Bothwell

   BOTHWELL, a parish, in the Middle ward of the county of Lanark; including the villages of Bellshill, Chapelhall, Holytown, Newarthill, and Uddingston; and containing 11,175 inhabitants, of whom 570 are in the village of Bothwell, 8 miles (S. E.) from Glasgow. The name is supposed, by some, to be derived from Both, an eminence, and wall, a castle, terms applied to the parish from the elevated situation of Bothwell Castle above the river Clyde; others derive it from two Celtic words, both, signifying a dwelling, and ael, or hyl, a river, as descriptive of the castle in its contiguity to the river. This extensive barony, in the reign of Alexander I., was held by Walter Olifard, justiciary of Lothian, who died in 1242; it afterwards came into the possession of the family of Moray, consisting, at that date, of a tower and fortalice, with their appurtenances, and of lands in various districts, constituting a lordship. In the time of Edward I. of England, it became a place of great importance, and it appears that that monarch resided in the castle from the 17th to the 20th September, 1301; in this reign, also, it was the residence of Aylmer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, who fled hither from Loudon Hill, where he had been defeated by Wallace, in 1307, and who, in 1309, was made governor of the castles of Selkirk and Bothwell. At the time of the battle of Bannockburn, Sir Walter Fitzgilbert, ancestor of the Hamilton family, was governor; and after the death of Bruce, when Edward III. invaded Scotland, in 1336, the king was at the castle from the 18th November till the 13th December, in the course of which time fifteen writs were issued thence, in his name. It came, at length, to the Earl of Bothwell, from whom it descended to Archibald the Grim, Earl of Douglas; and, after passing through many other hands, it reverted to the ancient family of Douglas in 1715. The collegiate church of Bothwell was founded on the 10th October, 1398, in the reign of Robert II., by the first earl of Douglas, for a provost and eight prebendaries, and was richly endowed. Most of the superiorities, with part of the property, and all the tithes, now belong to the Duke of Hamilton. Bothwell-Bridge, in the southern part of the parish, is celebrated in history for the battle fought there, in 1679, between the Covenanters and the Duke of Monmouth; and at a little distance, is Bothwell-Haugh, formerly the property of James Hamilton, who shot the regent Murray, for confiscating a part of his estate, and the barbarous treatment of his wife, on account of his having espoused the cause of Mary, Queen of Scots.

   The parish is, in extreme length, about 8½ miles, and varies in breadth from 2 to 4 miles, containing 13,600 acres; it is bounded on the north and west by the North Calder, and on the south, by the South Calder and the river Clyde. It is comprehended by the elevated ground running along the north-eastern bank of the Clyde from Lanark to near Glasgow, which range, however, recedes from the river in traversing this district, and leaves an intermediate plain, till it again inclines to the stream in the neighbourhood of Bothwell-Bridge. Near this it forms a piece of table-land of about one mile in extent, running to the westward, at the head of which are situated the church and village, about 120 feet above the level of the sea, and commanding a beautiful view, to the east, of the vale of Clyde. From the eastern boundary of the parish, the land falls rapidly to a distance of nearly four miles, after which a flat succeeds, of about equal length, declining southward towards the Calder and Clyde, and the western extremity of this tract sinks gradually into the extensive plain on which Glasgow is situated. The Clyde, the chief river, enters the parish at Bothwell-Haugh, and forms a majestic stream, the banks of which are famed for their diversified and picturesque scenery; it is 120 yards broad at Blantyre-Works, but at Bothwell-Bridge contracts itself to a span of 71 yards. The North and South Calder, after running separately for about 15 miles, form each a confluence with the Clyde; they flow between banks of sandstone rock, beautifully abrupt in many parts, and affording well-wooded and romantic scenery. Of these rivers, the Clyde, once so celebrated for the abundance of its salmon, has now greatly fallen off in this respect, very few fish comparatively visiting it, owing to many causes, one of the most considerable of which is said to be the impediment presented to their progress by the dam thrown over the river between Blantyre Mill and Bothwell.

   The prevailing soil is clay, resting upon a tilly subsoil, and is frequently, and in various proportions, mixed with loam and sand; in some places it consists of fine light mould, and in the vicinity of the rivers is a fertile alluvial deposit. The whole land is productive, with small exceptions of moss and moor; two-fifths are in pasture, and grain of all kinds, and of good quality, is raised; potatoes, turnips, peas, &c., are also cultivated in considerable quantities, with some flax, though this last is not grown so largely as formerly. Very great attention is given to dairy-farming, there being no less than 1000 cows kept, most of which are native varieties of the Ayrshire breed; the horses are in general likewise of a good stock. The rateable annual value of the parish is £35,207. The predominating rock is the red sandstone, which lies over the whole coal-bed in this district, at a distance of twenty or thirty fathoms above the coal; it is bright in colour, and, though sometimes soft and friable, generally well adapted to buildings. There are several quarries of good freestone near the Clyde, of a red colour; and in the upper parts of the parish, white freestone is found. Coal abounds in every direction, and four large seams, from which it is chiefly procured, extend throughout the parish, in which the Ell-coal, Pyotshaw, main, and splint coal succeed each other, the last being best suited for the smelting of iron; the average amount of coal obtained, in value, is estimated at £80,000 annually, and of iron-stone and other minerals, £20,000.

   The chief mansion is Bothwell Castle, a simple, yet commodious residence, built of the same red sandstone as the old castle, and consisting of an extensive front and two wings; the apartments are ornamented with several excellent portraits. The grounds are elegantly laid out, and the neighbouring scenery, comprising the waters of the Clyde and its picturesque banks, is ennobled by the ancient and venerable ruin of the old castle. The mansion of Woodhall, on the bank of the North Calder, is a spacious building in the style of the age of Louis XIV.; valuable pictures adorn some of the apartments, and the entrance-hall contains several French cuirasses and helmets of brass, brought from the field of Waterloo. The mansions of Cairnbroe and St. Enoch's Hall, both on the North Calder; Cleland, Carfin, Jerviston, and Douglas Park, are all superior residences, standing in the midst of interesting scenery; and Bothwell Park, a handsome commanding mansion, has a fine view of the fertile haughs of Hamilton, and of the vale of Clyde. The principal manufactures of the parish are those of pig-iron and steel, the former of which is produced at the Monkland Company's works at Chapelhall, to a great extent; about 100 tons of steel are manufactured annually, 30 tons of which are made into files, and upwards of 700 persons are employed at the works. Other similar works are carried on in the parish, of less importance. Post-offices are established at Bothwell, Bellshill, and Holytown, and the Glasgow and Edinburgh coaches, and the Hamilton, Lanark, and Strathaven coaches, pass through the parish; the Glasgow and Carlisle mail traverses the same road, and the Wishaw and Coltness railroad intersects the parish, and affords great facilities.

   The ecclesiastical affairs are subject to the presbytery of Hamilton and synod of Glasgow and Ayr; the stipend of the minister is £282. 14. 8., with a good manse, and a glebe valued at £36 per annum; patron, the Duke of Hamilton. The church, which is a superior building, in the pointed style of architecture, opened in 1833, extends 72 feet by 45, and contains 1200 sittings; the cost of the building was £4200, and it has a good bell, provided by the parish, at an expense of £150, and a clock which cost £133, raised by voluntary subscription. A church has been erected at Holytown, late a quoad sacra parish; and there is a Relief meetinghouse at Bellshill; also a meeting-house at Newarthill, belonging to the United Secession. The members of the Free Church have likewise a place of worship. Three parochial schools are supported, situated respectively at Bothwell, Holytown, and Newarthill, the master of the first of which has a house, and a salary of £34. 4. 4., with £70 fees; the others have £8. 11. each: the classics, mathematics, and all the usual branches of education are taught. The chief relic of antiquity in the parish is the magnificent ruin of the ancient castle, situated near the modern castle, on the summit of a verdant slope, in the midst of beautiful woods and pleasure grounds. The old church, which was originally the choir of the collegiate church (the most famous of the five collegiate churches in Lanarkshire), is a very fine specimen of ancient architecture; it was built about 1398, and disused as a church in 1828. Bothwell bridge is of great antiquity, though the age is not precisely known; it originally consisted of four arches, each spanning 45 feet, and measuring 15 feet in breadth, but it has been considerably enlarged, within these few years, by which an additional width of road is obtained. There is another bridge, supposed to be of Roman construction, across the South Calder, consisting of one arch of semicircular form, high and narrow, without parapets; it is supposed to have been on the line of the great Roman Watling-street, which ran through this part of the country, on the north-east bank of the Clyde. Chalybeate springs are very numerous in the district, and many of them are strongly sulphuretted. The celebrated Joanna Baillie was born in the manse, during the incumbency of her father, the Rev. James Baillie.