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This postcard was given to me by Blantyre Project reader Margaret Stewart in January 2020. (Its amazing that people can pass things over to me in my garden from the park!) It is of course Craighead Viaduct (not Greenhall). The photo dates from around 1904, though the colourised postcard is from 1909. Simply titled ‘Blantyre […]
This scene is from around the 1910’s. Beyond the River Clyde on the Blantyre side of the river are the ruins of Blantyre Mills and up on the hill, Shuttle Row, the birthplace of Livingstone which was thankfully saved. The mills were demolished in 1903 leaving nothing much but the wages building (i’ve still to […]
In September 1916, an anonymous volunteer involved in the rescue and recovery of people in difficulties in the River Clyde was concerned about the frequency of drownings in the Village. He wrote to the papers making an appeal, as follows word for word: “As I was one of the voluntary rescue party the recent drowning […]
Need some help with these photos. They’re undated but I suspect may be the early 1980s. The location is known. The Clyde Braes, leading down to the River Clyde, not far from Station Road. The old works cemetery is in the photo, so its before the houses were built at Caskie Drive. What year do […]
A sad tale next. My history colleague Robert Stewart recently messaged me reminding me that he had discovered 11 unknown persons interred in Blantyre Cemetery. Whilst doing some more cemetery research, Robert came across an interment of an unknown baby. He told me, “The entry in the records reads:- Newly born male child – found […]
Well, this castle may be familiar. It is of course BOTHWELL CASTLE, a reconstruction showing how it may have looked like in its glorious days before battles and invasion. Can you imagine this castle over 700 years ago, looking like this, majestic standing above a River Clyde abundant with Salmon and overlooking a newly built […]
There’s a little known man from Blantyre’s history that deserves some attention drawn to him. William McCall (or McColl) was a Blantyre man who made many heroic river rescues and managed to save the lives of many people. His heroic efforts can be traced back as far as 1889 and were the admiration of the […]
Bernice Cox messaged, “My great grandfather, Matthew LINDSAY (married to Catherine CORNFIELD), was fishing or poaching probably, salmon from the River Clyde on 27th May 1878. He was spotted by the gamekeeper who set off across the river in a boat and Matthew took off running. He collapsed and died at the scene and […]
When the day of the demolition of the David Livingstone Memorial Bridge arrived in May 1999, it was found after cutting the main supports that the contractors could not pull it fully down. The attempt was abandoned and the next day further acetylene burning tools arrived to weaken the bridge sufficiently into smaller sections […]