Every June the town of

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

celebrates Lanimer Week. The festivities reach a high point on the Thursday of Lanimer Week, when the town's schoolchildren parade in

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with decorated vehicles,

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bands, and a Lanimer Queen and her Court, who have been selected from local schools. The Lanimer celebrations are based on

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(r. 1124–1153) granting Lanark the status of

Royal Burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

during his reign. A condition of the charter stated that the merchants of the town must inspect their March or boundary stones each year. This duty has been carried out every year since then, and the Land Marches became transformed over time into the annual celebrations.

Events in Lanimers Week

Lanimers Week begins on Sunday when the Lord Cornet"Cornet n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Nov 2020, https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/cornet_n1 Elect is led from the town's Memorial Hall to Saint Nicholas'

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

Church for the Kirkin' of the Lord Cornet Elect Service. On the Monday evening, crowds turn out for the Perambulation of the Marches, when officials and members of the public walk the boundaries. A

Scottish country dance Scottish country dance (SCD) is the distinctively Scottish form of country dance, itself a form of social dance involving groups of couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns. A dance consists of a sequence of figures. These dances are ...

display takes place at Lanark Cross, followed by the Sashing of the Lord Cornet and the Shifting of the Burgh Standard. The evening ends with the Lord Cornet's Reception. An official ride-out around the town takes place on Tuesday night, followed by the presentation of the New Lanark

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to the Lanimer Queen Elect at

New Lanark New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometres) from Lanark, in Lanarkshire, and some southeast of Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1785 and opened in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and hou ...

. The Lanimer Queen's Reception is held on the Friday evening in the Memorial Hall. Saturday sees the Ball at Lanark Market when the Lord Cornet escorts the Lanimer Queen. This is not to be confused with Landemer which is a similar festivity held in the nearby town of

Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

, also in South Lanarkshire. Landemer is normally held the first Saturday in June.

Lanimer Day

Lanimer Day is held on the Thursday between 6 and 12 June, barring a June election or a pandemic. Schoolchildren and others parade through the town in costumes accompanied decorated lorries. This is known as the Lanimer Queen's Procession. They each receive a Lanimer medal for participating. With the children march brass and pipe bands, Lord Cornet and Ex- Lord Cornet support, and visiting dignitaries. The court ride in cars after the parade, and the Queen has an open-top coach. Once the procession has gone once around the town centre, the children mount a stand in front of St Nicholas Church (and a statue of

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army ...

on the steeple). The court also climb the stand and the Queen is crowned by a local lady, to acclaim from the assembled crowds. "

Flower of Scotland "Flower of Scotland" is a Scottish song, frequently performed at special occasions and sporting events as an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. The song was composed in the mid-1960s by Roy Williamson of the folk group the Corries. It w ...

" and "

Scots Wha Hae "Scots Wha Hae" (English: ''Scots Who Have''; gd, Brosnachadh Bhruis) is a patriotic song of Scotland written using both words of the Scots language and English, which served for centuries as an unofficial national anthem of the country, but h ...

" are played, and the Lanimer Queen's Proclamation read out, followed by "

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", the British

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

. Later in the afternoon, the Lord Cornet has another procession on horseback. Various entertainments for children and adults are laid on at Castlebank Park, and musical entertainment takes place at the cross in the evening. Finally, children perform at the Lanimer Queen's Reception on the Friday night.

References

{{Reflist

External links

http://www.lanarklanimers.co.uk
Scottish culture