Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

LANARKSHIRE

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V16, Page 138 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

LANARKSHIRE , a See also:

south-western See also:county of See also:Scotland, bounded N. by the shires of See also:Dumbarton and See also:Stirling, E. by See also:Linlithgowshire, See also:Mid-See also:Lothian and See also:Peeblesshire, S. by See also:Dumfries-See also:shire and W. by the counties of See also:Ayr, See also:Renfrew and Dumbarton. Its See also:area is 879 sq. m. (562,821 acres). It may be described as embracing the valley of the See also:Clyde; and, in addition to the See also:gradual descent from the high See also:land in the south, it is also characterized by a See also:gentle slope towards both See also:banks of the See also:river. The shire is divided into three wards, the Upper, comprising all the See also:southern See also:section, or more than See also:half the whole area (over 330,000 acres) ; the See also:Middle, with See also:Hamilton for its See also:chief See also:town, covering fully 190,000 acres; and the See also:Lower, occupying the See also:northern area of about 40,000 acres. The See also:surface falls gradually from the uplands in the south to the See also:Firth of Clyde. The highest hills are nearly all on or See also:close to the See also:borders of Peeblesshire and See also:Dumfriesshire, and include Culler See also:Fell (2454 ft.) and Lowther See also:Hill (2377). The loftiest heights exclusively belonging to Lanarkshire are See also:Green Lowther (2403), Tinto (2335), Ballencleuch See also:Law (2267), Rodger Law (2257), Dun Law (2216), See also:Shiel Dod (2190), Dungrain Law (2186) and See also:Comb Law (2107). The See also:principal See also:rivers are the Clyde and its See also:head See also:waters and affluents (on the right, the Medwjn, See also:Mouse, South See also:Calder, See also:North Calder and See also:Kelvin; on the See also:left, the See also:Douglas, Nethan, See also:Avon, Rotten Calder and See also:Cart). There are no lochs of considerable See also:size, the few sheets of See also:water in the north—Woodend See also:Reservoir, See also:Bishop See also:Loch, Hogganfield Loch, Woodend Loch, Lochend Loch—mainly feeding the Monkland and the Forth and Clyde Canals. The most famous natural features are the Falls of Clyde at Bonnington, Corra, Dundaff and Stonebyres. See also:Geology.—The southern upland portion is built up of See also:Silurian and Ordovician rocks; the northern lower-lying tracts are formed of Carboniferous and Old Red See also:Sandstone rocks.

Ordovician strata See also:

cross the county from S.W. to N.E. in a See also:belt 5-7 M. in breadth which is brought up by a See also:fault against the Old Red and the Silurian on the northern See also:side. This fault runs by Lamington, Roberton and Crawfordjohn. The Ordovician rocks See also:lie in a synclinal See also:fold with beds of Caradoc See also:age in the centre flanked by graptolitic shales, grits and conglomerates, including among the last-named the See also:local " See also:Haggis-See also:rock "; the well-known See also:lead mines of See also:Leadhills are worked in these formations. Silurian shales and sandstones, &c., extend south of the Ordovician belt to the county boundary; and again, on the northern side of the Ordovician belt two small tracts appear through the Old Red Sandstone on the crests of anticlinal folds. The Old Red Sandstone covers an irregular See also:tract north of the Ordovician belt; a lower See also:division consisting of sandstone, conglomerates and mud-stones is the most extensively See also:developed; above this is found a See also:series of contemporaneous porphyrites and melaphyres, See also:con-formable upon the lower division in the See also:west of the county but are not so in the See also:east. An upper series of sandstones and grits is seen for a See also:short distance west of Lamington. See also:Lanark stands on the Old Red Sandstone and the Falls of Clyde occur in the same rocks. Economic-ally the most important See also:geological feature is the See also:coal See also:basin of the See also:Glasgow See also:district. The See also:axis of this basin lies in a N.E.-S.W. direction; in the central See also:part, including Glasgow, See also:Airdrie, See also:Motherwell, See also:Wishaw, Carluke, lie the coal-See also:measures, consisting of sandstones, shales, marls and fireclays with seams of coal and ironstone. There are eleven beds of workable coal, the more important seams being the Ell, See also:Main, Splint, Pyotshaw and Virtuewell. Underlying the coal-measures is the Millstone Grit seen on the northern side between Glenboig and Hogganfield—here the fireclays of Garnkirk, Gartcosh and Glenboig are worked—and on the south and south-east of the coal-measures, but not on the western side, because it is there cut out by a fault. Beneath the last-named formation comes the Carboniferous See also:Limestone series with thin coals and ironstones, and again beneath this is the Calciferous Sandstone series which in the south-east consists of sandstones, shales, &c., but in the west the greater part of the series is composed of interbedded volcanic rocksporphyrites and melaphyres.

It will be observed that in See also:

general the younger formations lie nearer the centre of the basin and the older ones See also:crop out around them. Besides the volcanic rocks mentioned there are intrusive basalts in the Carboniferous rocks like that in the neighbourhood of See also:Shotts, and the smaller masses at Hogganfield near Glasgow and elsewhere. Volcanic necks are found in the Carluke and Kilcadzow districts, marking the vents of former volcanoes and several dikes of See also:Tertiary age See also:traverse the older rocks. An intrusion of See also:pink See also:felsite in See also:early Old Red times has been the cause of Tinto Hill. Evidences of the Glacial See also:period are abundant in the See also:form of See also:kames and other deposits of See also:gravel, See also:sand and See also:boulder See also:clay. The See also:ice in flowing northward and southward from the higher ground took an easterly direction when it reached the lower ground. In the lower reaches of the Clyde the remains of old beaches at 25, 50 and too ft. above the See also:present See also:sea-level are to be observed. See also:Climate and See also:Agriculture.—The rainfall averages 42 in. annually, being higher in the hill See also:country and lower towards the north. The temperature for the See also:year averages 48° F., for See also:January 38° and for See also:July 59°. The area under See also:grain has shown a downward tendency since 1880. Oats is the principal crop, but See also:barley and See also:wheat are also grown. Potatoes and turnips are raised on a large See also:scale.

In the Lower See also:

Ward See also:market-gardening has increased considerably, and the quantity of vegetables, grapes and tomatoes reared under See also:glass has reached See also:great proportions. An See also:ancient See also:industry in the vale of the Clyde for many See also:miles below Lanark is the cultivation of See also:fruit, several of the orchards being said to date from the See also:time of See also:Bede. The apples and See also:pears are of See also:good repute. There has been a remark-able See also:extension in the culture of strawberries, hundreds of acres being laid down in beds. The See also:sheep walks in the upper and middle wards are heavily stocked and the herds of See also:cattle are extensive, the favoured breeds being See also:Ayrshire and a cross between this and " improved Lanark." See also:Dairy-farming flourishes, the cheeses of Carnwath and Lesmahagow being in steady demand. Clydesdale See also:draught-horses are of high class. They are supposed to have been bred from See also:Flanders horses imported early in the 18th See also:century by the 5th See also:duke of Hamilton. Most of the horses are kept for agricultural See also:work, but a considerable number of unbroken horses and mares are maintained for stock. Pigs are numerous, being extensively reared by the miners. The largest farms are situated in the Upper Ward, but the general holding runs from 50 to 100 acres. More than 21,000 acres are under See also:wood. Other See also:Industries.—The leading industries are those in connexionwith the See also:rich and extensive coal and See also:iron See also:field to the east and south-east of Glasgow; the See also:shipbuilding at See also:Govan and See also:Partick and in Glasgow See also:harbour; the textiles at Airdrie, See also:Blantyre, Hamilton, Lanark, New Lanark, Rutherglen and Glasgow; See also:engineering at See also:Cambuslang, Carluke, See also:Coatbridge, Kinning See also:Park, Motherwell and Wishaw, and the varied and flourishing manufactures centred in and around Glasgow.

Communications.—In the north of the county, where See also:

population is most dense and the See also:mineral field exceptionally rich, railway facilities are highly developed, there being for to or 12 M. around Glasgow quite a network of lines. The Caledonian Railway See also:Company's main See also:line to the south runs through the whole length of the shire, sending off branches at several points, especially at Carstairs Junction. The North See also:British Railway Company serves various towns in the lower and middle wards and its lines to See also:Edinburgh cross the north-western corner and the north of the county. Only in the immediate neighbourhood of Glasgow does the Glasgow and South Western See also:system compete for Lanarkshire See also:traffic, though it combines with the Caledonian to work the Mid-Lanarkshire and Ayrshire railway. The Monkland See also:Canal in the far north and the Forth and Clyde Canal in the north and north-west carry a considerable amount of goods, and before the days of See also:railways afforded one of the principal means of communication between east and west. Population and See also:Administration.—The population amounted in 1891 to 1,105,899 and in 1901 to 1,339,327, or 1523 persons to the sq. m. Thus though only tenth in point of extent, it is much the most populous county in Scotland, containing within its See also:bounds nearly one-third of the population of the country. In 1901 there were 104 persons speaking Gaelic only, and 26,905 speaking Gaelic and See also:English. The chief towns, with populations in 1901, apart from Glasgow, are Airdrie (22,288), Cambuslang (12,252), Coatbridge (36,991), Govan (82,174), Hamilton (32,775), Kinning Park (13,852), See also:Larkhall (11,879), Motherwell (30,418), Partick (54,298), Rutherglen (17,220), Shettleston (12,154), Wishaw (20,873). Among smaller towns are Bellshill, Carluke, Holytown, Lanark, Stonefield, See also:Toll-cross and Uddingston; and Lesmahagow and East See also:Kilbride are populous villages and See also:mining centres. The county is divided into six See also:parliamentary divisions:—North-east, North-west, Mid and South Lanark, Govan and Partick each returning one member. The royal burghs are Glasgow, Lanark and Rutherglen; the municipal and See also:police burghs Airdrie, See also:Biggar, Coatbridge, Glasgow, Govan, Hamilton, Kinning Park, Lanark, Motherwell, Partick, Rutherglen and Wishaw.

Glasgow returns seven members to See also:

Parliament; Airdrie, Hamilton and Lanark belong to the See also:Falkirk See also:group and Rutherglen to the See also:Kilmarnock group of parliamentary burghs. Lanarkshire is a sheriffdom, whose See also:sheriff-principal is confined to his judicial duties in the county, and he has eight substitutes, five of whom sit constantly in Glasgow, and one each at Airdrie, Hamilton and Lanark. The shire is under school-See also:board See also:jurisdiction, many See also:schools earning grants for higher See also:education. For advanced education, besides the university and many other institutions in Glasgow there are a high school in Hamilton, and technical schools at Coat-See also:bridge and Wishaw. The county See also:council expends the " See also:residue " See also:grant in supporting lectures and classes in agriculture and agricultural See also:chemistry, mining, dairying, See also:cookery, See also:laundry work, nursery and poultry-keeping, in paying fees and railway fares and providing bursaries for technical students, and in subsidizing See also:science and alt and technical classes in See also:day and evening schools. A director of technical education is maintained by the council. Lanark, Motherwell and Biggar entrust their shares of the grant to the county council, and Coatbridge and Airdrie themselves subsidize science and See also:art and evening classes and continuation schools. See also:History.—At an early period Lanarkshire was inhabited by a See also:Celtic tribe, the Damnonii, whose territory was divided by the See also:wall of See also:Antoninus between the Forth and Clyde (remains of which are found in the See also:parish of Cadder), but who were never wholly subjugated by the See also:Romans. Traces of their fortifications, mounds and circles exist, while See also:stone axes, See also:bronze celts, querns and urns belonging to their age are occasionally unearthed. Of the Romans there are traces in the See also:camp on Beattock See also:summit near Elvanfoot, in the See also:fine bridge over the Mouse near Lanark, in the road to the south of See also:Strathaven, in the wall already mentioned and in the coins and other See also:relics that have been dug up. After their departure the country which included Lanark-shire formed part of the See also:kingdom of See also:Strathclyde, which, in the 7th century, was subdued by Northumbrian See also:Saxons, when great See also:numbers of the Celts migrated into See also:Wales. The county once embraced a portion of See also:Renfrewshire, but this was disjoined in the time of See also:Robert III.

The shire was then divided into two wards, the Over (with Lanark as its chief town) and the Nether (with Rutherglen as its See also:

capital). The present division into three wards was not effected till the 18th century. Independently of Glasgow, Lanarkshire has not See also:borne any part continuously in the general history of Scotland, but has been the See also:scene of several exciting episodes. Many of See also:Wallace's daring deeds were performed in the county, See also:Queen See also:Mary met her See also:fate at Langside (1568) and the See also:Covenanters received See also:constant support from the See also:people, defeating Claverhouse at Drumclog (1679), but suffering defeat themselves at See also:Bothwell Brig (1679). See W. Hamilton, Description of the Sheriffdoms of Lanark and Renfrew, See also:Maitland See also:Club (1831); C. V. See also:Irving and,A. See also:Murray, The Upper Ward of Lanarkshire (Glasgow, 1864); The Clydesdale See also:Stud See also:Book (Glasgow) ; W. A. Cowan, History of Lanark (Lanark, 1867) ; Extracts from the Records of the See also:Burgh of Lanark (Glasgow, 1893).

End of Article: LANARKSHIRE

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
LANARK 		[next]
LANCASHIRE

Site © 2006 - Net Industries