Shotts Explained

Official Name:Shotts
Country:Scotland
Static Image Name:Shotts - Metal worker statue.JPG
Static Image Caption:Metalworker statue in town centre.
Population Ref:
Map Type:Scotland
Coordinates:55.823°N -3.804°W
Post Town:Shotts
Postcode Area:ML
Postcode District:ML7
Dial Code:01501
Constituency Westminster:Airdrie and Shotts
Unitary Scotland:North Lanarkshire
Lieutenancy Scotland:Lanarkshire
Constituency Scottish Parliament:Airdrie and Shotts

Shotts is a small town[1] in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow (17abbr=offNaNabbr=off) and Edinburgh (26abbr=offNaNabbr=off). The town has a population of about 8,840.[2] [3] A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertram de Shotts,[4] [5] though toponymists give the Anglo-Saxon English, Old (ca.450-1100);: scēots ("steep slopes") as the real source of the name.[6] Shotts is the home of the world famous Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band, 16 time winners of World Pipe Band Championships.[7]

History

Until 1457[8] Shotts was part of the Lanarkshire parish of Bothwell under the designation of "Bothwell-muir".[9] Groome related that the pre-reformation church of Bertramshotts is mentioned in a Papal bull in 1476.[10] The parish, one of the largest in Lowland Scotland at 10 miles long and 8 miles wide, was sometimes called Shotts[11] but officially it was known as Bertram Shotts.[12]

In 1830s the principal owners of the land were the Duke of Hamilton,[13] Sir Thomas Inglis Cochrane of Murdoston MP, the Right Honourable Dowager Lady Torphichen, and Robert Carrick Buchanan Esquire of Drumpellier.

Shotts was known for its mining and ironworks. The Shotts Iron Company was first established in 1801 and provided employment for Shotts and the surrounding area for 150 years, and was eventually wound up in 1952.[14] [15] These were developed when transport by canal and railway became possible.[16] By the late 1800s the ironworks had grown to the extent that the village slogan was "Shotts lights the world", as gas lamp standards made here were exported throughout the British Empire and beyond.[17] In the years leading up to World War II there were 22 coal mines in the area, but Northfield Colliery, the last of these, closed in the 1960s.

Geography

Shotts is south of the M8 in North Lanarkshire between Wishaw and Harthill. Historically the Shotts Iron Works were between Calderhead, source of the South Calder Water, and Stane.[18] Shotts parish was originally made up of five villages: Dykehead,[19] Calderside, Stane, Springhill and Torbothie; all growing up around the old coach roads between Glasgow and Edinburgh that expanded and merged during the 18th and 19th centuries following the growth in mining.[20]

Nearby is Kirk o' Shotts transmitting station.

Knowhoble Hill

Knowhoble Hill, lying beside Teilling Burn, was the site of a dwelling belonging to the Cleland (Clevland) family.

Churches

The town has a number of churches.

A couple of miles north of Shotts is the Kirk O'Shotts Parish Church (although this covers the community of Salsburgh and other nearby communities).

Sport

Shotts has a number of sports facilitated in the local community. Shotts Golf Club, an 18-hole course founded in 1895, is to the North-East of the town.[22] On the first Saturday in June each year, Shotts hosts its own Highland Games in Hannah Park.[23]

Football Teams

Notable Footballers from Shotts

HMP Shotts

HMP Shotts, a high security prison holding male prisoners with maximum security classification, is located between Shotts and Salsburgh. It opened in 1978 and provided a new source of employment after the closure of the mines.

Transport

The town is served by Shotts railway station, which is connected on the Shotts Line between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Schools within Shotts

Theatre

The Henderson Theatre is a 147 seater black box theatre built in 1982 within the Shotts Community Education Centre.[26] It is named after Archibald James Henderson, a coal miner who later became a member of the Scottish National Theatre Society and the Scottish National Players and formed several local drama groups: the YMCA Players, Shotts Labour Party Drama Team, Shotts Miners' Welfare Players, and Shotts Bertram Players. He was also active in Shotts Community Drama Association.[27]

Music

Notable bands

Notable Shotts people

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cochrane . Thomas . Town Status for Shotts 38 Degrees . you.38degrees.org.uk.
  2. Web site: Key Facts 2016 - Demography. North Lanarkshire Council. 3 January 2018.
  3. Web site: Estimated population of localities by broad age groups, mid-2012. 3 January 2018.
  4. Book: Lewis. Samuel. A topographical dictionary of Scotland, comprising the several counties, islands, cities, burgh and market towns, parishes, and principal villages, with historical and statistical descriptions: embellished with engravings of the seals and arms of the different burghs and universities. 1851. S. Lewis and co.. London. 125–127. 2 January 2018.
  5. Book: Colvin, Reverend Walter L. . The New Statistical Account of Scotland - by the Ministers of the respective Parishes, under the superintendence of a committee of the Society for the benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clegy . William Blackwood and Sons . 1845 . 1st . 1845 . 622 & 629 . Parish of Bertram Shotts - Presbytery of Hamilton, Synod of Glasgow and Ayr . https://stataccscot.edina.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/viewer/nsa-vol6-Parish_record_for_Bertram_Shotts_in_the_county_of_Lanark_in_volume_6_of_account_2/nsa-vol6-p624-parish-lanark-bertram_shotts?search=shotts . The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791-1845.
  6. Mackay, George (2002). Scottish Place Names
  7. News: Scotland celebrates 'outstanding' World Pipe Band Championships. BBC News. 15 August 2015.
  8. Book: Pomphrey's directory of Wishaw and handbook of the parish of Cambusnethan: with Shotts supplement. 1893. W. Pomphrey. Wishaw. 16. 3rd. 5 January 2018.
  9. Web site: County Maps. National Library of Scotland. 2 January 2018.
  10. Book: Groome. Francis Hindes. Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland : a survey of Scottish topography, statistical, biographical, and historical. 1882. T.C. Jack. Edinburgh. 349–351. Vol 6. 13 January 2018.
  11. Book: Bruce. Archibald. The statistical account of Scotland. Drawn up from the communications of the ministers of the different parishes. [electronic resource]]. 1791. William Creech. Edinburgh. 49–64. Vol XV. 6 January 2018.
  12. Book: Colvin. Walter L.. The new statistical account of Scotland.. 1845. William Blackwood and Sons. Edinburgh and London. 624–635. Vol 6. 3 January 2018.
  13. Book: Dillion . John . Descriptions of the Sheriffdoms of Lanark and Renfrew Compiled about M.DCC.X by William Hamilton . Fullartoun . John . 1831 . Hutchison and Brookman . en.
  14. Book: Muir, Augustus. The Story of Shotts. W. Heffer & Sons Ltd. 1954.
  15. News: The Shotts Iron Company Limited. Bilsland. John. 21 March 1952. The Edinburgh Gazette.
  16. Book: Grossart. William. Historic Notices and Domestic History of the Parish of Shotts. 1880. from Shotts Parish Coal & Ironworks on the Scottish Mining site. 13 January 2018.
  17. Web site: Shotts Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland. 2020-10-04. www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk.
  18. Web site: 25 inch O.S. Map with zoom and Bing overlay. National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. 30 December 2017.
  19. Web site: History of Dykehead in North Lanarkshire Map and description. 2020-10-04. www.visionofbritain.org.uk.
  20. Web site: Shotts. 2020-10-04. VisitLanarkshire. en.
  21. Web site: Calderhead-Erskine Parish Church . 2024-05-18 . www.facebook.com . en.
  22. Web site: Shotts Golf Club. 10 March 2015.
  23. Web site: Shotts Highland Games.
  24. Web site: 12 May 2010 . Michelle Barr Bio . 20 March 2013 . Dartmouth Sports.
  25. Web site: 16 December 2021 . Motherwell 'Ancell Babes' legend passes away . Daily Record.
  26. News: 9 April 1982 . Theatre opens to honour Archie . 20 . Wishaw Press . BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk.
  27. News: Russell . Helen . 21 April 1978 . A lifetime of theatre and drama for Archie . 11 . Wishaw Press . BritishNewspaperArchive.
  28. Web site: Pickering. Peter. Shaw-jones. John. Mining Review 4th Year No. 12. British Film Industry. 3 February 2018.
  29. News: Newsreader Catriona Shearer prepares to make big time bow on Reporting Scotland. Brian McIver. Daily Record. 6 July 2009. 27 May 2012.
  30. News: 17 January 1997 . We Miss You Jim . 38 . The Daily Mirror . BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk.
  31. News: 8 April 1994 . Rounding up Shotts news set Jim on the road to the top . 29 . Wishaw Press . BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk.
  32. News: 6 February 1987 . "no title" . 8 . Wishaw Press . BritishNewspapeArchive.co.uk.
  33. News: 20 August 1998 . Edinburgh Review . 24 . The Stage . BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk.
  34. News: 21 November 2001 . Theatre Thenew/netherbow theatre, Edinburgh . The Herald . HeraldandTimesArchive.
  35. News: 11 August 1998 . Fringe Reviews . 48 . The Scotsman . BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk.
  36. Book: Mother/Daughter Monologues Volume 4: Urgent Maturity . Lulu Press inc . 2009 . 978-0557093106 . 5–7.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Shotts".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.