Blantyre ( or ; ) is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...

, Scotland, with a population of 16,900. It is bounded by the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

to the north, the Rotten Calder to the west, the Park Burn to the east (denoting the boundary with the larger adjoining town of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

) and the Rotten Burn to the south. Blantyre was the birthplace of

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

, the 19th-century explorer and missionary, and because of Livingstone's work, the second-largest city in Malawi is named after it.

History

The name has a number of probable origins: originally

Cumbric Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...

''blaen tir'' "top of the land"Watson, W. (1926) A History of Celtic Place-names of Scotland". Edinburgh which has been

Gaelicised Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaels, Gaelic or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of Celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread fro ...

; an association with Saint Blane, whose associates have a number of local place-names named after them, such as

Dalmarnock Dalmarnock (, ) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Parkhead to the north-e ...

, and further afield, and personally,

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...

.Local and family history: Blantyre and David Livingstone
,

South Lanarkshire Council South Lanarkshire Council is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and an annual budget of almost £1bn. Th ...

The town consists of a number of small hamlets which have largely become connected into a single urban area, with housing in a variety of styles and ages reflecting the changing use and availability of land over the decades. ''High Blantyre'' is the area to the east and south of Burnbrae Road which continues to High Blantyre Cross at the north. It is thought to be the area of earliest settlement, with a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

village near Auchintibber south of Blantyre Parish Church (High Blantyre). Also in this area is Greenhall Park, where the Calder (Cawther) flows north through a valley to eventually join the Clyde near Newton. A new residential development, Greenhall Village, was built at the western side of High Blantyre in the 2010s. There was previously a large mining community in this area clustered around several pits including Auchinraith and Larkfield which still exist as distinct communities within the town; weaving was another local occupation. A railway station (on the

Hamilton and Strathaven Railway The Hamilton and Strathaven Railway was a historic railway in Scotland. It ran from a junction with the Hamilton Branch (railway), Hamilton Branch of the Caledonian Railway to a terminus at Strathaven. The railway was worked from the start by the ...

) was in use from the 1860s to the 1950s, located to the west of the church. High Blantyre Primary School was established in 1875, continuing through various reconstructions to its current buildings dating from 2005. At the western end of the main thoroughfare, Glasgow Road ( A724) which runs east–west, is the ''Priory Bridge'' neighbourhood (named after the original bridge over the Calder towards Cambuslang, which itself was named after the now-ruined Blantyre Priory to the north of the town which was home to monks from around 1235). It borders the older and larger ''Coatshill'' housing estate which has its own schools and community facilities. On the other side of the main road from Coatshill is the similar neighbourhood of ''Wheatlands'' (parts of which were built by the Scottish Special Housing Association), while further east is the modern centre of the town, built up from the 19th-century mining communities at ''Stonefield'' and ''Low Blantyre'' featuring the local secondary school Calderside Academy, Stonefield public park, Blantyre Leisure Centre, several churches and the ''Clydeview Shopping Centre'' (which has featured a large Asda supermarket since its opening in 1980). Glasgow Road continues south-east via the A725 elevated bypass, the ''Springwells'' neighbourhood and the town boundary, leading on to

Burnbank Burnbank is an area in the town of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was formerly a separate Mining town, mining village before being absorbed into the town. Location and governance Burnbank, previously an i ...

(specifically the area once known as ''Greenfield''). Further north of the town centre is ''The Village'', the oldest industrially developed part of Blantyre which was previously a mill settlement on the

. Near to the town's train station, it is the only part which is north of the railway lines. Next to the

David Livingstone Centre The David Livingstone Birthplace Museum is a biographical museum in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, dedicated to the life and work of the explorer and missionary David Livingstone. The museum is operated by the David Livingstone Trust and ...

, at the end of Station Road, is an iron suspension

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

which crosses the Clyde giving pedestrian access to

Bothwell Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...

Mine disaster

On 22 October 1877, Blantyre was the site of the Blantyre mining disaster, where 207 miners (men and boys) were killed when a coal mine exploded due to

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

gas. A monument to the disaster, of which the youngest victim was a boy of 11, is at High Blantyre cross. The site of the mine now lies under the

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

expressway.

Nearby towns and cities

(borders the Burnbank, Hillhouse and Whitehill areas) *

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

(

City Centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

) *

Uddingston Uddingston (, ) is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city. Geography and boundaries Uddingston is located to t ...

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) 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 previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

Sport

Football

Blantyre presently has a football club competing in

Scottish Junior Football Association The Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the junior grade of football (soccer), football in Scotland. The term "junior" refers to the ...

competitions, Blantyre Victoria, known as the Vics. They won the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA). The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA on the 2nd October 1886 and, as of the 2023–24 ed ...

(the highest achievement in junior football) in 1950, 1970 and 1982. Their home ground is called Castle Park. There is another football club in the town, Blantyre Celtic. The original club went out of existence in the early 1990s; however, in 2010 they reformed as an amateur team.

Speedway

The town of Blantyre has long had links with speedway racing. In the pioneer days a group of riders who appeared at White City in Glasgow were known as "The Blantyre Crowd". They operated their own track at Airbles Road in

in 1930 and this was known as Paragon Speedway. The Blantyre Crowd also operated a more professional version on the same site in 1932. Speedway was staged at the

Blantyre Greyhound Stadium Blantyre Greyhound Stadium also known as Craighead Park was a greyhound racing and Motorcycle speedway, speedway stadium in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. The track opened on 6 October 1933 as an independent (unlicensed) track and ...

as the home of the Glasgow Tigers from 1977 to 1981, before the new road forced a move to Craighead Park, which closed down at the end of the 1986 season.

Skateboarding

Recently, Blantyre Skate Park has received a lot of business as the youth company Radworx has been operating within it as well as some other skate parks. The skate park contains a spine section as well as an halfpipe, alongside a counterpart. There is a mini-bowl and a credible street section which contains two fun boxes as well as a 5-set.

Redlees Park

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, an Anti-aircraft battery and associated camp for military personnel known as the 'Whins' or 'Blantyreferme' was set up on open land off the Blantyre Farm Road between Newton and Blantyre. The camp was used as emergency accommodation after the conflict, but the huts were later demolished. However, some of the AA battery buildings survived into the 21st century (albeit heavily vandalised in some cases) and were incorporated – along with a former clay quarry nearby – into the landscape of ''Redlees Urban Park'' developed by the local council.

Education

* Primary schools (''2019-20 pupil roll in parentheses''): ** St Blane's PS (220) ** St Joseph's PS (300) ** High Blantyre PS (244) ** David Livingstone Memorial PS (268) ** Auchinraith PS (295) * Secondary schools: ** Calderside Academy (1253) ** John Ogilvie High School (

) (1027) * Special Educational Needs: ** Kear Campus (43) * Higher Education: **

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland (), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Blantyre, Dumfries and Ayr, as well as a campus in London, England. T ...

(Lanarkshire Campus); relocated from Bell College to ''Hamilton International Technology Park'' (within Blantyre) in 2018

Institutions

Blantyre contains many amenities, including: * Blantyre Leisure Centre – sports centre with swimming pool (opened 1982) * Stonefield Park – with a purpose-built skate-park * Victoria Nursing Home (for the elderly) * David Livingstone Birthplace Museum – museum built in the birthplace and former home of

* Six churches: ** Blantyre Congregational Church ( C.o.S.) ** St. Joseph's ( R.C.) ** David Livingstone Memorial Church ( C.o.S.) ** St. Andrew's ( C.o.S.) ** Saint John Ogilvie ( R.C.) ** Blantyre Old Parish Church ( C.o.S.) *

David Dale David Dale (6 January 1739–7 March 1806) was a leading Scottish industrialist, merchant and philanthropist during the Scottish Enlightenment period at the end of the 18th century. He was a successful entrepreneur in a number of areas, m ...

House –

facility named after another famous Lanarkshire dweller (

New Lanark New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately 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 housing for the mill workers. D ...

) * Blantyre Credit Union * Terminal One – Fully equipped Youth Centre

Youth

In August 1983, a pressure group was formed in Blantyre called Blantyre Youth Council, which set up a youth enquiry service for young people and a Claimants Union. The Youth Enquiry Service Base was in the Elizabeth Scott Centre (now Terminal One). In 1984, Strathclyde Regional Council created Blantyre Youth Development Team (BYC agreed to disband and support this provided it was youth-led); the BYDT gained charity status in 1997 and created the ''Terminal One'' youth centre. It provides many services to the local young people, and is funded by

, the Scottish Arts Council and the Blantyre/North Hamilton Social Inclusion Partnership.

David Livingstone

Blantyre's most famous son is the 19th-century missionary and explorer

. He is acknowledged as the first European to see the "Mosi-oa-Tunya" ( Tokaleya and

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

: "the Smoke that Thunders") which he named in English

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...

after then British sovereign

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. His birthplace and childhood home is now a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

at the end of Station Road, Low Blantyre on the banks of the

. The Centre includes a museum dating from 1929 (now run by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

), a playpark, a cafe, a shop, an African Garden and several workshop studios. An adventure assault course also existed there before a young man died in 1995. A pedestrian footbridge over the River Clyde adjacent to the museum (its third incarnation) links the area to the town of

. Mandala (the largest city and commercial centre of

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

, one of the territories Livingstone explored) is more commonly named

Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...

in recognition of the link created by Livingstone during the colonial era.

Notable natives or residents

* John Brown, footballer (Rangers) * Martin Bulloch, drummer (

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...

) * Stuart Christie, anarchist *

Brian Connolly Brian Francis Connolly (5 October 1945 – 10 February 1997) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of glam rock band Sweet between 1968 and 1979 and known for his charismatic stage presence and di ...

, musician * John Fallon, footballer (Celtic,

Lisbon Lions The Lisbon Lions is the nickname given to the Celtic F.C., Celtic team that won the UEFA Champions League, European Cup at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967 European Cup Final, 1967, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. Name The ...

) * Ryan Fletcher, actor * Ken McKinlay, speedway rider *

Jim Mullen Jim Mullen (born 26 November 1945) is a Scottish, Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum. Biography Jim Mullen was guitarist with Pete Brown & Piblo ...

, CEO Ladbrokes PLC *

Philip Murray Philip Murray (May 25, 1886 – November 9, 1952) was a Scottish-born steelworker and an American labor leader. He was the first president of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), the first president of the United Steelworkers ...

, American trade union leader * Maureen Rooney, trade unionist * Steven Smith, footballer (Rangers, Portland Timbers, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock) * Ian Stewart, former Labour MP for Eccles. * William Bauchop Wilson, 1st United States Secretary of Labor * James Cleland Richardson,

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 19 ...

, World War 1

References

External links

Video of Greenhall Viaduct
{{authority control Towns in South Lanarkshire Parishes in Lanarkshire Mining communities in Scotland