On the morning of Wednesday 18th November 1896, a drama unfolded midway down Stonefield Road. In this era, there were few houses, the area dominated by the Dixons Colliery Pit No 4 but it was at those few houses, where events took place. At two blocks of houses, just east of Larkfield, three families were […]
Taken not far from the entrance to Shott at High Blantyre, this is an unusual view of Blantyre Old Parish Church. Taken around 1980, this is before the modern housing estate was built at Craigmuir Road. Indeed, at the time this was taken the derelict High Blantyre Station site was behind those trees at the […]
A photo by Thomas Annan, and an old photo at that! Taken in 1870, and over 150 years old, the subject is the Blantyre to Bothwell ferry boat crossing near Bothwell Castle on River Clyde. Pictured is the Blantyre side, not far from Blantyre Priory. These old negative plates offer great clarity and resolution. Gordon […]
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 […]
Here’s a story which you may not have heard of. In 1885, local people witnessed a spectacular and curious phenomenon, not seen since…. when the River Clyde was visibly on fire near Bothwell Bridge. Yes, you heard that right. The newspapers of Tuesday 14th July 1885 reported this rare and strange event as follows: “The […]
Shared here by Rob Gordon, the brother of late Blantyre historian Neil Gordon, this photo is of Blantyre Station, I think taken in the 1920s. The platforms and station were upgraded in 1899 for the turn of the century, the buildings then renovated into this shown configuration. The canopy of the ticket offices protruding out […]
This fantastic aerial photo was taken by the late Neil Gordon and shared here recently by his brother Robert. Taken in 1999, it shows the construction of the current David Livingstone Memorial Bridge over the River Clyde near Blantyre Weir. These were days before drone photography and to get aerial shots like these back then, […]