Lanarkshire | |
|---|---|
 Rolling Lanarkshire countryside nearLanark | |
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| Sovereign state |  United Kingdom |
| Country |  Scotland |
| County town | Lanark (historic) Glasgow (1890–1964) Hamilton (1964–1975) |
| Area | |
• Total | 879 sq mi (2,277 km2) |
| Ranked 11th of 34 | |
| Chapman code | LKS |
Lanarkshire, also called theCounty of Lanark (Scottish Gaelic:Siorrachd Lannraig;Scots:Lanrikshire), is ahistoric county,lieutenancy area andregistration county in theCentral Lowlands andSouthern Uplands ofScotland. The county is no longer used for local government purposes, but gives its name to the two moderncouncil areas ofNorth Lanarkshire andSouth Lanarkshire.
The county was established as ashire (the area controlled by asheriff) in the twelfth century, covering most of the basin of theRiver Clyde. The area was sometimes known asClydesdale. In the early fifteenth century the western part of the shire was removed to becomeRenfrewshire. The historic county of Lanarkshire includesGlasgow, but the city had a separatelieutenancy from 1893. A Lanarkshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, which was based in Glasgow until 1964 when it moved toHamilton.
Lanarkshire is generally bounded to the north byDunbartonshire andStirlingshire, to the north-east byWest Lothian andMidlothian, to the east byPeeblesshire, to the south byDumfriesshire, and to the west byAyrshire andRenfrewshire. The county is more rural in the south where it extends into the hills of theSouthern Uplands, and more built-up in the north where it includes much of theGreater Glasgowconurbation, Scotland's largest urban area.
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It is not known exactly when the shire of Lanark was created; it seems likely that it was created byDavid I (reigned 1124–1153) who was generally responsible for introducing shires as part of hisintroduction of Anglo-Norman style administration to Scotland. However, the first documented reference to Lanarkshire dates from the reign of David's successor,Malcolm IV (reigned 1153–1165).[1]
Lanarkshire covered much of the basin of the River Clyde, and took its name from the town ofLanark, which is near the geographic centre of the county and served as the first county town. When first created the shire included on its western side an area south of the Clyde stretching out to theFirth of Clyde. This western area was made the separate county ofRenfrewshire in the early fifteenth century. The remainder of Lanarkshire was then divided into two wards, each with their ownsheriff-substitute: Over Ward was administered from Lanark, and Nether Ward was administered fromRutherglen andHamilton at different times.[2] In the mid-eighteenth century the two wards were replaced with three wards: Upper Ward based in Lanark, Middle Ward based in Hamilton, and Lower Ward based in Glasgow.[3][4]
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Elected county councils were created in 1890 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889. Lanarkshire County Council covered the combined area of the three wards, but excluding the threeburghs ofAirdrie, Glasgow and Hamilton, which were deemed capable of running their own affairs. Glasgow was subsequently made acounty of itself in 1893, also removing the city from the rest of Lanarkshire for judicial andlieutenancy purposes.[5] Reforms to county council powers in 1930 saw Airdrie and Hamilton brought within the administrative area of the county council.[6]
Lanarkshire County Council was initially based atCounty Buildings in Wilson Street in Glasgow; whilst the city was outside the area controlled by the county council, it was found to be the most accessible meeting place for the councillors. From 1930 the county council was based atLanarkshire House in Ingram Street in Glasgow.[7][8] Lanark County Council relocated toLanark County Buildings inHamilton in 1964.[9][10]
In 1975, thecounty council was abolished under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which established a new system of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Lanarkshire was included within theStrathclyderegion, and the county council's former area was divided between seven districts:
Forlieutenancy purposes, the lastLord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire was madelord-lieutenant for the combined area of the Clydesdale, East Kilbride, Hamilton, Monklands, and Motherwell districts when the reforms came into effect in 1975.[11]
Further reforms in 1996 under theLocal Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw the regions and districts abolished and replaced by all-purpose unitarycouncil areas. Since then Lanarkshire has straddled the modern council areas of:
The Lanarkshire lieutenancy area was redefined at the same time to cover all of South Lanarkshire and most of North Lanarkshire, but excluding the area aroundCumbernauld andKilsyth, with the excluded area roughly corresponding to the parts of North Lanarkshire which had been inDunbartonshire andStirlingshire prior to 1975.[12][13]
North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire have a joint board for valuation and electoral registration. There is also a joint health board, which does not coverRutherglen and the surrounding area in South Lanarkshire. The boundaries of the historic county of Lanarkshire, excluding the city of Glasgow, are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being aregistration county.[14]
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Lanarkshire was granted a coat of arms by theLord Lyon on 24 December 1886. The arms is: Party per chevrongules andargent, two cinquefoils pierced in chiefermine, and in base a man's heart counter-changed. The cinquefoils come from the arms of theClan Hamilton, and the heart from the arms of theClan Douglas, the two main local families. The crest is a demi-eagle displayed withtwo heads,sable beaked gules. The motto isVIGILANTIA.[15]
Lanarkshire occupies the valley of theriver Clyde, which crosses the county from the north-west to south-east. It is predominantly flat and agricultural, rising to the south with theLowther Hills of theSouthern Uplands, withCulter Fell on the border with Peeblesshire being the highest point at 748 m (2,454 ft). In the east a small portion of thePentland Hills lie in the county, in the vicinity ofTarbrax andDunsyre. In the far south lies theDaer Reservoir. Northern Lanarkshire is dominated by theGlasgow conurbation, Scotland's largest city, though some small bodies of water can be found such as theRoughrigg Reservoir, Lilly Loch, Hillend Reservoir, Forrestburn Reservoir andBlack Loch. Other significant settlements includeCoatbridge,East Kilbride,Motherwell,Airdrie,Blantyre,Cambuslang,Rutherglen,Wishaw,Bellshill,Strathaven andCarluke.[16]
From the mid-eighteenth century to the early twentieth century Lanarkshire profited from its rich seams of coal in places such asGlenboig.[4] As the coal industry developed around Glasgow in the 1700s the price of coal to the city rose under the control of a cartel of coal owners.[17] The solution was to carve out a canal to take advantage of the good (and uncontrolled) coal deposits of the Monklands area. By 1793, the Monklands canal was completed and the Lanarkshire coal industry thrived.[18] The resulting boom lasted for over 100 years but reached its peak by the second decade of the twentieth century and even two world wars failed to halt the contraction. Output in the county continued to fall and the National Coal Board concentrated investment in Ayrshire, Fife and the Lothians. By 1970 there were only four collieries left in Lanarkshire and the closure of Cardowan in 1983 brought the long decline to an end.[19]
TheM74 motorway links Glasgow withCarlisle and points further south, with theM8 linking the city toEdinburgh. Glasgow and the surrounding areas are well served by numerous roads and train lines. TheWest Coast Main Line cuts north–south across the county and connects Glasgow withManchester,Birmingham andLondon. Glasgow is also served by theGlasgow Subway.[citation needed]
Lanarkshire hosted theInternational Children's Games in August 2011.[20] A total of 1,300 competitors and coaches, along with administrators and delegates, representing 77 cities from 33 countries worldwide attended.
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Digitised historic and modern maps of Lanarkshire are available fromNational Library of Scotland including:
Media related toLanarkshire at Wikimedia Commons
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