Wellgreen was a former triangular area of land at Barnhill. It is shown on the 1859 map with a well supplying the hamlet of Barnhill. The name literally means the green with a well.
In the mid 19th Century a few trees were also on the land. It was accessed by the lane next to the Barnhill Tavern (Hoolets) and additionally by a footpath leading off of nearby Broompark Road.
During the late 19th and early 20th Century, the ground may have been used for sports, such as races, quoits and bowling. Indeed due to its level, flat nature, it is the suggested site of Blantyre Bowling Club in 1865, before they moved to Stonefield in 1872.
The name is directly mentioned in the 1881 street index as being in Blantyre Enumeration District 2. It was also known as the “Dry Well Green”, perhaps a latter name suggesting the well had become of little use, or more likely a reference for the land being used to drying clothes as a drying green.
The 1896 map shows a pump at the well location and the ground swampy, which ties in well with stories of this area often flooding or being problematic due to sewage issues. Sometime between 1910 and 1936, the well and pump disappeared, likely due to the arrival of mains water supplies. The well green IS still there though, now an area of grass at Glenfruin Road, at the bend in the road. Today, it has moderately sized trees growing on it and with exception of a couple of modern homes; the green remains largely unbuilt upon.
The name ‘Wellgreen’ is now lost, forgotten, with exception of this article and the name is not in use.
From “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2017
Pictured is the 1859 map and also a modern view of Wellgreen, with a superimposed location of the former pump.
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