Coltness
Encyclopedia
Wishaw
Wishaw is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow....
, North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The 2001 census indicated a population of almost 4,500.
Lying to the north east of the town centre, Coltness is an area of mainly local authority built housing, divided into the two distinct areas of East and West Coltness. The two areas have their own unique identities and are separated by an area of woodland, with a deep gorge running through it.
East Coltness
The larger of the two areas of Coltness, is the eastern half. Following the path of the Coltness Road from its boundary with CambusnethanCambusnethan
Cambusnethan is a large suburb on the eastern edge of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire in Scotland. It is approximately 1.5 miles long, straddling both sides of the A722 on a hill overlooking Wishaw.-Transport:...
, it proceeds almost level for approximately 1.5 miles before descending the steep South Calder Water valley where it meets the main artery of West Coltness, North Dryburgh Road. The housing estate of Branchalwood, built in the 1960s, contains detached and semi-detached bungalows and marks the boundary of East Coltness.
East Coltness has several bus services, with the local First Glasgow service number 241 running every 7 minutes from the suburb to Motherwell, as well as other operators services to Hamilton
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
(9), Cleland
Cleland, North Lanarkshire
Cleland is a small village near Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland - see . The two nearest towns are Wishaw and Motherwell. The village has a strong mining heritage and is a typical example of a working class village in North Lanarkshire and the Glasgow area...
(9, 241, 248) and Coatbridge
Coatbridge
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie, is part of the Greater Glasgow urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age era...
(248). There is also a once daily return express service in the peak hours to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
operated by First Glasgow (X11).
Most schools in Coltness are in the eastern half, with the exception of St. Aidans RC High School, which straddles the woodland separating the two areas. Other schools include a non-denominational primary school, Calderbridge Primary (an amalgimation of both Lammermoor and Coltness which occurred in 2010), a non-denominational secondary school, Coltness High School
Coltness High School
Coltness High School is a comprehensive school that is located in Coltness, the largest suburb of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The school was opened in 1966, and currently has a school roll of under 1,000 pupils...
and an RC primary school, St. Aidans Primary. Two churches are located in the eastern half, St. Marks Church of Scotland, and St. Aidans RC Church.
Commerce in the suburb is mainly located in the eastern side, with convenience stores located in housing areas, as well as hairdressers and takeaway foods. A petrol station, tool hire company, two supermarkets and a pharmacy are located on Coltness Road.
West Coltness
This part of Coltness sits lower in the South Calder valley than its eastern counterparts. Following the path of North Dryburgh Road from its junction with WishawWishaw
Wishaw is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow....
Main Street in the town centre for almost 2 miles along a hilly and winding course until it meets Coltness Road near the bridge over South Calder Water valley.
This quieter side of the suburb has little in the way of commercial facilities and public transport, but has recently become a rat run for motorists travelling to the M8 wishing to avoid the town centre.
The former Cascade bar in the West, which closed in 2009, has been converted into a Tesco Express supermarket.
Origins
Designed in the 1950s by the then Motherwell and Wishaw Burgh Council to alleviate an acute housing shortage in the area, Coltness is just one of Wishaw's post-war planned housing developments, known locally as "schemes". The other areas of GowkthrappleGowkthrapple (Wishaw)
Gowkthrapple is a small suburb of Wishaw, Scotland. Gowkthrapple can be entered off of the Castlehill Road which runs the length of the estate. Formerly an industrial area, associated with the Pather Iron and Steel Works and then Smith's clock factory, which opened in 1951...
, Pather
Pather
Pather is a small suburb of Wishaw, Scotland and was initially built as a council estate.Pather can be entered from Caledonian Road through either Lomond Drive or Tarbert Avenue.-Street names:...
, West Crindledyke, Wishawhill
Wishawhill
Wishawhill is a small suburb located in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire. It is located to the north of the town. The suburb can be entered by Heathery Road or Cleland Road, with both roads leading onto the A721 or Glasgow Road running towards Wishaw Main Street....
and Greenhead
Greenhead
-Placenames:*Greenhead, North Lanarkshire, Scotland*Greenhead, Northumberland, England*Greenhead, Scottish Borders, Scotland*Greenhead, Staffordshire, England*Greenhead College, a sixth form college in Huddersfield, England...
, were all designed according to very different templates.
Coltness was designed as mix of both "back and front door" housing stock and low density flatted accommodation, with lots of open green space. It was built on land which had previously been marshy woodland with some minor mining operations.
Evidence of mining operations are still visible, including a small slag heap in a woodland just off Kilmeny Crescent and abandoned shafts in the woodland to the east of the suburb. None of this appears to have been taken into consideration when the current housing was built and some larger building are now suffering from minor structural problems.
History of Coltness Estate and Coltness House
The area was originally part of the extensive estates of the Somervilles of Cambusnethan. Their lands, which stretched to the River ClydeRiver Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, were sold off to pay debts. Coltness was purchased by Sir James Stewart, later Lord Provost of Edinburgh, in 1653; the 18th century economist James Steuart (Denham) lived here. The estate remained in the hands of his son, General Sir James Steuart Denham; the trustees of the general's estate sold it in 1840 to the Houldsworths, a family of newly wealthy industrialists, who lived in the imposing Coltness House until the 1950s. The mansion then became a residential school run by Barnardo's
Barnardo's
Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
until the late 1970s when it was used briefly as a refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
resettlement centre for Vietnamese Boat People
Boat people
Boat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...
. The building lay empty for several years, was badly vandalised and severely damaged in a fire. It was eventually demolished in the early 1980s to make way for the Woodlandsgate estate built by Barratt Homes. The former stables of Coltness House were retained and converted to flats.