Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

. The town lies on the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9,050. Lanark has been a

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 ...

since 1140, and was historically the

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

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 ...

, though in modern times this title belongs to Hamilton. Notable landmarks nearby include

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 Corra Linn and the site of

Lanark Castle Lanark Castle was the origin and heart of what later became the royal burgh of Lanark, Scotland. The town grew up outside the castle walls. Long since demolished, the castle lay high on the east bank of the River Clyde, near the confluence with ...

. Lanark railway station and coach station have frequent services to

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 popu ...

. There is little industry in Lanark and some residents commute to work in Glasgow and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Its shops serve the local agricultural community and surrounding villages. There is a large modern livestock auction market on the outskirts of the town.

History

The town's name is believed to come from the

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the '' Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the south ...

' meaning "clear space, glade". Lanark has served as an important market town since medieval times, and King

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

made it a royal burgh in 1140, giving it certain mercantile privileges relating to

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

and

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

. David I realised that greater prosperity could result from encouraging trade. He decided to create a chain of new towns across Scotland. These would be centres of Norman civilisation in a largely Celtic country, and would be established in such a way as to encourage the development of trade within their area. These new towns were to be known as Burghs. Bastides were established in France for much the same reason. When a site had been selected for a new town the King's surveyors would lay out an area for the town's market. Each merchant who came to the town was granted a plot of land (usually rent free for the first few years) bordering on the marketplace. These plots were known as feus or in royal burghs such as Lanark as burgages. Each burgage in a burgh was the same size, though the size varied between burghs. In

Forres Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There a ...

in the north of Scotland each feu was wide and deep. The layout of the burgages in Lanark can still be easily seen between the north side of Lanark High Street (the former market place) and North Vennel, a lane which runs behind the burgages. A

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy t ...

castle was also constructed at the bottom of Castlegate. Lanark had four town gates, West Port, East port, Wellgate and Castlegate. West Port gate was demolished in the 1770s. The first aviation meeting to be held in Scotland was held at

Lanark Racecourse Lanark Racecourse (closed October 1977) was a Scottish horse racing venue, situated in the small town of Lanark in Scotland's Central Belt, from Glasgow. It was reputedly founded by King William the Lion of Scotland (1165-1214). Overview The ...

between 6 and 13 August 1910. This location was chosen because the land was relatively flat, the racecourse already had facilities for a paying public, there were stables to act as hangars for the aeroplanes and the racecourse was accessible by both road and by rail, especially as The Caledonian Railway Company were prepared to construct a new station near the main entrance. The aeroplanes were transported to the meeting by rail, as aviation technology at the time was not advanced enough to safely fly there. The Lanark meeting took place shortly after a similar event in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

at which

Charles Rolls Charles Stewart Rolls (27 August 1877 – 12 July 1910) was a British motoring and aviation pioneer. With Henry Royce, he co-founded the Rolls-Royce car manufacturing firm. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident wit ...

died. Influenced by this, it was decided that no aircraft would fly closer than away from the spectators. For the first time, aeroplanes were accurately timed over a straight measured distance, allowing the first world records to be set, covering flights over . The meeting was described by ''The Aero'' magazine as 'the most successful yet held in Britain'. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Winston Barracks in the 1930s.

Governance

The citizens of Lanark form part of various different constituencies. In local elections, they are the main component of the Clydesdale North ward which elects three representatives to South Lanarkshire Council. In elections to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

, Lanark elects its representatives as part of the Clydesdale constituency, and also contributes to the election of seven additional list members as part of the South of Scotland region. The current Clydesdale MSP is Aileen Campbell of the SNP, who defeated the Labour incumbent Karen Gillon in the 2011 election after Gillon had held the seat since 1999. In Westminster elections, Lanark is part of the Lanark and Hamilton East constituency. Labour's Jimmy Hood represented the area in Parliament from 1987 until 2015; since then the MP has been Angela Crawley. Prior to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...

in 2020, the town was part of the Scotland constituency which elected six MEPs to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

Landmarks

Visitors to the town can visit the nearby

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Site of

, close to the Falls of Clyde, the

Corehouse Corehouse is a country house and estate, located to the south of Lanark, Scotland. The estate is by the Corra Linn Falls on the River Clyde, and close to the World Heritage Site of New Lanark. The house was designed by Sir Edward Blore for Ge ...

estate and the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Corehouse Nature Reserve. The Lanark Museum is located in West Port, inside the YMCA building. A large boating lake, Lanark Loch, adjoins Lanark Golf Club which has a lovely and historic 18 hole course for more experienced golf players and a 9-hole golf course. The former racecourse now offers pony-trekking activities. The town's Castlebank Park lies near the former site of

, and allows access to the

and the

Clyde Walkway The Clyde Walkway is a foot and mountain bike path which runs from Glasgow, Scotland, to just above the UNESCO World Heritage Site of New Lanark. The path runs close to the River Clyde for most of its length. It was completed in 2005, and is no ...

. An ornate gas lamp, known as the 'Provost's Lamp' stands at the bottom of the high street. The lamp used to be placed outside the home of whoever was Provost of Lanark at the time. One of the churches in the town bears the name of The Old Church of St Kentigern (perhaps better known as

St Mungo Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this ...

), who set up many medieval churches in the

Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lo ...

, including

, and died c.612 AD. The town's cemetery stands on the site of The Old Church of St Kentigern, and includes many

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from '' Covena ...

graves.

St. Nicholas Parish Church stands at the bottom of the high street. The church bell is believed to date from 1110, and may be one of the oldest church bells in the world. It was moved from The Old Church of St Kentigern when St. Nicholas Church was built in 1774. It has been recast four times, including 1659 and 1983. There is an 8-foot (2.45 m) statue of William Wallace in the steeple. This was sculpted by Robert Forrest, from an ancient drawing in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries.

Lanimers

This historic background forms the basis for the Lanark Lanimers gala day, which take place each year for one week in June. Local primary schoolchildren elect a Lanimers queen and court; and a Lord Cornet is chosen from local businessmen. On the Monday night the Perambulation of the Marches takes place, when townspeople turn out to walk around half the town boundary, following the Lord Cornets past and present as they inspect the border-stones. Traditionally, the townspeople carry "birks" (Scots for "sticks of birch"), which are small branches of birch trees cut from the woods at the Glenburnie estate. This tradition was started in 1948 by Joseph Doolan, whose family owned the land. The other half of the boundary is inspected on the Wednesday night, again led by the Lord Cornet accompanied by many local riders who participate in the Riding of the Marches, locally referred to as the Rideout. On the Thursday morning, schools and other organisations parade before the Lanimer Queen in themed dress, accompanied by pipe bands. The best Lanimer Lorries win prizes, and after the parade the crowning of the Queen takes place on a temporary stand erected in front of St Nicholas' Church, under the 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 ...

. The Queen holds a reception party in the town's Memorial Hall on the Friday night, where children perform songs and dances.

Music

Pipe Bands: Lanark & District Pipe Band previously had two units which competed in competitions run by the

Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) is an association aiming to oversee pipe band competition, and to promote and encourage the development of pipe band culture worldwide pipe band competition, and to promote and encourage the devel ...

- one competing in Grade 4B and one in Grade 3A, having been upgraded from 4B to 4A to 3B to 3A in consecutive years from 2004. In the 1980s, the band competed as high as Grade 2. At the end of the 2015 season, the band won the RSPBA Champion of Champions in Grade 4B and was promoted to Grade 4A. This was followed by promotion from Grade 4A at the end of the 2016 season. As of 2017, the band competes in Grade 3B. The 'Music in Lanark' programme began in 2000 with the aim of bringing a variety of the highest quality live music to the town. In the first five years there were three classical concerts, one jazz concert and one traditional (Scottish) music concert. The programme continues to grow.

Climate

As with the rest of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...

and Scotland, Lanark experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. In terms of the local climate profile, Lanark's inland, rural setting means frost is common, although there is considerable variation within the area. At Carnwath, sitting 6 miles to the east, in a sheltered, upland sandy-soiled location, frost has been recorded in all months; Typically almost 100 nights will report a frost per year, and even in a statistically average year the temperature should fall to as low as on the coldest night. The town itself sits on a hilltop above the River Clyde, so katabatic drainage means that the incidence of frost will be less.

Notable Lanarkians

is one of the most notable people in Lanark's history. A key leader in the Scottish Wars of Independence, he is known to have first "drawn his sword to free his native land" in Lanark in 1297, killing the English sheriff Haselrig. First year pupils at

Lanark Grammar School Lanark Grammar School is a secondary school in Lanark, Scotland. It was founded in 1183, and celebrated its octocentenary in 1983, including a visit by The Princess Anne. The school draws its pupils from the town of Lanark and many villages in t ...

study Wallace and the Wars of Independence in detail. An 8-foot statue of Wallace sits on St Nicholas Church at the town cross dating back to 1817 which was sculpted by

Carluke Carluke (; gd, Cathair MoLuaig) is a town that lies in the heart of the Lanarkshire countryside in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, northwest of Lanark and southeast of Wishaw. Carluke is largely a commuting town, with a variety of small stores ...

man Robert Forrest. Other important figures in Lanark history include: *

Margaret Agnes Bunn Margaret Agnes Bunn (26 October 1799 – 1883) was a British actress. Early life She was born Margaret Somerville in Lanark, Scotland in October 1799. Her father, John Somerville, was a biscuitmaker. The family lived in Marylebone. She atte ...

, actress (1799–1883) * William Smellie (1697–1763), obstetrician *

Lord Braxfield Robert McQueen, Lord Braxfield (4 May 1722 – 30 May 1799) was a Scottish advocate and judge. Life McQueen was born at Braxfield House near Lanark on 4 May 1722, son of John McQueen. He studied law at Edinburgh University and was admitted to ...

(1722–1799), High Court Judge * John Glaister (1856–1932), forensic scientist * The rallying family of

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

, Alister and

Colin McRae Colin Steele McRae, (5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007) was a Scottish rally driver. He was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion, and in 1995 became the first British driver and the youngest person to win the World Rally Championship ...

* Robert (Rab) Douglas, Scotland and former Celtic F.C.

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

, *

Stephen McManus Stephen David McManus (born 10 September 1982) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is a first team coach at Scottish Premiership club Celtic. McManus, who played as a centre-back, was a product of Celtic's youth acad ...

, Scotland and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

defender * Walter Smith, Scotland and Rangers manager * Henry Smith, Scotland and Hearts goalkeeper * Billy Ritchie Rock music's first lead keyboard player, born in Lanark *

Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. She was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, where she became a fashion and fine art ...

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park s ...

striker *

Dougie Imrie Douglas Imrie (born 3 August 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Greenock Morton. Imrie played as either a forward or a winger in the professional leagues for Clyde, Inverness Caledonian This ...

, St Mirren midfielder, started career with Lanark United * Stephen Pearson, Derby County midfielder, formerly of

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

Johnny Reid John Kirkland Reid (born August 21, 1974) is a Scottish-Canadian country music artist. Reid moved to Canada in July 1988 when he was 13. His father, a diesel mechanic, wanted to give Reid and his brother opportunities he did not think they would ...

, a Scottish/Canadian country music singer, who has two platinum albums and one gold album in Canada * Darren Smith, former

winger * Stewart Greacen (born 1988), footballer on Rangers F.C. *

John Downie John Dennis Downie (19 July 1925 – 19 February 2013) was a Scottish footballer. He was born in Lanark,1925 Births in the District of Lanark in the County of Lanark page 35 no 104 and played as an inside forward. Downie played football as a me ...

, (1925–2013) Inside forward for Manchester United 1949–1953 *

Chic McSherry Charles "Chic" McSherry (born 22 November 1958) is a Scottish rock guitarist, songwriter, author and businessman. In his music career, he has written five studio albums with Doogie White and the band La Paz. In his business career, he is on the ...

OBE, the entrepreneur, musician and author was born in Lanark * Andrew Sharkey, Chief Commissioner of Scouts Scotland and previous Camp Chief of the ** Blair Atholl International Scout Jamborette

Schools

Primary schools

There are three main

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s in Lanark: *Lanark Primary School (LPS) ¹ *

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh people, Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditio ...

Memorial Primary School (ROMPS) ¹ *St. Mary's Primary School ² ¹ Indicates

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

school
² Roman Catholic school

Secondary schools

There is now one

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Lanark: *

(LGS), a non-denominational school. A papal bull founded a school in Lanark in 1183. There has been continuous provision of schooling in Lanark since that date. Lanark Grammar School has been considered the successor school, being the only secondary school in the town.

Religion

The religious buildings of Lanark are exclusively

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

, but cover a wide array of Christian denominations. At present, the following religious buildings still exist and remain in use: * Christ Church * EU Congregational Church *

Gospel Hall Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

* Greyfriars Parish Church * Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses * St Mary's Roman Catholic Church * St Nicholas Parish Church The following buildings remain in Lanark, but are no longer used for religious purposes: * Murray Chapel - in a state of disrepair, this church is within the council's St Catherine cemetery. * St Kentigern's Church (Hope Street) - converted to and now used as office space and residences. * St Kentigern's Church (Hyndford Road) - now in ruins, this church sits in the council-run St Kentigern's cemetery. Finally, these buildings no longer exist: * St Leonard's Church - space now occupied by Job Centre Plus Office.

Gallery

Image:lanark00.jpg, Town centre Image:High Street, Lanark (2006).jpg, High Street Image:lanark06.jpg, Wellgate Image:The Girnin Dug, Lanark.jpg, The "Girnin Dug" statue of a dog erected as a reproach to a neighbour suspected of poisoning the pet

References

* ''Historical Tours in the Clyde Valley''. Published by the Clyde Valley Tourist Association and the Lanark & District Archaeological Association. Printed by Robert MacLehose and Company Limited, Renfrew, Scotland. 1982. * ''Building the Royal Burghs'' by John Barrett and David Iredale. Published in The Scots Magazine. Volume 142, Number 1. January 1995. pp. 10–22. * ''Upper Clydesdale: A History and Guide'' by Daniel Martin. Published by the Tuckwell Press, Phantassie, East Linton. 1999. * ''Clydesdale District Guide''. Published by Clydesdale District Guide. 1995. * ''Lanark Heritage Trail''. Published by South Lanarkshire Council. 2001.

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in South Lanarkshire County towns in Scotland Royal burghs