River Cart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The River Cart is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew.
The River Cart itself is very short, being formed from the confluence of the Black Cart Water (from the west) and the White Cart Water (from the southwest).
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[edit] The Black Cart Water
The Black Cart Water originates at Castle Semple Loch in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire. From there, it flows northeast to Johnstone; and then under the M8 motorway at Blackstoun, where it is joined by the River Gryfe. The river then flows parallel with the main runway of Glasgow International Airport; passing under the A8 at Renfrew by means of a stone bridge, where it joins the White Cart Water.
[edit] The White Cart Water
The White Cart Water originates near Eaglesham in East Renfrewshire, where it flows north to Busby before entering the southern suburbs of Glasgow at Cathcart. Here, the river turns west, flowing through Pollokshaws and cutting through Pollok Country Park before leaving Glasgow at Crookston, where it is joined by the Levern Water. From Crookston, the river crosses into Renfrewshire and flows through the farmlands of Hawkhead, parallel with the Paisley Canal Railway line; on entering the town of Paisley, the river crosses under a number of roads, through bridges and covered aqueducts, to emerge in the town centre at Paisley Abbey. It then passes under Gauze Street, Paisley Shopping Centre and Paisley Gilmour Street railway station; emerging from a wide, high arched red sandstone bridge at Sneddon Street. From there it flows, mostly hidden from view, towards Glasgow International Airport and Renfrew.
The Greenock Road (A8), between Inchinnan and Renfrew, passes over the White Cart Water by means of the Swing Bridge. The White Cart Water then joins with the Black Cart Water, just downstream of the bridge, to become the River Cart.
Gallant Weaver
Robert Burns
Where Cart rins rowin' to the sea, By mony a flower and spreading tree, There lives a lad, the lad for me, He is a gallant Weaver. O, I had wooers aught or nine, They gied me rings and ribbons fine; And I was fear'd my heart wad tine, And I gied it to the Weaver.
My daddie sign'd my tocher-band, To gie the lad that has the land, But to my heart I'll add my hand, And give it to the Weaver. While birds rejoice in leafy bowers, While bees delight in opening flowers, While corn grows green in summer showers, I love my gallant Weaver.
[edit] Former industrial uses
Paisley Abbey has a medieval drain, belonging to the monastery, which was rediscovered in the 1990s; and excavated by archaeologists. The abbey/monastery drain linked with the White Cart Water both upstream and downstream of the abbey, near what is now Dunn Square. The White Cart Water provided both drinking water for the monastery and was used to flush away kitchen waste and the latrines.
[edit] River improvement schemes
The White Cart Water is navigable to Paisley, being blocked now at Sneddon Street by the aquaduct under Paisley Shopping Centre.
An Act of Parliament was obtained by the Cart Trust for the river's improvement in 1787, in response to pressure from Paisley's shipbuilders. This led to some improvements around Inchinnan. The original Swing Bridge, at Inchinnan, was opened in 1838; the mechanism for swing bridge was made by Barr and McNab of the Abercorn Foundry, Paisley. A year earlier the Paisley and Renfrew railway had opened between Paisley (Hamilton Street) and Renfrew. The Cart Trust later went bankrupt.
Further, unsuccessful, attempts were made to improve the River Cart at the start of the 20th century. In 1920, after the end of World War I, attempts were made to buy out the bankrupt Cart Trust; but they resisted these attempts.
The swing bridge at Inchinnan was replaced by the present bridge in 1923; it was made by Sir William Arrol and Co. It lifts vertically so it is more of a Bascule bridge than a Swing bridge, but it is still known as the swing bridge. It is apparently still capable of opening, as the Babcock and Wilcox, now Matsui Babcock, factory at Renfrew needed the capability to move large loads by river.
Sir William Arrol and Co also made the pedestrian lifting bridge across the White Cart Water at Carlile Quay (off New Sneddon Street) but this has been disabled from lifting for over 30 years.
An Act of Parliament was obtained in 1938 by the Ministry of Transport, the Admiralty and the Ministry of Shipping. A harbour was built at Laigh Park (Laighpark harbour) at which large cargo boats / ships could load and unload. This was used extensively during World War II. Carlile Quay being used for smaller boats. The Paisley (Hamilton Street) to Renfrew railway line (the Paisley and Renfrew railway) was reopened and linked to the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway at Arkleston junction; and the navigation lights were upgraded.
The harbour fell into disuse in the 1960s and has been used as a scrapyard for many decades. The Paisley and Renfrew railway, from Arkleston junction to Renfrew, was also closed in the 1960s. The site of the former Renfrew Road station goods yard was used to build a DIY superstore operated by Tesco in the late 1970s - Unlike most Tesco stores, for most of its life it was forbidden to sell food. In the 1980s the store was sold to become a DIY superstore - "Great Mills". Carlile Quay has been landscaped, refurbished and made more attractive to pedestrians.
[edit] Sewage
All of Paisley's sewage and industrial effluent had been discharged untreated into the River Cart via its tributaries: the St Mirin's Burn, the Lady Burn, the Sneddon Burn, etc. By 1870 this had lead to many complaints about smells and epidemics.
"Intercepting sewers" were therefore built on either side of the St Mirin's burn to intercept the sewage and discharge it directly into the White Cart Water. Whilst this helped clean up Paisley it did not clean up the River Cart. It led to complaints from Johnstone, Renfrew and Glasgow; and calls by them for Paisley to provide a sewage treatment farm. Johnstone, Bridge of Weir, Lochwinnoch and Glasgow already had sewage treatment farms; Glasgow's opened in 1894.
Land at Laigh Park was bought for this purpose between the first and second World Wars; but construction work did not start until 1949, the works opened in 1952. The sewage works was linked to the intercepting sewers and took all of Paisley's sewage and industrial effluent for treatment.
[edit] Water power
Both the Black Cart Water and the White Cart Water provided power to drive mills.
[edit] References
Maldon, John (2000). The Monastery & Abbey of Paisley. Paisley: Renfrewshire Local History Forum.
