This is 2nd February 1966. Contractors are slowly but surely in the background removing the Priory Bing. To put into context, in the middle of the photo is Priory Row, which surely must have been demolished very shortly after this? To the left is Craigknowe and trees in the background left of Calderglen. In the foreground on the right is the smaller bing and out the photo to the immediate right, that bing would have sloped down on the other side down to the lower level again at the wee former dynamite store. The Pit baths would have been behind us to the right.The photo has been shared kindly by Anthony Smith.
I wonder where the Contractors took the bing material too, or did they just “landscape” the fields in the foreground to the way they are today? I’d imagine it would have been a good few years looking very harsh as a landscape, but even with a couple of inches of organic material on top of it, its not surprising its all green again now.
(c) Blantyre Project
On social media:
Maggie O’Brien The material was used for road building as this was the beginning of all the new motorway systems around the central belt some local contractors were paid to take it away and then paid again by the road builders
Brian Duffy I thought it was later than that, the 1970s ??
Steven Lightbody I agree with you, we used to play on the bing when we were young, which would have been the mid to late 70’s. There is a bridge over the railway at the Barret houses which we used to cross to get to it. This was before the playing fields were built. Maybe they were reducing the size at the point the photo was taken?
The Blantyre Project some of the priory & blantyreferme bings were still being taken away in the 1980s and 1990s. It looks to have been a constant process for a few decades. Perhaps in the 1960s they were initially de-bulking it.
Steven Lightbody Cool, fond memories of pretending not have been there cause they were “dangerous”, but caught because the socks were black with coal dust! People used to ride dirt bikes there, down some really steep faces. Big black pools after the rain was there (that would make sure your sannies were stuck fast), with newts and tadpoles and frogs!
Gord Fotheringham I worked there and I don’t remember priory row…..the bing was called the tontie by the locals
Robert Stewart For years and years the clay was transported to Gateside Brickworks for making bricks. A good part of Coatshill was built with bricks made from Priory bing clay
Johnstone Purdie Jane DI am an Auchinraith Bing girl, myself lol! I believe my Granpa may have worked at Priory, I know he definitely worked at Newton