Yes, you did read that title correctly.
In September 1897 one Wednesday, a particularly long and prolonged spell of heavy rain caused considerable flooding throughout Blantyre Parish.
Damage to property was minimal with a baker having a number of bags of flour destroyed through water flooding his premises. However, things were a little more serious in High Blantyre Main Street, when a commotion causing much excitement happened at the bottom of Craigmuir Road Junction with Main Street, near the entrance to the Old Parish Church.
Pictured here around the same era , the commotion was to take place at Midday that Wednesday, on Main Street immediately underneath the old Railway Bridge and sadly it resulted in loss of life.
The Public road where it passes at that point lies very low below the bridge. The dip can be seen quite clearly in the photo. That day, the drainage gratings were choked and as a result, all the water flowing down Main Street and down from the Stoneymeadow Road, collected in a pool of water below the bridge, some five foot deep.
A man traveled East had come down the Hill past Shott House from East Kilbride. He traveled with his horse and cart full of coal dross and decided the water wasn’t going to cause an obstruction, taking his cart into the flood. When they reached the deepest part at five foot, the horse almost entirely submerged panicked and stumbled, losing it’s footing. Falling to the side the cart tipped on it’s side, the horse trapped partially below the water, trapped in it’s harnesses and equipment and still tied to the fallen cart. The man was able to stand, just with water below his head and he struggled in vain to untie and save his horse. The animal sadly died, drowned by the flood.
The newspaper report also then goes on to tell that local children in High Blantyre, Stonefield and Springwell had to be carried over huge floods in order to get to schools.
Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said:
John Stewart Poor horse. I love these Posts by blantyre project. A wee snippet of Blantyre history.
Anne Mackie Horses were good workers and most had a good master looking after them x No horse No work xxxx
Jean McIntosh That must have been devastating for the owner unable to save his horse.
Jean McIntosh At long last something is being done with drainage on the carriageway up from Greenhall Farm. This always floods. I was was driving up Stoneymeadow towards Blantyre just came past Generals bridge traffic halted. The water was pouring off the motorway where I was stopped. The traffic didn’t move the water was getting deeper. As it started to come in car the traffic moved. I parked my car at Crossbasket borrowed Wellingtons and waded along to my house at the junction. Scary
Margaret Duncan so sad – poor horse
Marian Maguire What a sad story, poor horse. Also it said kids carried over floods to get to school, can you imagine them going to school now? It would be closed.