Stonehouse is a rural village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on Avon Water in an area of natural beauty and historical interest, near to the Clyde Valley. It is also situated on the A71 trunk road between Edinburgh and Kilmarnock, close to the towns of Hamilton, Larkhall and Strathaven.
In 1971, Stonehouse was designated to become one of Scotland's new towns. It would be designed to accommodate population overspill from the city of Glasgow similar to the towns of East Kilbride, Cumbernauld and Livingston. A determined attempt to regenerate areas within Glasgow by renewing older properties precipitated a change in policy and in light of these considerations, indecision as to whether to build or not lasted several years until finally in 1976 it was decided that Stonehouse would not be built into a new town.
The population of Stonehouse is around 6500.
The old village centre has several rows of late 18th century and early 19th century weavers' cottages, some of which have double windows which were originally intended to maximise the amount of light coming in, for weavers working on their looms.
The village's oldest structure are the ruins of St Ninian's Church, which date from the 17th century and stand in an ancient graveyard on the edge of the village.
Close by is the Alexander Hamilton Memorial Park which has pathways down to the Avon Water, a bandstand and other recreational facilities.
Cot Castle
Cot (Kat) Castle Not much is known of this mysterious castle which once stood on the banks of the Avon. Resting on a precipitous cliff face, the castle or ‘Keep’ as it should be known, was home to the Hamiltons in the year 1500AD. The failure of Edward I to impose lasting peace in Scotland brought about three centuries of border warfare. With the constant destruction and changing possession of castles, it proved to be time consuming and expensive task to constantly maintain and defend great fortresses. Thus the 14th and 15th centuries saw the evolution of a type of ‘keep’ or ‘tower house’ more appropriate to the limited resources of the defenders. This stone structure was both fireproof and capable of being defended should the castle be stormed. Basically it was a type of fortified house rather than a castle. In Ireland and Scotland keeps tended to be smaller than their English counterparts, a compromise between comfort and security where the sudden raid was feared more than the prolonged siege.
The basic type of keep was either square or rectangular rising through three or more storeys enclosing hall, chamber, kitchen, chapel and final place of refuge. Cot castle was probably very similar to the keep (tower house) within Craignethan castle which is thought to date from the 15th century. Cot castle is noted in Bartholomew’s Castles map of Scotland as a ‘keep’ and in 1836 there were said to be remains still visible.
In the 1937 Statistical Account of Stonehouse mention is made of Cot castle in the following extract: “Among the documents discovered in 1887 in the Hamilton Chamberlain’s office, is a notarial instrument, narrating that in terms of a charter granted by himself, Alexander Hamilton of Catcastell, passed to the one-mark of Woodland and the half-merk land of Brownland, lying in the barony of Stanehouse and the sheriffdom of Lanark and there gave sasine of these lands with his own hands to James Wynzet, his heirs and assignees in usual form, 29th January 1511-12.”
Cot castle farm was later built on this site but fell into disrepair and was abandoned at the end of the 1970s. There was also a railway station sited here for transporting goods. Various derivatives of name are listed under placenames.
Holy Wells
There have been four holy wells within the Stonehouse area. All the wells are of pagan origin and are said to have had healing properties and may also have been used for Christian baptisms. Evidence of all four wells can still be found, though some are more prominent than others.
Site of Ringsdale Castle
Like Cot castle, Ringsdale was probably a ‘motte’ rather than a castle. It once stood high on the roof of the Avon gorge overlooking the winding waters of the river. The name of the castle possibly derives from the ancient language of the Britons, Rhyn, signifying a promontory or hill. The word has been corrupted in pronunciation to Ringsdale. Today all that remains of the castle is the raised ‘motte’ at the summit of the gorge overlooking the river bank. Even the romantically located Glenavon cottage which once stood next to Ringsdale has vanished though a small corner of its walls still stands marking its resting place.
On a map of 1838, there is marked a mill known as Cloxy mill (Clocksy, 1864) near the remains of Ringsdale castle. Today there are still ruins of the mill to be seen on the banks of the Avon, but no records of its origins.
Castles appear to be abundant in this area. On the outskirts of the parish can be found the sites of Allanton, Brocket, Plotcock, Glassford and Darngaber motte.
Stonehouse has two primary schools - Stonehouse Primary and Newfield Primary. Both these schools are within the catchment area of Larkhall Academy, but some children in the village attend Strathaven Academy. The local Catholic Primary School is St Patricks Primary School in Strathaven.
Stonehouse Primary School
This was formerly known as Townhead Public School and became the village's main primary school after 1947 and before the Newfield Primary School opened in 1979.
Newfield primary school
As a result of the village rapidly expanding since the Second World War, Newfield Primary School was opened in 1979.
Stonehouse has regular bus transport to the nearby towns of Larkhall, Hamilton, East Kilbride and Strathaven.
Stonehouse is close to the M74 motorway, with a junction at Canderside Toll (approx. 1 mile from the village), which provides a link to the rest of UK.
Stonehouse is also on the A71 trunk road, which stretches between Edinburgh and Kilmarnock. A by-pass was constructed around the old village area, rejoining the original route of the A71 near Stonehouse Hospital at the village’s Newfield area.
The railway was closed in 1965. There was a junction in Stonehouse where the Coalburn branch diverged from the line to Strathaven.
Today, the nearest railway station for Stonehouse is at Larkhall. South Lanarkshire Council have recently undertaken a feasibility study in order to examine whether the railway from Larkhall could be extended towards Stonehouse; however the major obstacles are the viaduct which whilst the piers remain, the decking was removed in 1984. Also in the mid 1990s the A71 bypass was partially built over the trackbed of the former line.
There are two closed line Stonehouse to Dalserf Railway and Stonehouse to Strathaven Railway.
St Ninians Church
This church was built in 1896, at a time when the Old Parish Church lacked space. In 1929, after the Union of the Churches, this was renamed to St Ninian's Parish Church of Scotland. The ruins of the church are situated within its own cemetery off Manse Road.
Stonehouse United Reformed Church
Paterson Free Church
Renamed to honour H A Paterson, the church's minister who died in 1901, this church was originally called the United Free Church and was built in 1879. Prior to this was the church for the Associates Secession or Burgher denomination, which was built nearby in 1796 and existed until 1878.
Alexander Hamilton Memorial Park The Alexander Hamilton Memorial Park was presented to the village by Alexander Hamilton (a former Stonehouse resident) in 1925, along with its bandstand from the Great Glasgow Exhibition of 1911, which was purchased from Glasgow District Council in 1924. The bandstand looks over the Avon Valley giving one of the most beautiful views in the village.
The park itself was once famous for containing the longest chute in Scotland, which was opened in 1933 by Councillor Thomas Wilson and was dismantled in 1967.
Today the park possesses a floodlit athletics track, football pitch, multi-surface games area as well as woodland walks and various play areas.
Tileworks Sports Ground
The Tileworks sports ground has a floodlit all weather playing surface designed for football or tennis. The facility also has indoor changing facilities and a full size grass pitch used by Stonehouse Violet FC.
Adjacent to the park is a BMX track.
Alexander Hamilton Memorial Park Alexander Hamilton Memorial Park has a floodlit athletics track, a football pitch for rugby and football and a multi-surface games area, suitable for roller blading, basketball and other ball games.
Stonehouse Bowling Club
The bowling club was first formed in 1857 at Loch Hall but later moved to its present location in Vicars Road
Stonehouse senior citizens hall
This hall started life as the Gas Office. It is situated in the village square at Stonehouse Cross and shares the building with Stonehouse Library.
Stonehouse Public Institute
The Institute was formerly the Miners Welfare Hall. It was built in the early 1900s on New Street, close to the cross and is used for a variety of events and concerts. The smaller part of the building was also used as a radio studio, providing a local FM radio station for most of South Lanarkshire.
Stonehouse Libray
Stonehouse public hall
This hall was built in the late 19th century at Trongate, close to the cross.
Cander Moss
This reserve is a remnant of a large area of raised bog and is maintained by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The site is rich with all types of wildlife that can be found in this type of habitat. However, there are no footpaths and access across it is difficult.
Avon Water Cander Water
Grossyet Knowe Sodom Hill
Stonehouse War Memorial is situated in the middle of Stonehouse Cemetery and lists those who died in both World Wars. The World War 1 soldiers names are on the side that faces the cemetery gates and the World War 2 names are on the opposite side.
The memorial is in the form of a cross on a long shaft which stands on a four tiered octagonal plinth. There is no decoration on either the plinth or cross.
Stonehouse Cemetery St Ninians Church Cemetery Glebe Cemetery
Stonehouse Viaduct Linthaugh Bridge
Linthaugh Bridge crosses the Avon water at the bottom of Linthaugh Brae. The bridge was built in 1772.
Stonehouse hospital
Stonehouse Hospital first opened in 1896 and provided care for sufferers of tuberculosis and other diseases and was said to be "the best isolation hospital in Scotland," at a time when many of the local residents lived with very poor sanitation and contaminated water supplies. Many children died when they were still infants and the age expectancy of men was typically 26 years. Typhus, whooping cough, diphtheria and cholera were spread easily at that time and in 1893 the parochial board considered building a fever hospital.
Stonehouse Community First Response.
Starting operations from late August 2009, the CFR group for Stonehouse is one of many groups operating in Scotland. The purpose of the group is to provide supplementary emergency medical cover within the area, specifically to allow rapid attendance at instances of things like Cardiac Arrest, Central Chest Pain, Sudden Adult Collapse or Breathing Difficulties. Due to the rural location of the Avondale area, it can sometimes take an ambulance upwards of 10 minutes to attend an incident. In the event of a Cardiac Arrest, ideally you would want a Defib. unit on scene within 5 minutes, preferably sooner. Members of the group are fully trained in the use of Defibrillators, supplemental Oxygen use, Airway management, and various other aspects of Basic Life Support. Community First Responder
The scheme is completely staffed by unpaid volunteers who are dispatched by the Scottish Ambulance Service to appropriate medical emergencies within the areas covered. At the current time, the Stonehouse scheme also covers:- Larkhall, Strathaven, Ashgill, Glassford, Sandford, & anywhere in between. In some circumstances, cover can also be extended to Blackwood/Kirkmuirhill/Boghead (Usually only if the fellow CFR scheme in Lesmahagow area is not on call). At the time of writing (1 September 2010), the first year stats. for the group are over 3500 hours of cover and attendance at over 220 emergency incidents. There are currently 10 members of the group, but new volunteers are always welcome.
Stonehouse Heritage Group.
Stonehouse Heritage Group (SHG) was formed in 1991. It was created by a small band of volunteers. Their First Project was the inputting of census information on Stonehouse (Lanarkshire) into a computer database. The First census return to be input was the 1891 census. Search routines were developed so that the data could be easily accessed through a number of options that included Surname, full Name, Address etc. therefore providing an extremely quick search facility. Since then more information has gradually been added. Website www.stonehouseheritage.co.uk has the majority of the information being collated. SHG have access to a resource room above the library at 4/5 the Cross Stonehouse ML9 3LO.
|
||||||||||