What a fantastic photo this is! Photographed recently by Jack Byres, it’s full of character and perhaps a timely reminder that not all buildings stand the test of time. This is McCaffrie’s Building in Springwells as it looks today, but uncommonly photographed from the back, away from Glasgow Road. Many people will know it more […]
I’ll soon be writing about all the businesses to have existed on the north side of Glasgow Road. Having found this excellent article about “Dunn’s Food and Drink” by Karen Peattie, I thought I’d share it here which should aid research at a later date. Karen writes, “WITH unprecedented sunny weather shining down on Scotland […]
On 17th October 1979, Springwells declared Independence from Hamilton! This was the cheeky headline in local papers following the decision by Hamilton District Council earlier that year to rip Springwells from Blantyre and place it into Hamilton on an official basis. Springwells was having none of it! Following no success with protests and petitions, they […]
From the illustrated book, “Blantyre Glasgow Road South – The Real Story” by Paul Veverka (c) 2017 One of the largest and oldest properties in Springwell on Glasgow Road was the well known and heavily populated former ‘Allison Place.’ Constructed in 1878 by Robert Lindsay for John Heriot of Wishaw, his daughter Ann Heriot, (a […]
Born in 1838 in Strathaven, William Semple came to Blantyre in 1881 with his wife, Christina. As a stonemason by trade and employer of others, you may recall from earlier in the book, around that time he built and sold Welsh’s Land to John Welsh. You’ll see from this chapter that later on in […]
The Springwell Piggery was formed in 1916, when Thomas Speirs, the new owner of McLelland’s Buildings cleared the yard at the back and fenced off the large open plan space. He sold the former stables that year, which was of no use to the Speirs family and the buyer was a Mr. William McCallum Junior […]
With exception of Springwell Farm, one of the oldest properties to ever exist in the hamlet was “McDougall’s Land” or to give it its original official name, “Springwell Cottages”. During the lifetime of this former building, like others nearby it would change hands a few times, be used as personal home for the owner […]