Every now and again a truly fantastic picture crops up! This is one such occasion. Anthony Smith has shared a photo taken on 2nd June 1958 from the Auchinraith Bing (or Merry’s Bing as some called it).
The vantage offered a fantastic view of much of Blantyre, including a direct view right down Elm Street, much of Auchinraith Road and of course Springwells to the right. By this time, the old Merry’s Rows had long since been cleared and Elm Street had some of the modern homes it has today. In the distance on the horizon is the Uddingston Gasometer and if you look closely the steeple of St Brides in Bothwell.
The foreground of the bing itself surprised me somewhat to see how rough it was, how dangerous it probably was to be up there, but given this pit closed in the early 1930’s, its highly likely people climbed Blantyre’s pit bings all the time. Looking at old aerial photos, I can see that this wasn’t actually taken from the top of the bing, but perhaps only about midway up it! Also in the foreground to the left is the start of the Auchinraith Prefabs.
Auchinraith Bing wasn’t taken away until 1967 and 1968 and then later again in 1975, when contractors came in to level it and make way for parts of the East Kilbride Expressway. You can see the railway next to Auchinraith Road in this photo, the swathe of land that would be cleared to later make way for the new road.
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