River Cart

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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 south east) and is only 0.75 mile (1 km) long. The River Cart and its tributary the White Cart Water were navigable as far as the Seedhill Craigs at Paisley; and, as with the River Clyde, various improvements were made to this river navigation.

In 1840 the 0.50 mile (0.8 km) Forth and Cart Canal was opened, linking the Forth and Clyde Canal, at Whitecrook, to the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Cart. The aim was to provide a direct link between Paisley, Port Dundas, Edinburgh, and the Firth of Forth.^[1]

[edit] 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] White Cart Water

The White Cart Water originates near Eaglesham in East Renfrewshire, where it flows north to Busby and Stamperland 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 River Levern. 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 falls over the Seedhill Craigs and 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, the Piazza Shopping Centre and Paisley Gilmour Street railway station; emerging from the Abercorn Bridge, 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.

Robert Burns' poem Gallant Weaver mentions the River Cart.

A major flood alleviation scheme will be constructed shortly (2007) by Glasgow City Council to protect vulnerable property on the south side of Glasgow. Designed by Halcrow the scheme will be the largest flood alleviation projects undertaken in Scotland.

[edit] Former industrial uses

Paisley Abbey has a medieval drain, belonging to the monastery, which was rediscovered in the 1990s; and excavated by archaeologists.^[2] 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.^[2]

[edit] River Cart Navigation improvement schemes

The River Cart and the White Cart Water are navigable to Paisley; being blocked in the 1960s, at Sneddon Street, by the aqueduct under the Piazza Shopping Centre.

[edit] 18th & 19th century improvements

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.^[1][3] This led to some improvements around Inchinnan. The first steamer service to Paisley started in July 1815, it was provided by the Prince of Orange.^[4]

The original Swing Bridge, at Inchinnan, on the Turn Pike road, now the A8, was opened in 1838; the mechanism for swing bridge was made by Barr and McNab of the Abercorn Foundry, Paisley.^[3] A year earlier the, Scotch gauge, Paisley and Renfrew Railway had opened between Paisley Hamilton Street and Renfrew Wharf.^[5] The railway was intended to both enhance the capabilities of the River Cart navigation as well as competing against it for goods and passenger traffic. The Cart Trust later went bankrupt.

The Forth and Cart Canal, opened in 1840, together with the Forth and Clyde Canal, was intended to provide a direct link between Paisley, Port Dundas, Edinburgh, and the Firth of Forth, without the need to go down the River Clyde to Bowling and return along the Forth and Clyde Canal to almost the starting point.^[1] Its aim was to bring coal to Paisley.^[1]

In January 1866 the Paisley and Renfrew Railway was temporarily closed; it reopened as a Standard gauge railway and was linked to the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway at Arkleston Junction; Hamilton Street station then closed.^[5]

Paisley's harbour was expanded in 1891 and the re-opening in April 1891 was celebrated by a fleet of steamers sailing from Paisley to Rothesay.^[4]

[edit] 20th century improvements

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 still capable of opening, as the Babcock and Wilcox (now Doosan Babcock) factory at Renfrew requires 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 and has been closed to traffic since 1997, the structure being deemed unsafe.

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; it was linked to the Paisley and Renfrew Railway. This was used extensively during World War II. Carlile Quay being used for smaller boats. The navigation lights were also upgraded.

The harbour fell into disuse in the 1960s and has been used as a scrapyard for many decades. Carlile Quay has been landscaped, refurbished and made more attractive to pedestrians. Apartment buildings and houses have been built on the vacant site adjacent to the quay.

[edit] Sewage

All of Paisley's sewage and industrial effluent had been discharged untreated into the River Cart via its tributaries: the St Mirin Burn, the Lady Burn, the Sneddon Burn, the Espedair Burn, etc.^[3] By 1870 this had led to many complaints about smells and epidemics.^[3]

"Intercepting sewers" were therefore built on either side of the St Mirin burn to intercept the sewage and discharge it directly into the White Cart Water.^[3] 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 works had begun operations in 1894.

Land at Laigh Park was bought for this purpose between the first and second World Wars although construction work did not start until 1949 with the works opening in 1952. The sewage works were 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] External links

• White Cart Walkway - Cathcart section of walk from Snuff Mill to Holmwood House.

[edit] References