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 […]
Pictured in this previously unseen photo sometime between 1903 and 1910 is the Covenanter’s Memorial at Bothwell Bridge. It opened to the public in 1903 and of course commemorates the Battle of Bothwell Bridge back in 1679. The photographer is Blantyre man David Ritchie and you can see how new the memorial looks. Dwelling on […]
I have to admit being quite shocked by this next story, hearing something that I didn’t previously quite fully appreciate. I perhaps naively thought that workers, especially miners who were so used to working in the dark depths, would look forward to the Glasgow Fair holiday, which started out as a long weekend. A time […]
This previously unseen photo is amongst a collection of photos kindly given to me by Alex Bowie. Taken by a distant relative David Ritchie, it’s the first time this has appeared online and is believed to have been taken shortly after the Battle of Bothwell Bridge Memorial opened in 1903. Though just over the Parish […]
One of the worlds more remarkable artists was JMW Turner, a name I’m sure you’ll have heard of before. Its recently come to my attention that in the 1830’s he made this sketch of Bothwell Bridge whilst visiting Lanarkshire. The bridge having been expanded around that time would certainly have given him cause to stop […]
Our next colourised photo is from 1913 and a familiar scene at Bothwell Bridge. Before lots of cars or buses, busy trams trundle over the old bridge going between Hamilton and Bothwell. These were not directly linked to Blantyre trams, though you would have to change at Hamilton. This photo is nice and clear given […]
I hope you like this photo. Previously unseen online it was taken around 1900 right on the Blantyre Parish Boundary. A group of late Victorian figures stand, finely dressed on the banks of the river which would eventually become the Lido. This was a time before trams. No tram standards on the bridge yet and […]