2009 Electrical Insulators at Greenhall by J Brown

Pictured here amongst the mature woodland trees at Greenhall, are the remains of early electrical conductors and cable insulators, amongst the first to run electricity into Greenhall House. Jim Brown’s photo of 2009 shows how the trees themselves were used as the electrical poles, utilising a ready made way of protecting and running in the electricity cables to the grand house at Greenhall.

Early adverts for the sale of Greenhall in the 1920’s indicated the property had electrics throughout. There are conflicting reports about Greenhall being owned by the Old English Electric company published by others online. This is not the case. The Old English Electric company had no business in Scotland and their head office property “Greenhall” was in Staffordshire. The connection to Blantyre does not exist.

Crossbasket Castle is known to have had electricity around the same time, the two properties amongst the first in Blantyre to be fully electrically lit. At Crossbasket banks of batteries were charged using water power in the nearby mill, but is would appear Greenhall was directly connected to the grid.