On the 4th July 1872, a dispute arrived in court between the Blantyre estate of Bardykes and the opposing estate over the River Calder, of Caldergrove.
The dispute centred around the river itself which formed the boundary between Blantyre and Cambuslang Parishes and clearly the matter couldn’t be resolved by neighbourly discussion. Safe to say there was probably no love lost between the estate owners.
The case was raised by Mr Thomas Jackson of Bardykes who felt aggrieved that his neighbour, Mr Marshall of Caldergrove should have asked permission first before filling up a river channel.
Mr Marshall had moved to Caldergrove in 1869. In summer months the river confined itself to one course of about 30 feet in width. However, in times of heavy rainfall and winter, it spilled over, into another channel in times of flood. The additional channel was beyond an Alder tree on the side of Caldergrove, creating a river width of around 50 feet.
Now….Mr Jackson was obviously used to this happening and not best pleased when Mr Marshall filled in that channel whilst making initial improvements to his estate. Not only did he fill in the channel, but he built a retaining wall at Caldergrove, some of which extended into the river. Mr Marshall’s “tidying up of the estate” meant there was no overflow and so in times of flood, the river had no option other than to now flood Mr Jackson’s riverside fields.
The dispute had obviously escalated with the placing of large rocks in attempts to realign it again, prompting a fallout of the neighbours.
The court concluded in favour of Mr Marshall, stating that he didnt need to ask Mr Jackson’s permission to fill a channel which was on his own land. It went on also to say that Mr Jackson had failed to prove that the periodic flooding had caused any significant damage to land on the Bardykes side.
Caldergrove 1 – Bardykes 0
The 1859 map is attached showing the location and also a photo shared by Robert Stewart, showing parts of the wall, that still exist today. With thanks to Gordon Mason for bringing this dispute to my attention. More can be read in detail here: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=b_BCAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA914&dq=Bardykes%20House&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmzaDyw8XpAhXMasAKHe_yATsQ6AEIQTAD&fbclid=IwAR3Ph-cYeue5da8lrieQq04Ki1zxvvdxCnbUNdJQLU8rrPCWLQwbjKiwU7Q#v=onepage&q=Bardykes%20House&f=false
