MONKLAND-OLD, a parish, in the Middle ward of
thecouity of Lanark, 3 miles (s.w. byW.) from Airdrie;
containing, with the former quoad sacra parishes of
Crossbill and Gartsherrie, and numerous populous
villages, 19,709 inhabitants, of whom 4022 are in the
country districts. This place was included in the district
granted by charter of Malcolm IV. to the monks of
Newbottle Abbey, and thence called Monkland, of which
the greater portion, soon after the Reformation, became
the property of Sir Thomas Hamilton, who was created
Earl of Melrose, and subsequently Earl of Haddington.
The lands passed from the Haddington family to the
Clellands, from whom they were purchased in 1639 by
James, Marquess of Hamilton; and in the reign of
Charles II. they were sold by Anne, Duchess of Hamilton,
to the college of Glasgow. Monkland was divided about
the year 1650 into two distinct parishes, called respectively
Old and New Monkland; the former comprehends
the western, and the latter the eastern portion of
the district. Old Monkland is bounded on the west
by the river Clyde, and is about ten miles in length and
four miles and a half in extreme breadth; the number of
acres has not been ascertained. The surface is generally
level, in few parts attaining any considerable elevation;
on the west it slopes gently towards the Clyde. There
are several tracts of moss, in the aggregate amounting
to nearly 1500 acres; and about 1200 acres in plantations.
The principal rivers are the Clyde and the North
Calder; the latter, bounding the parish on the south,
flows between banks richly wooded into the Clyde at
Daldowie. There are several burns that intersect the
parish in various directions; and also some lakes, of
which Bishop loch covers about eighty, Woodend loch
fifty, and Lochend forty acres of ground. These lakes
abound with pike, some of which are of large size. The
ancient bishops of Glasgow are supposed to have had
their summer residence on the side of Bishop Loch;
whence the name.
Along the banks of the Clyde and the Calder the soil
is a strong clay, by good management resembling loam,
and producing luxuriant crops of wheat: towards the
centre is a light sand, well adapted for oats and potatoes;
and to the north the soil is mossy, in some parts much
improved. The crops are wheat, oats, potatoes, peas,
beans, turnips, and flax, which last was formerly raised
in much larger quantities than at present. Tiie system
of agriculture has been greatly improved under the auspices
of the New Farming Society, established here about
the year 1830. The farm houses and buildings are in
general substantial and commodious, and the lands are
well inclosed with fences of thorn. The cattle are of the
Ayrshire, and the horses of the Clydesdale breed, and
very great attention is paid to their improvement: prizes
have at different times been awarded at the Highland
Society's cattle-shows, for specimens of live-stock reared
in the jjarisli. The substrata are coal, ironstone, and
various other minerals, of which there are extensive beds
also in the adjoining parish of New Monkland; and the
working of the several mines, and the establishment of
iron-works, have led to the erecti(m of numerous villages.
Among the villages in this parish are Calderbank, containing
1064, Carmylc 238, Causeyside 367, Dundyvan
1298, New Dundyvan 2202, Faskine 40S, Greenend 502,
and Langloan, containing 1111 inhabitants. The quoad
sacra parishes of Crossbill and Gartsherrie contained,
the former the villages of Baillieston, Barachnie, Broomhouse,
Craigerid, West Merrystoiie, and Swinton; and
the latter, those of Coatbridge, Coatdyke, Gartcloss, Gartsherrie,
East Merrystone, and Summerlee. Some of the
principal coal-works are at Gartsherrie, where five
seams of coal are found, in beds varying from two to
four feet in thickness. At Gartcloss are three seams, of
which the lowest is thirty fathoms in depth; at Gartgill,
three seams, at forty fathoms' lowest depth; at Gunnie,
seams of every kind, at depths varying from twenty-seven
to fifty fathoms; and at Drumpellier, four seams at nearly
similar depths with the preceding. At the Calder ironworks
are two mines, one forty and the other 100 fathoms
deep, containing all the varieties. At Palace-Craig ironstone
is found alternating with the coal, in seams from
twelve to eighteen inches thick. At Faskine, where the
first mine was opened, splint-coal was found in 1791> at
a depth of seventy-five fathoms; and at Whiteflat, where
are two pits at the depth of forty fathoms, black-band
ironstone occurs in seams of eighteen inches. There are
also coal-works at Netherhouse, Easterhouse, Mount Vernon,
and Rosehall, the last on a very extensive scale.
The ironstone occurs in various parts of the district,
in seams of different thickness and quality. The blackband
ironstone is found on the lands of Monkland House,
Faskine, Garturk, Lower Coats, and Dundyvan, in
seams from fourteen to eighteen inches thick, yielding
from thirty to forty per cent, of iron; these seams occupy
an area of nearly ten square miles. At Palace-
Craig, the upper black-band occurs in seams of eighteen
inches, at sixteen fathoms below the splint-coal, and is
of rather inferior quality. In part of the lands of Airdrie
Hill, in the parish of New Monkland, is a seam of
ironstone varying from two to four feet in thickness;
it is of the black-band species. Red freestone is quarried
at Langloan: white freestone of very fine texture is
wrought at Souterhouse, Garturk, Summerlee, Coatdyke,
and other places, chiefly for use in the manufacture of
iron; and whinstone is quarried at Rawmone and
Easterhill. Considerable remains are still to be seen of
ancient wood; and the numerous plantations, which are
in a thriving condition, add much beauty to the scenery
of the parish, and, combining with the high state of
cultivation and the luxuriance of the meadows and pastures,
give to it the appearance of an extensive garden.
There are many handsome houses belonging to the proprietors,
and to others connected with the mines and
works in the parish and its immediate vicinity.
The chief trade is the iron manufacture, for which
several very extensive works have been established here,
the abundant supply of ironstone and coal and other
facilities for the purpose having long since rendered this
place a great seat of the manufacture. The Gartsherrie
works, belonging to Messrs. W. Baird and Co., employ
sixteen blast furnaces for smelting ore. The Dundyvan
works, the property of Mr. J. Wilson, have nine furnaces;
the works belonging to the Monkland Iron Company,
five furnaces in operation; and the Clyde iron-works, the
property of James Dunlop, Esq., five furnaces, of which
at present four are in operation. The Summerlee works,
belonging to Messrs. Wilson and Co., employ five furnaces,
to which two are about to be added. The Calder
works, belonging to Messrs. W. Dixon and Co., situated
on the border of Bothwell parish, have six furnaces in
operation j and the Langloan works, five furnaces. The
quantity of pig-iron manufactured annually in these
several establishments is in the aggregate 280,000 tons,
in the production of which nearly 8.50,000 tons of coal
are consumed. The Monkland Iron Company are erecting
mills and forges for the manufacture of bar-iron, on
a scale sufficient for the making of 230 tons of malleable
iron weekly; and the Dundyvan Company are carrying
out similar arrangements on a still more extensive scale.
The steam-engines used in the works are of very great
power; and the introduction of the hot-blast instead of
the cold-air in the management of the furnaces, by which
the consumption of fuel is much diminished, is now
generally adopted in the works. This important discovery,
first made by Mr. Sadler in 1798, was carried
into partial effect by the Rev. Mr. Stirling, of Kilmarnock,
who obtained a patent in 1816. Improvements
were made in the process by J. B. Neilson, Esq., of
Glasgow, in 1 828. Mr. Dixon, of the Calder iron-works,
subsequently discovered that, by the adoption of the hotair
blast, common pit-coal might be substituted for coke,
previously used; and Messrs. Baird, of Gartsherrie, by
some improvements on Mr. Neilson's process, ultimately
brought the invention to its present efficiency.
The nearest market- town is Airdrie, on the confines of
the parish. Facility of communication is afforded by excellent
roads, of which the turnpike-road from Edinburgh,
by Airdrie, to Glasgow, passes through the parish.
There are also five railways for the conveyance of goods
and passengers, the Caledonian, the Monkland and
Kirkintilloch, the Wishaw and Coltness, the Ballochney,
and the Glasgow, Garnkirk, and Coatbridge. The Monkland
and Kirkintilloch railwaij connects the rich coal districts
in this parish and New Monkland, within ten miles
of the city of Glasgow, with the Forth and Clyde canal
near the town of Kirkintilloch: the original act was obtained
in 1824. The Wishaw and Coltness railway extends
from the termination in this parish of the Monkland
and Kirkintilloch railway, southward, to the estates
of Wishaw, Coltness, and Allanton. The Caledonian line
runs north-eastward, to Castlecary: the Ballochney, eastward;
and the Garnkirk line, westward. The Monkland
canal to Glasgow passes nearly through the whole length
of this parish, in which it has its commencement. This
canal was begun in 1770, and since 1792 has undergone
various improvements. Its length from Woodhall, about
two miles south-east of Airdrie, to the basin at Glasgow,
is twelve miles; and it communicates by a lateral cut
with the Forth and Clyde canal at Port-Dundas. By
means of eight double locks at Blackhill, near Glasgow,
and two single locks, of eleven feet and a half each, near
Airdrie, the canal is raised 113 feet above that of the
Forth and Clyde, and 273 above the level of the sea.
It is thirty-five feet wide at the surface, twenty-six at the
bottom, and has six feet water. An extensive basin was
lately formed at Dundyvan, for the shipment of coal and
iron by this canal from the Wishaw and Coltness and
the Monkland and Kirkintilloch railways; and boats to
Glasgow take goods twice every day. At the village of
Coatbridge, within a mile and a half from the parish
church, is a post-office.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Hamilton and synod of
Glasgow and Ayr. The minister's stipend is about £300,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £16 per annum;
patrons, the heritors and Kirk Session. The parish
church, erected in 1790, is a plain substantial structure,
containing 902 sittings. Churches, to which quoad sacra
parishes were for a time annexed, have been erected at
Crossbill and Gartsherrie; and there are places of worship
for members of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian
Church. The parochial school is well attended;
the master has a salary of £31, with a house and garden,
in addition to the fees. Connected with the parochial
school are three branch schools, the masters of which
have each a salary of £6. 15. 11. per annum, with moderate
fees. There are also schools supported exclusively
by the fees. At Coatbridge is a flourishing academy,
erected by W. Baird, Esq., of Gartsherrie; and in the
village of Langloan is a library of about 500 volumes.
In digging the foundation for the buildings of the Clyde
iron-works, great numbers of human bones were found
covered with slabs of stone, and some earthen urns containing
bones and ashes. Urns perfectly smooth, and
of a rod colour, were found in 1834, in a plantation near
Blair-Tummock. See the articles on the villages.