This next story takes place in 1894, though obviously the photo is a lot later!!
In early August 1894, a reader wrote a letter into the Hamilton Herald newspaper, with a goo description of an issue he found in Blantyre at the time. I quote, “Sir, being a daily traveller from Blantyre and having to go by way of Stonefield Road every morning to enable me to reach Blantyre Station to get to my place of business, I have to pass the corner of Stonefield Road, where the woodyard occupied by Mr John Mitchell joiner, joins the Hamilton Road (Glasgow Road). “
“At this place, for the last 3 week, quite an open rivulet (which seems to me to be an open sewer) flows rapidly over the footpath where a small cutting has been made for its outlet into the public street. The stretch arising from same is quite capable of causing an epidemic of some kind. To avert this, surely our County Council and Sanitary authorities can see to have this every day issue remedied. Really, it is the talk of the public in the neighbourhood. Soliciting your kindness to publish this on the Blantyre news page of the Hamilton Herald, I am, etc”
Looking into this a little further, I’d wondered if men had taken to urinating at that location after leaving the nearby public house at Clive Place (a forerunner to Old Original), or it was simply coming from an unconnected toilet. I recall seeing a public toilet in this location on an 1960s map.
Pictured 45 years ago in 1979 is a photo looking over to the Valerios gable (Mickeys Cafe), with the Old Original Pub to the right. Putting some context on this story, on the left is the area being described in this article, with the description of the open sewer taking place…. even 85 years before the photo! We’ve come on a long way since open flowing sewers in our streets, (thankfully!)
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