Imagine walking to Low Blantyre in 1891 and sinking into mud almost up to your shoes!
This remarkable newspaper letter from 1891 paints a vivid picture of everyday life in Victorian Blantyre, where one frustrated resident complained about a huge bank of mud stretching for around 200 yards between the Catholic School and the old toll-house.
Sir,—There is, and has been all this week, a bank of mud, about 2 ft. wide and about 8 in. deep, extending along the side of the footpath from the Catholic School to the old toll-house, a distance of about 200 yards. My attention was first drawn to it last Monday night, when on stepping off the footpath to allow some people to pass, I found myself considerably over the shoe-mouth in Blantyre glaur! I examined this bank of mud next morning, and found I was not the only one who had fared so badly. How any roadman in his senses could conceive the idea of scraping such a bank of mud right into the gutter, alongside the footpath, beats me.
The Blantyre roads have long been famous for their dirty, ill-kept condition. I would ask any one who may be the least sceptical to take a walk down the station road as far as Low Blantyre Station. Your correspondent in last Saturday’s issue described the buildings as cattle sheds. Judging from the smells that come from the water closets, I should say pig styes is a better definition.
True, the sanitary inspector has long been a dead-letter in Blantyre, and we now look for better things from the County Council. Surely the representative member of this district might do a little more for us. If he were resident amongst us, instead of in Hamilton, and using our roads oftener, I am certain they would not long be allowed to remain in the disgraceful state they are in, and for which we are HEAVILY TAXED.
More than 130 years later, this fascinating snapshot reminds us that complaints about potholes, muddy pavements and local infrastructure are nothing new. Every generation seems to have had its own battle with the state of Blantyre’s roads!
Have you heard any stories from parents or grandparents about how bad the roads used to be in Blantyre? Share your memories in the comments!
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