The David Livingstone Memorial bridge in the 1980s and 1990s had fallen into disrepair after years of neglect. This had largely been caused by a dispute between Hamilton District Council and Strathclyde Regional Council as to who should maintain and paint it. The bridge was declared unsafe due to deterioration caused by rust. When the […]
This is the coat of arms of Blantyreferme, one of Blantyre’s oldest farming hamlets. In 1598 within the Great Seal of Scotland, Lord Blantyre was given lands of Blantyre, which included Blantyr-ferme (Blantyre Ferme). The name is a corruption of the old name of Fermeblantyre and even in those early times, Blantyreferme had existed for hundreds of years. […]
A fantastic photo I’ve only seen for the first time this week, shared here. These are the construction workers at Blantyre’s David Livingstone Memorial Bridge during the early 1950s. The old suspension bridge was away and construction of the new bridge had started, with scaffolding in place and the beams being hoisted into position. Rather […]
A previously unseen photo of the Cowan Wilson Memorial Arch in Stonefield Public Park. Taken in the early 1960’s, the nice thing about this photo isn’t only just the beautiful arch, but it’s the beautiful flowers all around the park and who beautiful the whole scene is. No houses on the park, lovely well kept […]
I don’t think I’d seen this photo before until High Blantyre resident, Jean McLean shared it. It’s from 70 years ago, a full year even before the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. This is the River Clyde and the construction of the David Livingstone memorial Bridge at Blantyre, replacing an older bridge which was located […]
Who remembers John and Rita McSkimming’s Ice Cream Van? It’s pictured here and was often seen on the Springwells and Coatshill run between 1996 and 2003. A distinctive, coloured van. With thanks to the McSkimming family for sending this in. What can you remember about this van or other ice cream vans through the decades?
Blantyre Project reader, Davey sent in these photos recently. Taken in 2019, they are of course the Priory Bridge in Low Blantyre. This is a good series of photos showing not just the beauty of the river and the bridge in summer months, but also showing some concerning deterioration of the abutments. The bridge […]