Cadder, or Calder

   CADDER, or CALDER, a parish, in the Lower ward of the county of Lanark, 3 miles (W. by S.) from Kirkintilloch; containing, with the village of Auchinearn, the hamlet of Bishopbridge, and the late quoad sacra district of Chryston, 4425 inhabitants. This place derives its name from its situation in the midst of a district abounding with wood and water, of which its appellation in the old British language, Calder, is significant. It appears to have owed its origin, as a parish, to the foundation of a church by St. Patrick, who was born in the immediate vicinity, and who, towards the close of the 5th century, founded numerous other churches in the neighbourhood, which were subsequently endowed by Convallus II., with lands for the maintenance of their respective clergy. The parish is about fourteen miles in length, and four in breadth, and the surface, which is generally undulated, is diversified with lakes, and by various tributary streams, which fall into the river Kelvin, the parish boundary on the north and west. Of the former, the most important were, Auchinloch, nearly in the centre of the parish, from which, on its being drained some years since, a stream was conducted to the Kelvin; Loch Grog, drained in 1844; and Robroyston loch, in the western part, now almost reclaimed into arable land. Johnston loch, in the eastern part, is about a mile in circumference, and is employed by the Forth and Clyde Company, as a reservoir for supplying their canal, for which purpose, also, they have appropriated the Bishop's loch, of which a small portion is within this parish.

   The soil is extremely various; in some parts, a rich black loam; in others, mossy; on the banks of the various streams, chiefly alluvial; and in some parts, sandy. Several of the mosses, all of which abound with peat, have been reclaimed, affording excellent crops. About 9000 acres of land are in cultivation, about 300 deep moss, and there are something more than 500 acres in plantations, of which the principal, on the Cadder estate, contains many trees of ancient and luxuriant growth: there are several extensive dairy-farms, mostly stocked with cows of the Ayrshire breed. The crops are, oats, wheat, potatoes, barley, rye, and turnips, in the production of which the improved system of agriculture is adopted. The rateable annual value of the parish is £21,941. The substratum is chiefly whinstone, many seams of which, in different parts, rise above the surface; freestone is also found in abundance, alternating with the whinstone, and large quantities of it are sent to Glasgow. Limestone is prevalent; and coal exists in the parish, at a considerable depth, but the quality is not sufficiently good to remunerate the labour of working it. There are some extensive tracts of clay, used for pottery and bricks; of the former, various elegant specimens of vases have been produced, and fire-bricks and crucibles of excellent quality are made of the latter. Ironstone abounds, and is wrought to a considerable extent by the Carron Company. The Forth and Clyde canal intersects the western portion of the parish, passing in a line nearly parallel with the river Kelvin; the Kirkintilloch railway, opened in 1826, crosses its eastern extremity, and the Garnkirk and Glasgow railway, opened in 1831, passes on the south side, for several miles. In 1842, the line of the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway was carried through the parish. The village, formerly extensive, contains at present only sixty-four inhabitants, employed on the lands of its proprietor, whose mansion, recently enlarged, forms the principal object of interest in the place.

   The ecclesiastical affairs are under the superintendence of the presbytery of Glasgow and synod of Glasgow and Ayr; the patronage is in the heritors and Kirk Session, and the stipend of the incumbent is £280.8., with a manse, and a glebe of about ten acres. The church, erected in 1830, is a neat edifice of stone, in the early English style, with a square tower, and is adapted for a congregation of about 800 persons. There are three parochial schools, situated respectively at Cadder, Chryston, and Auchinearn; the master in Cadder has a salary of £25. 13., and the fees amount to more than a sum of £55; the master at Chryston has £17. 2., with £56 fees, and the master of Auchinearn has £8. 10., with £12 fees, and the interest of 1000 merks bequeathed by the Rev. James Warden. Another school, in the village of Auchinloch, is endowed with £300, bequeathed by Patrick Baird, Esq. There are some remains of the ancient Roman wall, near the glebe. In 1813, a gold coin of Antoninus Pius was discovered, in a very perfect state, in clearing out the pond of Cadder; and in levelling the lawn before the house, the foundations of the old tower appeared, in which was found a vessel containing more than 300 gold coins, of the size of a shilling, with the inscription Jacobus.