The Molendinar Burn is a

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It was the site of the settlement, Mellingdenor, that grew to become the kernel of Glasgow, and where St Mungo founded his church in the 6th century. It was later used to power the growing town's mills and the name became adapted because the word "molendinar" means "relating to a mill or millers", possibly because that is what the Welsh name Mellingdenor originally meant.

Historic Course (late 1700s)

Richard Thomas' 1795 "Map of the town of Glasgow & country seven miles around" clearly shows the course of the burn. The source at that time was a small loch at "Huggenfield" to the north east of the city (the present day Hogganfield Loch). The course then headed generally south west, passing through the virtually undeveloped areas of Craighead, Blackhill and Blochairn, where it passed under the Monkland Canal. Approaching the city, the course turned south past "Kirk" and down the route of the present day Wishart Street, passing under what are now Duke Street and Gallowgate to pass in front of St Andrew's Church. Saltmarket south of Bridgegate did not exist at that time, the burn ran through fields there to enter the Clyde at the present day Clyde Street at Mart Street. Peter Fleming's 1807 "Map of the City of Glasgow and suburbs" shows the city centre area of the burn in greater detail. It can be seen from both of these maps that the burn ran almost entirely above ground at that time.

Present Course (2020)

The present source of the burn is Frankfield Loch in Cardowan. This loch did not exist (or was not mapped) when Thomas published his 1795 map. A short man-made cut connects Frankfield Loch to the distant Hogganfield Loch. The route from Hogganfield Loch to 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 ci ...

is fairly similar to that of 1795. However the majority of the length of the burn has been culverted in stages since the 1870s. Short stretches of the burn can be seen above ground in Molendinar Park (in the Blackhill / Provanmill area) and beside the former Great Eastern Hotel on Duke Street. The final stretch from Greendyke to the Clyde was rerouted at some time in the past. The burn now enters the Clyde upstream of the 1795 confluence point, near the Tidal WeirGlesga Steve photo, Flickr
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Molendinar Burn Photo Gallery

File:Elizabeth Walker (née Reynolds)03b.jpg, Molendinar Burn by Elizabeth Walker c1850 File:Wishart Street, Glasgow - geograph.org.uk - 665042.jpg, Wishart Street, built on top of the culvert carrying the Molendinar Burn near

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbi ...

File:The Molendinar Burn (geograph 1663070).jpg, Molendinar Burn at Duke Street File:Molendinar_Burn_outfall.jpg, The culverted Molendinar Burn entering the Clyde at Glasgow Green(2020)

References

External links

picture on Flickr
{{authority control Rivers of Glasgow Subterranean rivers of the United Kingdom