November 1905.F. & Pipes marked thus (thick coloured blue line)
Alterations to date in iron pipes ” ” (thin coloured red lines).
By Alexander Cullen. Architect.
The above detailed drawing from November c. 1905 shows the Plan of Drains for Neilsland House. It was kindly gifted to me from Sir Simon Watson 6th Bt of Neilsland and Earnock. Out of all my history documents and photos that I have gathered or acquired over the years this is by far my prize possession. Because the drawing details the entire ground floor plan of Neilsland House and it was created by Alexander Cullen. Architect. who was responsible for the design of many of Hamilton’s grand Victorian buildings.
A Merry Christmas To You All! This Snow Covered Swiss Cottage, Neilsland photograph was taken during the 1940’s and was kindly sent to me by William McIntosh.
Keep the Heid! Here he is, in all of his majestic splendor! The Lord Byron Statue At The Swiss Cottage, Neilsland c. 1940’s, with his head intact. Gathering up his cloak with his left hand and clasping a book in his right, he settles down in a seated position within the tranquil surroundings to take rest and gaze out on the pond, in an afternoon’s repose.
In the foreground of the photograph you can see the entrance and exit point of a small water drainage channel that led away from the rockery and down towards the weir. Behind Lord Byron and some rhododendron shrubs is a more close-up and detailed front view of The Swiss Cottage.
The photograph was kindly sent to me by William McIntosh. He informed me that at the time the photograph was taken there were at least three statues located at the site; 1): Lord Byron, 2): Robert Burns and 3): Mary Of Argyle. The Burns statue was located near the Swiss Cottage and the correct title for the statue is “the figure….resting from the plough” or “Burns….resting from the plough”. The sculpture was recently purchased by the Carluke Parish Historical Society and placed in an undisclosed safe location until a permanent site can be found. The Mary Of Argyle statue was positioned near the small original stone bridge and its current location is unknown.
This is the second only photograph of the Swiss Cottage, Neilsland to have ever been published. It was kindly sent to me by William McIntosh. William’s uncle lived in the cottage during the 1940’s and in fact his cousin was actually born there. It is interesting to note the scale of the cottage as it is much larger than I had previously thought. This is a view looking at one of the sides of the cottage from the now Woodhead Green side of the weir.
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 4th day of May 1911.
PRESENT,
The King’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council.
WHEREAS by “The Burial Grounds (Scotland) Act, 1855,” as amended by “The Secretary for Scotland Act, 1885,” it is provided that it shall be lawful for His Majesty from time to time , by Order in Council, upon the Representation for the Secretary for Scotland that a copy of an Interlocutor of a Sheriff of a County of Scotland as in the said first-named Act provided has been received by him, in pursuance thereof to order that no new burial ground shall be opened within certain limits specified in such Order, save with the previous approval of the Secretary for Scotland or (as the case may require) that after a time mentioned in the Order burials within certain limits, or in certain burial grounds or places of burial shall be discontinued wholly, or subject to any exceptions or qualifications mentioned in such Order, and that such Order in Council shall thereupon have like force and effect as if the same were embodied in the said first-named Act: provided always, that notice of such Representation and of a time it shall please His Majesty to order the same to be taken into consideration by the Privy Council, shall be transmitted to the Crown Agent in Edinburgh, and to the Sheriff-Clerk of the County in which such burial ground is situated ; and that the same shall be by them respectively published in the Edinburgh Gazette, and fixed on the doors of the church of, or on some other conspicuous places within, the parish affected by such Representation, one month before such Representation is so considered :
And whereas the Secretary for Scotland has made a Representation that he has received a copy of an Interlocutor of the Sheriff-Substitute of Lanarkshire at Hamilton finding that the non-parochial Burial Ground known as Meikle Earnock Graveyard, in the Parish of Hamilton, in the County of Lanark, is in a condition which is offensive and contrary to decency :
And whereas in the said Representation it is recommended that the said Burial Ground should be forthwith closed in terms of the said Burial Grounds (Scotland) Act, 1855.
And whereas by Order in Council of the 4th day of March 1911, notice of such Representation was given, and it was ordered that the same should be taken into consideration by the Privy Council on the 13 day of April 1911, and that the said Order in Council or notice thereof should be published in the Edinburgh Gazette, and that copies of the said Order in Council or notice thereof should be fixed on the doors of the church of, or on some other conspicuous places within, the parish affected by such Representation one month before the said 13th day of April 1911 :
And whereas notice of the said Representation and of the time when it pleased His Majesty to order the same to be taken into consideration by the Privy Council has been duly published in the Edinburgh Gazette and has been fixed in the manner required by the said Order in Council.
Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, is pleased to order, as it is hereby ordered, that the said non-parochial Burial Ground known as Meikle Earnock Graveyard, in the Parish of Hamilton, in the County of Lanark, be forthwith closed.
The above photograph shows an “Old Well And Cottages At Meikle Earnock” and it was taken during c.1877. The old well was also known as the “Meikle Earnock Pump Well”. It was the water supply for the immediate area (the village of Meikle Earnock). The road was nothing more than a dirt track at the time. On the left is the entrance to the Meikle Earnock Shuckie, which is an old miner’s path.
The well and the old miner’s cottage that sits behind and to the left of it are mentioned in my previous article titled: “A Wee House”. This is the oldest known photograph of the well and the cottage. The well was removed many years ago (exact date unknown) but the cottage still exists to this present-day, which means it is at least 144 years old! Because it was already clearly established when this photograph was taken. The three cottages on the right have thatched roofs with whitewashed lime rendered walls and a room on each side of the front door. They were built for the farm workers and miners who were employed in the local area.
The above photograph shows an old miner’s cottage located at 83 Meikle Earnock Road, Hamilton ML3 8AG South Lanarkshire, Scotland c. April 2021. The following excerpt is from a locally produced small booklet on the history of the area titled: “Our Story” c. 1986. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner who were the owners at the time provide their story.
” A Wee House “
We moved into this cottage 53 years ago, coming from Lanark. I was working with the Highway Department, and I recall that roads around here were in a pitiful condition. Up here there were just cart tracks then. We began to repair and surface the roads, which took three years to do. This house here belonged to Neilsland Estate, it was owned by Douglas Watson. When the estate was broken up, houses and farms were sold. We took the opportunity and bought this house. The dairy next door was sold as well, it was bought by James Baird, the uncle of Andrew Baird.
We first saw this house on a trip by motorbike, coming from Lanark, and I thought, “I would like to live in this wee house.” Well, we are still here. Before us a family by the name of Cuthbertson used to live here. They have descendants living in Canada and Australia, and they still come occasionally to look at the house. They were miners. When we first came here, I went to a sale at the pit head, which was about 150 yards from here, down the road. The pit had just closed down, and they sold all sorts of things, iron, huts, bricks, you name it. I went to see what I could pick up cheap. I made that yard at Meikle Earnock Road which belongs to the Department of Transport. I made that in 1932/33. Sometimes we had four or five steamrollers at a time. We used to have the garden of our cottage cultivated like a market garden. We even kept goats, sheep, hens and pigs. We could do with the goats now, to eat the grass.
We were here when they took the chimney stack down at the pit head. I saw it coming down. It was pretty high, and and it was quite a sensation to see it come down. It was a tight community then, and you would speak to everybody.
(Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, 83 Meikle Earnock Road)
The structure and look of the cottage hasn’t changed much over the years and it is still very recognisable. The whitewashed lime rendered walls have been roughcasted over and the slate roof tiles are now gone. The small porch/doorway has also been removed and the window on the right side has been lengthened. You can easily see the alterations that have been made to the building over the years, If you cross-reference the above featured photograph with the Meikle Earnock Pump Well c. 1901 photograph provided below (showing the cottage in the background). In fact, within John Watson’s first journal there is a photograph of the Meikle Earnock Pump Well featuring the cottage (already clearly established) in the background dated c. 1877. So, the cottage is at least 144 years old!
The cottage is no longer occupied and it is currently owned by the Barrie family, who are descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. They also own the ” Fairhill Cottage ” across the road and this cottage formed part of the original Fairhill Estate.
The above photograph shows the Meikle Earnock Pump Well c. 1901. It was located at Meikle Earnock Road, just right of the junction with Neilsland Road, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The start of the miner’s footpath known as the “Meikle Earnock Shuckie” can be seen on the left of the photograph, behind the woman holding a small boy. The woman is also heavily pregnant and both her and the small boy she is holding are draped in a tartan shawl. They are looking towards a group of schoolchildren gathered around the pump well to have their photograph taken.
In the background of the photograph is “A Wee House” that has survived to this present-day. It is a miner’s cottage and was once the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. The Meikle Earnock Pump Well no longer exists and was removed many years ago (exact date unknown). Its former location is now a very busy section of Meikle Earnock Road.
The photograph above shows a curling match being held at Tor Lake (The Tally-Ho) on the Neilsland Estate c. 1920’s. The boat house can be seen in the background. Tor Lake was located at the southern end of the estate across from the Hamilton And Strathaven Railway. During the summer of c. 1934 reporters and press photographers flocked to the area after tales of “The Neilsland Monster” circulated.
On the left of the photograph is Jeanette Lucy Vickers (Watson) Jack who is the author of “The Neilsland Monster” story and she was the daughter of Thomas William Watson WS and Lucy (Hamilton) Watson, who were the owners of the Neilsland Estate. Jeanette is being steadied by the family chauffeur Mr Hutcheson. Thomas William Watson WS can be seen standing in the front row wearing a light overcoat. Standing behind him and slightly to his right is his son Leslie Dundas Watson and he is also wearing a light coat. Leslie was the brother of Jeanette and the father of Sir Simon Conran Hamilton Watson 6th Baronet of Neilsland and Earnock.
Oil painting on canvas depicting the ancient avenue that linked Woodhead, which was a row of Cottages and a Shooting Lodge (Aka Gamekeeper’s House) to Old Neilsland House. The position of the former cottages and shooting lodge at Woodhead are now the present-day location of Woodhead Primary School. And, The Woodhead Bar is now the present-day location of where Old Neilsland House once stood.
A single horse drawn cart travels along the avenue towards Old Neilsland which can be seen in the distance (centre of the painting). The cart was possibly carrying a barrel filled with water for use at Old Neilsland House and Stables. As, a clutch of hens are standing next to a stationary cart with empty barrels on the right, just outside a small cottage. A basic wooden bowl shaped well can be seen just left before the pasture field gate in the painting. This well was the main water supply for the immediate area. Later during the same year a more substantial square shaped well built from metal with a pump attached to it was installed as a replacement. This can be easily cross-referenced against the Thomas Annan c. 1877 photograph of The Avenue And Pump Well.
And, later again (probably less than a year as this coincided with the improvements being made to The Avenue and completion of the construction of the Shooting Lodge “Gamekeeper’s House”) an even larger circular shaped sandstone well with dressed coping stones was built.
For at least 143 Years The Woodhead Well and many of the original trees that line The Avenue, Neilsland have withstood the test of time! In fact the Avenue alone predates the above painting and Thomas Annan photo because you can see that it was already long established. The original dirt track is of course now surfaced in tarmacadam. The Avenue is now intersected by Balmore Drive. The section on the right of Balmore Drive is the road leading to Woodhead Primary School. And, the left section is a footpath leading to the Woodhead Bar and Meikle Earnock Store.
Hamilton Historian. Terence (Terry) Murphy. Standing next to The Woodhead Well at The Avenue, Neilsland c. Feb 2021.
Written By
Hamilton Historian.
Terence (Terry) Murphy.
Ref: South Lanarkshire Council, Low Parks Museum & Their Online Collection. The John Watson Journals.
Hamilton Historian. Terry Murphy 