2008 Lindsay Brae by Jim Brown
Pictured here by Jim Brown in 2008, is the Lindsay Brae or Lindsay Hill as known locally, leading up from Milheugh Bridge up towards Malcolmwood Farm. I’ve been trying to find out why it was called Lindsay Brae. What person was it named after? When? The history has been lost i believe, so i’d like to put forward a suggestion or two as to why Lindsay Brae or as it’s also known, Lindsay Hill was called so. If you know an exact reference, or even lore as to the naming of the Brae, feel free to get in touch.
Lindsay name definitely has some long standing roots in Blantyre. I’ve regularly found the name John Lindsay in history, but quite a distance away from this location at Blantyre Ferme. Lindsay although commonly fund in Blantyre post 1900, is not a name that regularly appeared on 1800’s census information. I thought this could be used to my advantage for finding any name of Lindsay prior to that which may have had a distinct connections to the brae. The difficult part was to find a connection to this Western area of Blantyre on the fringes of Cambuslang Parish. Having already established history of nearby Pathfoot, i remained convinced Lindsay was something to do with the land of Malcolmwood or the area towards the top of the brae. Finding a landowner seemed a good place to start, although equally as possible is a story connected to the area featuring a “Lindsay”.
The closest connection i could make is in a 6th February 1654 Parish kirk taxation document which not only mentions the “elder” John Lindsay of Blantyreferme but also a ‘James Lindsay’ of Bardykes. Given that Bardykes land stretched at the time from Barnhill all the way to Glasgow Road, this seems very likely that the landowner or his descendents gave his name to the hill.
Working on this theory, i noted that the track on this hill probably isn’t as old as 1654, as the path at the time went from Pathfoot, down through the Calder and crossed at Pattenholm Ford, up through Dysholm (Daviesholm) and out at the Loanend road and on to Flemington. The track must have came to be at the same time as the construction of the first Milheugh bridge in that area. The 1747 map does show the Milheugh Bridge and a track leading up to Malcolmwood. If the origins and naming of the track are as old as the track itself, the name may have been derived between 1654 and 1747. I couldn’t find anything that tied the name Lindsay to the Millar family or Bannatynes of nearby Milheugh Estate. There was a William Lindsay, owner of Calderbank in 1860, but i believe this date to be too late.
Another explanation could have earlier roots, but i think is too far back in time and too far in location from bridge. To the West of Malcolmwood, over the fields lay Crossbasket House. In 1484, it was just a tower, but belonged to Alexander Lindsay, a natural son of the fourth laird. I think this is too far back in time and with Crossbasket changing ownership so frequently, i believe the Bardykes ownership is the more plausible source.