DALSERF, a parish, in the Middle ward of the
county of Lanark; including the villages of Millheugh,
Larkhall, and Rosebank, and containing 3'205 inhabitants,
of whom 112 are in the village of Dalserf, 7 miles
(S. E. by E.) from Hamilton. This place has been supposed
to derive its name from the Gaehc Dal, signifying
"a holm" or "flat field ", and Sarf, "a serpent", making
together the term "the field of serpents". The parish
was anciently called Machanshire, but assumed the name
of Dalserf, as is generally thought, about the time of the
Reformation, through the removal of the church from
the former site, at Chapelburn, to a new site on the
banks of the Clyde. It was originally an appendage and
chapelry to Cadzow, now Hamilton, parish, and during
a long period was the property of the crown. The
celebrated family of the Cumyns had for some time
possession of it; but it reverted to the crown in the reign
of Baliol, and in 1312 Robert Bruce made a grant of
it to Sir Walter, son of Gilbert, ancestor of the Hamilton
family, who have retained the principal estates in the
parish to the present time. In the fourteenth century
the district was made a barony, called the barony of
Machane or Machanshire. The Harniltons prominently
appear in Scottish history; they warmly espoused the
cause of Mary, Queen of Scots, and several of them were
engaged in her wars, and afterwards suffered severely
for the part they had taken in them.
The PARISH is six miles and a half in extreme
length, and varies in breadth from two miles to four
and a half, containing 7-19 acres. It is bounded on the
east and north-east by the river Clyde, and on the west
and the south-west by the Avon and the Gander respectively.
In the centre of the parish the surface is
tolerably level; but on the east towards the Clyde, and
on the west towards the Avon, the fall is considerable,
and in many places somewhat abrupt: the slope
towards the north is continuous, and far more gradual
than the falls on the eastern and western sides. The
view on the north and north-west is terminated by the
Campsie hills and the mountains of Dumbartonshire
and Argyllshire; the view on the south is bounded by
Tinto, of which, with its circumjacent scenery, a very
fine prospect may be had from the high lands in this
parish. Large numbers of pheasants and woodcocks,
and some black-cocks, are to be seen here; and at the
close of autumn, many flocks of plovers from the moorlands
visit the wheat-fields. The chief rivers are the
Clyde and the Avon; the Cander, which is the next in
size, falls into the Avon, and gives the name of the district
of Cander to that part of the parish inclosed by it,
where there are some superior farms. Numerous burns
rise in the parish, and breaking forth from the high
ridge on the western side of the river Clyde, dash in
many places with great impetuosity over the abrupt
sandstone rocks, making several beautiful cascades. After
this they run on till they fall into the Clyde river. The
ravines formed by these waterfalls, which are swollen
in some parts of the year and frequently dry in others,
are clothed with foliage, and stretching across the
country obliquely to the two great rivers, diversify the
scenery, and add considerably to the striking views on
the Clyde. The river Avon, also, has clusters of verdant
knolls and many clumps of rich plantation on its precipitous
sides. The principal streams contain salmon,
trout, salmon-fry, and par, which, however, bear at present
no proportion to their former numbers, owing to
the machinery erected on the banks of the Clyde, from
which the residuum of chemical and dyeing operations
runs into the waters; the drainage of lime manure from
contiguous lands; and other causes.
The SOIL varies considerably throughout the parish.
The low ground in the neighbourhood of the rivers is
mostly rich alluvial deposit, consisting chiefly of sand
and mud of great depth, resting upon a subsoil of sand
and gravel. In the higher lands near the Glasgow and
Carlisle road, and above the village of Dalserf, which
stands about 120 feet above the level of the sea, the soil
is a strong heavy clay, lying upon a compact tenacious
subsoil of till. In some places are strips of sandy
earth; and in others, especially near the Avon, the
grounds are chiefly loam. The southern part contains
a few acres of moss; but, with this exception, the
whole parish is cultivated. The chief crops are wheat
and oats, the soil iu general not being considered suited
to green crops, though in some parts very good potatoes,
turnips, carrots, and beet-root are produced.
Great attention is paid to dairy-farming; the cows
are chiefly of the Ayrshire breed, and about 500 are
kept. Much competition exists in the improvement of
every description of live stock, for which premiums
have been awarded to some of the farmers by the Highland
and Agricultural Society of Scotland. The cultivation
of orchards also forms an important part of the
rural occupations, the parish being situated in about
the centre of the great range of fruit plantations in
Clydesdale. A few acres of fruit-trees are cultivated
on the banks of the Avon; but the chief plantations
are near the Clyde, among the acclivities overlooking
the river, which are too abrupt and rugged to admit
the approach of the plough. Apples, pears, and plums
of every kind grow luxuriantly, the plum range, however,
only extending a distance of three or four miles
along the river. The annual value of real property in
the parish is £7704. The rocks consist of sandstone
and freestone, of the latter of which several excellent
quarries are wrought. Large quantities of coal, also,
are obtained in every direction, the district forming a
part of the great coal basin stretching from near Glasgow
in the north, for a distance of about thirty miles,
to the water of Douglas in the south. The produce of
the collieries, some years ago, was about 16,000 tons
annually, but it is now much more considerable.
The chief mansions are Dalserf, Millburn, and Broomhill,
all of which are respectable structures, standing in
the midst of beautiful scenery. The villages are considerable,
and together contain about two-thirds of the
population of the parish. Some of the inhabitants are
engaged in the manufacture of cotton, the weaving of
which is superintended by agents employed by Glasgowfirms;
and many females are occupied in the manufacture
of lace, for the houses at Hamilton. Among the
roads that intersect the parish are, one from Glasgow to
Carlisle, another from Glasgow to Lanark, and a third
from Edinburgh to Ayr, which crosses the river Clyde
at Garion Bridge. For ecclesiastical purposes the parish
is within the bounds of the presbytery of Hamilton,
synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The stipend averages about
£264, and the Duke of Hamilton is patron: there is an
old manse, with a glebe worth £37. 10. per annum. Dalserf
church, which is beautifully though somewhat inconveniently
situated on the bank of the Clyde, was built
in 1655, and repaired in 1721; it contains 550 sittings.
There are two parochial schools, one of which is in the
village of Dalserf, and the other at Larkhall; the
classics, mathematics, French, with all the usual branches
of education, are taught, and the master of the Dalserf
school has a salary of £34, with a house and garden.
A good subscription library has been established at
Larkhall, and another at Dalserf with 120 volumes.
The chief relics of antiquity are two tumuli, in one of
which, situated at Dalpatrick, some workmen a few
years ago found a stone coffin, about two feet and a half
long and a foot and a half wide, in which was deposited
an urn containing a human jaw with the teeth, and
other bones. Another urn was also found, of very
superior materials and construction, near which was a
lamp of baked clay. The remains of mounds with fortifications,
and cairns, may still be faintly traced; and
some years ago an earthen pot was dug up at MiUheugh,
containing coins of Elizabeth, James I., and
Charles I. There are several chalybeate springs, and
one or two springs impregnated with sulphur.