultural Heritage do need to ensure to be protected for future generations to enjoy.

13/10/2026

Local historian Grace Kenneway, born in the South Lanarkshire village of Forth, shares memories of Hiring Fairs and Term Days, and an age-old system in which farm labourers would seek work on local farms, (with board and lodging), every six months.

This week's article is a bit later than usual due to other commitments.Delving into the history of Lesmahagow Priory Par...
09/10/2026

This week's article is a bit later than usual due to other commitments.

Delving into the history of Lesmahagow Priory Part 2

This week we continue to look at the sources of information about the Tironensian Priory of St Mary, Lesmahagow. Last week we covered the work of the Reverend White who was the first person to write about the Priory before the present church was built in 1804.

The illustration shown here is taken from an article which was written for the Scots Magazine in 1796. What can be clearly seen is the Romanesque doorway dating to c.1150 when the construction of the Priory took place after permission had been granted to the Tironensian order to found a priory here in 1144 on the site of a Culdee monastery. The Culdees originated in Iona in the sixth century and they followed a Celtic variety of Christianity. The name Culdee means servant of God. The doorway shows the typical zig zag design of the period.

Next to the clock is a lancet window which is Gothic in style. The crenellations at the top of the tower are 15th century in origin. The tower was demolished during the creation of the new church but the stone was reused. I found various bits of it when I visited the present tower with a group back in the 1980’s.

Finally the drawing shows some evidence of a building to the right hand side. This was the access to the laybrothers’ quarters. Theses people were not monks but lived in the Priory and were in effect the monks’ servants. They would work on the lands owned by the monks and in the monastery itself, they had many different jobs such as maintaining the Priory or cooking the monks meals for them.

The publication of the Greenshields book , the Annals of Lesmahagow in 1864 was an important step in helping us to understand the history of the Priory . He was an advocate who lived at a large country house near Lesmahagow called the Kerse which is still there today.

Greenshields gathered together as much written information as he could beginning with the story of its foundation to the time of the dissolution of the Priory in the latter half of the sixteenth century. But he also illustrates his work with a number of useful pictures. One of these is of a bell probably belonging to the time of the Culdees as it would be used to summon the people to prayer.

A number of pieces of stonework from the Priory were found in the 1850’s especially in the renovation of the cemetery walls or dug up during the creation of graves indeed some pieces were found seven feet down. Theses stones included some Norman pieces including a bit of a doorway. Also, a nice piece of a 14th century grave slab was found. This and a selection of other finds went down to the British Archaeological Association in London along with some photographs. Items also appeared in walls in the village of Lesmahagow including a sculptured stone with a monk on one side and the Madonna on the other at Bankhead Farm.

Some were discovered a long way from Lesmahagow like the reliquary for an arm bone of St Machute which was found near Coulter stripped of its gold and silver fittings. It was made in the 1540’s by John Mossman , jeweller who lived in John Knox’s house in Edinburgh and is now in the National Museum of Scotland.

Address

Broomgate
Lanark
ML119EE

Telephone

+441555728087

Website

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