From the illustrated social history book… “Blantyre – Glasgow Road, The Real Story” by Paul Veverka (c) 2016 – 2018. Priory Bridge The Priory Bridge is an iconic name and structure in Blantyre that exists to this day and yet it is still surprising how many people wonder where it is. Whilst the […]
I recently uncovered this bizarre and remarkable story of a Blantyre tram being “subject to a heist”. Late on Saturday 9th April 1927, around 11.15pm, the last tramcar of the evening from Cambuslang was proceeding to the Power Station at Hamilton Road, Motherwell. To do this, it had to go through Blantyre as usual. Being so […]
I’ve previously written about a little 1884 ruined chapel at Calderglen, the article here: https://blantyreproject.com/2014/06/02/cochranes-chapel-blantyre/ However, back in February 2016, on a particularly rainy weekend, I set off with Gordon Cook and Alex Rochead to the location of the chapel, armed with a shovel, to see if we could find anything. The purpose primarily was to […]
I took this photo of the Priory Bridge in Summer 2014. On a particularly nice and dry day, I visited the site of the old, unused bridge near Glasgow Road and captured this scene, which I think had a peaceful, romantic look about it. The bridge is blocked off to pedestrians and traffic and sits […]
On Saturday 21st June 1817 an open air stage coach travelling between Glasgow to Hamilton was involved in a fatal accident on top of the Priory Bridge at Blantyre. As the coach approached the bridge, an oncoming horse and cart startled the horses pulling the coach, and the passengers on top of the coach were alarmed […]
During March 2015, at the invite of owner Mr Clark Gibb, I spent a memorable afternoon at Mavis Mill. Along with his friend Alex from Spittal, we talked about the history of Mavis Mill and the highlight for me was to be given a tour around the substantial grounds. Clark took me to the Calder […]
Looking at Jean Claude Nattes, 1799 sketch of Priory Bridge, I was surprised to see a house sitting by the bridge on the North West Side. I know this not to be the Bardykes Mill, which was located in the river canyon itself, so what was this mysterious, old house in the field beyond the […]