Clydesdale (pronounced ; in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

, ) was the name given to one of the nineteen districts of the

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in Scotland from 1975 to 1996. The name is an archaic title for

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

, one of the traditional counties of Scotland. Clydesdale and Strathclyde take their names from a similar origin:

strath A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow (as opposed to a glen, which is typically narrower and deep). Word and etymology An anglicisation of the Gaelic word ''srath'', it is one of many that have been abs ...

dale (place name element) A dale is a valley. It was commonly used in northern England and Scotland to denote an open valley as a dale, contrasted with a gill or narrow valley. List of places Places where dale is part of the name, but not the entire common name: Unite ...

(see dale as a landform) and the river Clyde. Initially named after its principal town

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

,Clydesdale
Undiscovered Scotland the Clydesdale district was formed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was roughly conterminous to Lanarkshire's 'upper ward' – its southern part, the largest in area but more rural and agricultural in character than the 'middle' and 'lower' wards which referred to the many densely-populated industrial towns in and around the Clyde Valley, and to the city of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Upon its creation, the desired composition was described as: *''In the county of Lanark—the burghs of Biggar, Lanark; the First, Second, Third districts.'' The other districts created from Lanarkshire were

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

(although for most purposes it had already operated under its own controlling body since 1893), Hamilton, Monklands and Motherwell. In 1996 the districts and regions were abolished by the

Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland. It abolished the two-tie ...

and replaced by 32

council areas For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" ( gd, comhairlean), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Ga ...

, with Clydesdale's territory falling within South Lanarkshire. The term continues locally, usually in contexts comparing issues affecting the rural southern territory differently to the more urbanised north, or in names of organisations which focus on the area around Lanark. Four of the multi-member wards used by South Lanarkshire Council since 2007 use the name: Clydesdale East, Clydesdale North, Clydesdale South and Clydesdale West with a combined population of 61,613 in 2019;Council Area: South Lanarkshire
Scottish Government Statistics these roughly correspond to the Clydesdale constituency of the Scottish Parliament established in 1999. Clydesdale (district).PNG, Map of Scotland showing the historic district of Clydesdale The imperial gazetteer of Scotland; or, Dictionary of Scottish topography, compiled from the most recent authorities, and forming a complete body of Scottish geography, physical, statistical, and (14759498386).jpg, 1868 map of

with its three 'wards' labelled, Clydesdale corresponding to the Upper Ward

References

External links

Historic map showing Clydesdale divided in Nether and Upper WardsHistoric map showing Clydesdale in ScotlandHistoric map showing Clydesdale in ScotlandHistoric map showing Clydesdale in ScotlandHistoric map showing Clydesdale in Scotland
{{Authority control Districts of Scotland Geography of South Lanarkshire Politics of South Lanarkshire

See also

References

External links