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 wishe
d 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.
