About 9 o’clock on the morning of Sunday 13th October 1867, the body of man named Matthew Arneil was found laying face down in the Calder River under Newhousemill Bridge, on the boundary with East Kilbride Parish (back roads).
Matthew was a miner residing at Newfield, Blantyre. When found quite dead, he appeared to have lain in the water for several hours. There a large cut between four and fire inches long on his head first prompting the suspicion of foul play.
However, upon investigation, it was found that Matthew was accustomed to drinking heavily, even during the day. It was learned that he had been drinking heavily for the previous eight days, and was seen in East Kilbride early the previous Sunday morning under tbe influence of liquor.
It is was therefore concluded that on his way home back to Blantyre, he had fallen over the bridge into the water, a height of somewhere between 20 and 30 feet, and sustained the injury when his head came into contact with rocks in the water. The body was removed to a relation’s house at East Kilbride. Matthew Arneil was about 38 years of age, and unmarried. Pictured is Newhousemill Bride, the scene of the fatality.
From the book, “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2018
