CADDER, or CALDER, a parish, in the Lower
ward of the county of Lanark, 3 miles (W. by S.) from
Kirkintilloch, and 4^ (N. by E.) from Glasgow; containing,
with the village of Auchinearn, the hamlet of
Bishopbridge, and the former quoad sacra district of
Chryston, 4425 inhabitants. This place derives its name
from its situation in the midst of a district abounding
with wood and water, of which its appellation in the old
British language. Colder, is significant. It is supposed to
have owed its origin as a parish to the foundation of a
church by St. Patrick, who is said to have been born in
the immediate vicinity, and, towards the close of the
fifth century, to have founded numerous other churches
in the neighbourhood, which were subsequently endowed
by Convallus II. with lands for the maintenance of their
respective clergy. The parish is about fourteen miles
in length, and four in breadth. Its surface, which is
generally undulating, is diversified with various tributary
streams that fall into the river Kelvin, the parish boundary
on the north and west. Of the lakes the most
important were, Auchinloch, nearly in the centre of the
parish, from which, on its being drained some years
since, a stream was conducted under the Forth and
Clyde canal to the Kelvin; Loch Grog, drained in 1844;
and Robroyston loch, in the western part, now almost
reclaimed into arable land, and two-thirds of which are
beyond the boundaries of Cadder. Johnston loch, in
the eastern part, is about a mile in circumference, and
is employed, by the Forth and Clyde Company, as a
reservoir for supplying their canal, for which purpose,
also, they have appropriated the Bishop's loch, a small
portion of which is within this parish.
The SOIL is extremely various; in some parts, a rich
black loam; in others, mossy; on the banks of the
various streams, chiefly alluvial; and in some parts,
sandy. Several of the mosses have been reclaimed,
affording excellent crops. About 9000 acres of land
are in cultivation, about 300 are deep moss, and there
are something more than 500 acres in plantations, the
principal of which, on the Cadder estate, contains many
trees of ancient and luxuriant growth. There are several
extensive dairy-farms, mostly stocked with cows of the
Ayrshire breed. The crops are oats, wheat, potatoes,
barley, rye, and turnips, in the production of which the
improved system of agriculture is adopted. The annual
value of real property in the parish is £21,941. The
substratum is partly freestone, and a whinstone dyke
which extends from the river Clyde to the river Forth
runs the whole length of the parish; the freestone
is of the finest quality, and great quantities of it are
sent to Glasgow, where it is used in the construction of
the principal buildings. Limestone is prevalent, and is
largely wrought: coal, also, exists in the parish, at a
considerable depth, but the quality is not sufficiently
good to remunerate the labour of working it. There
are some extensive tracts of cla)', for pottery and bricks;
various elegant specimens of vases and chimney cases
have been produced, and fire-bricks, crucibles, common
bricks, house-tiles, and draining-tiles are made. Ironstone
abounds, and is wrought to a considerable extent
by the Carron Company. The Forth and Clyde canal
intersects the western portion of the parish for upwards
of five miles, passing in a line nearly parallel with the
river Kelvin. The Kirkintilloch railway, opened in 1826,
crosses its eastern extremity; the Garnkirk and Glasgow
railway, opened in 1831, passes on the south side, for
several miles, and the line of the Edinburgh and Glasgow
railway, opened in 1842, divides the parish into two
unequal portions. The village of Cadder, formerly extensive,
contains at present only sixty-four inhabitants,
employed on the lands of its proprietor, whose mansion,
lately enlarged, forms the principal object of interest in
the place.
For ecclesiastical purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Glasgow, synod of Glasgow
and Ayr; the patronage is in the Heritors and Kirk
Session, and the stipend of the incumbent is £280. 8., with
a manse, and a glebe of about ten acres. The church,
erected in 1830, is a neat edifice of stone, in the early
English style, with a square tower, and is adapted for a
congregation of about 800 persons. There are three
parochial schools, situated respectively at Cadder,
Chryston, and Auchinearn: the master in Cadder has
a salary of £26, and the fees amount to about £.56; the
master at Chryston has £17. with about £.56 fees, and
the master of Auchinearn has £8. 10., with £12 fees,
and the interest of 1000 merks bequeathed by the Rev.
James Warden, a former incumbent. Another school,
in the villageof Auchinloch, is endowed with the interest
of £300, bequeatlied by Patrick Baird, Esq.; and a fifth
school, which is free, has been lately built at Bishop-
bridge, by the family at Cadder, who allow the mistress
£40 per annum. The vullum Aiitouini, or Graham's
Dyke, is situated nearly parallel with the Kelvin, at a
distance from it of about half a mile: its remains are
very distinct near the church and glebe. Within the
parish were four stations on the wall, at Easter Cadder,
the church, Hilton, and Balmuldie. In the eastern wing
of the House of Cadder is a stone found in the neighbourhood,
a representation of which, with the Roman
inscription, may be seen in Camden's Britannia. In
1813, a gold coin of Antoninus Pius was discovered, in
a very perfect state, on clearing out the pond of Cadder;
and in levelling the lawn before the house, the foundations
of the old tower appeared, in which was found a
vessel containing more than 300 gold coins, of the size
of a shilling, with the inscription Jacobus. See Chryston.