The middle of June 1897, the week before Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee saw extremely heavy and prolonged rainfall in Lanarkshire. Unseasonal weather which saw the level of local rivers in and around Blantyre rise considerably, bursting their banks and causing widespread flooding.
The River Calder was no exception, flowing at a pace never seen before and at dangerously high levels, bursting on to adjacent paths and riverbanks. With this flooding brought some alarming incidents. The first, tragically, which I won’t dwell on, being the discovery of a deceased baby in the river at the High Calder, a grim find for two local children. The baby was never identified, doctors concluding the infant had been stillborn.
Further down river not far from where the Calder joined the Clyde (just beyond Redlees), the Rotten Calder River became blocked, causing the river to back up and flood the field and quarries in the area which later would become Fin Me Out (Calderdale). Thankfully, at this time, there was no houses there.
The reason for the blockage was on the south side of the high Caledonian Railway Embankment, where the Calder passed below. There, a narrow bridge once existed, safely carrying the railway over the water. During that week, timber, damaged trees and debris floating down the Rotten Calder had become trapped in the cross beams of the bridge and amongst its piling, due to the fact the water was so high. It had quickly formed a dam, backing up the water to the south, farther upstream.
The spectacle was noticed by anxious onlookers, who were shocked when suddenly and with a roar like thunder, the whole of the crossbeams, bridge and even its piling was carried away, instantly unblocking the river and carrying the structure quickly downstream towards the nearby junction of the Clyde, just a few hundred yards away.
The event immediately caused the river to flow properly again, draining the floodwater to the Clyde and returning the river to free flowing status. However, it left much needed extensive repairs and checks to ensure the railway was safe which followed quickly thereafter. Today, the river passes through that same embankment, within the repaired structure.
Other flooded areas caused problems for Blantyre that week, including making the road from Blantyre to Spittal almost impassable.
Illustration: AI images the scene from this story.
