Motherwell and Wishaw the Past
The town of Motherwell lies 12 miles to the south-east of Glasgow. King David II of Scotland, son of Robert the Bruce and his second wife Elizabeth, granted a Charter in the 14th century in which the name of the local lands appears as ‘Modyrwaile’. The name Motherwell as we know it did not come into use until much later in the 18th century. It is also widely recognised that the name also comes from the old English word ‘Wael’ meaning pool or well. At some point in history this well was dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus – ‘The Mother Well’.
Through time the area has grown from a cluster of hamlets whose names still exist in Motherwell today such as Windmillhill, Coursington, Jerviston and Carfin
From the early 19th century when the main economy was based on agriculture, the area later became dominated by cottage weaving.
The town of
Wishaw
is located 15 miles south-east of
Glasgow
. There are two main theories as to the name of Wishaw and its origins – both remain to be proved conclusively.
The Anglo-Saxon word ‘shaw’ or ‘schaw’ means a small wood. ‘Wi’, from via would result in the terminology ‘a road through a wood’. A second theory comes from the ancient inn that was opened on the route to the well known St Winifred’s Well. Legend goes that pilgrims named the inn the ‘Wish Ha’, which later became Wishaw as we know it.
Wishaw first appeared on the map in 1789, made up of a series of hamlets whose name still appear locally today such as Coalness, Muirhouse, Murdieston, Cleland and Belhaven
The Industrial Revolution brought more mechanised mill and factory processes before the discovery of coal changed the face of industrial West Central Scotland for generations to come. The introduction of strategic railway lines in 1841 meant
Motherwell and Wishaw
’s coal could be transported throughout the country along with its new partner iron. The first local ironworks were opened in 1871 and finally became the countries largest steel producers by the beginning of the First World War in 1914. By the time of the Second World War Motherwell was supplying over nine million tonnes of steel to the war effort, and the name ‘
Steel Town’ became well established in folk lore.
In 1957 the giant Ravenscraig Steel Plant opened, and with its neighbours Lanarkshire, Dalzell and Clyde Alloy were then employing more than 15,000 men and women. By 1992 all but Dalzell Plate Mill has closed, leaving the ‘
Steel Town’ with only a few hundred steelworkers and a new generation eager to create its own avenues of employment and wealth creation
Motherwell and Wishaw the Present
The local areas which make up the town of Motherwell include Ladywell, Calder Valley, North Motherwell, Forgewood, Watsonville, Knowetop and Muirhouse. Wishaw is made up from Craigneuk, Stewarton, Coltness, Pather and Gowkthrapple. The constituency also includes parts of Bellshill and the villages of Mossend, New Stevenston, Carfin, Newarthill, Cleland, Newmains, Cambusnethan, Waterloo and Overtown