Gartsherrie

   GARTSHERRIE, lately a quoad sacra parish, in the parish of Old Monkland, county of Lanark; containing, with the villages of Coatbridge, Coatdyke, Gartcloss, Merrystone, and Summerlee, 5906 inhabitants, of whom 1499 are in the village of Gartsherrie, 2 miles (W.) from Airdrie. This is a considerable mining district, in the works connected with which the chief of the population are employed: the iron-works are of great magnitude, and include a number of blast-furnaces for the smelting of the ore. The coal-mine here is also worked on a very extensive scale; there are five strata of coal, between each of which is a stratum of sandstone and shale: the seams of coal vary in thickness from one foot four inches to four feet. The Glasgow and Garnkirk railway, which starts from St. Rollox, in the north-east quarter of the city, joins the Monkland and Kirkintilloch railway at this place. The ecclesiastical affairs are under the presbytery of Hamilton and synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and the patronage is vested in the subscribers to the church: the stipend of the minister is £150, secured by bond. The church, erected at a cost of £3300, is an elegant structure, with a tower rising to the height of 136 feet, and contains 1500 sittings. Near it is the Academy, erected in 1844, at a cost of £2300; and there is a large Sabbath school in connexion with the Establishment.