Eaglesham The Story of a Planned Village

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Introduction

In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Eaglesham like this:

Eaglesham, par. and vil., SE. Renfrewshire -- par., 15,666 ac., pop. 1385; vil., 2½ miles SW. of Hairmyres sta. and 8½ S. of Glasgow, pop. 888; P.O., 1 Bank; in the 17th century E. was a small market town; the present vil. was founded in 1796 by the 12th Earl of Eglinton; it had at one time handloom weaving and a cotton-mill; it is now a resort for summer visitors from Glasgow; in vicinity is Eaglesham House.

The Village name

The name Eaglesham means kirkton or church town derived from the gaelic word 'eaglais' meaning church and the Saxon 'ham' meaning hamlet or village.

The Mediæval Period

The parish of Egglisham formed part of the district of Mearns and together with other lands were bestowed to Walter Fitz-Alan, the first Seneschal (High Steward) of Scotland and founder of the House of Stewart, by King David I. Walter was the great-grandson of Alain Fitz-Alan, Dapifer (Steward) to the Archbishop of Dol in Brittany. During the 1160s Fitz-Alan began to distribute his lands amongst his Anglo-Saxon supporters and the lands of Egglisham were granted to Robert de Montgomerie, a knight descended from Arnulph de Montgomerie. It is supposed that Sir John de Montgomerie, great-grandson of Robert de Montgomerie was in the army raised by Alexander III to meet the Norwegians under their king, Haakon IV whom Alexander defeated at the Battle of Largs in 1263. Later in 1361, Sir John de Montgomerie married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hugh de Eglinton of that Ilk, one of the two Justicaries of Scotland. Sir John obtained the baronies of Eglinton and Ardrossan upon Sir Hugh's death in 1374. Afterwards the Montgomeries made Eglinton their chief residence.

On 6th August 1388 at the Battle of Otterburn, Sir John de Montgomerie captured Henry, Lord Percy (also known as Hotspur). It is traditionally believed that Sir John accepted a ransom for his prisoner who killed James, Earl of Douglas (Sir John's uncle) and mortally wounded the Earl of Moray and built Polnoon Castle with the poind (ransom) money on a small hillock on what appears to be an earlier motte. After being released Lord Percy went to Calais in 1391 and served as Governor of Bordeaux from 1393 to 1395. Sir John's eldest son, Hugh was killed by an English archer at the battle in revenging the death of the Earl of Douglas. The Montgomerie armorial arms panel - Sir John quartered with his own the Eglinton arms which were "three gules, three rings or gemmed azure" - that would have originally been set in a recess above the entrance to the castle can be seen above the door of the Cross Keys Inn in Montgomery Street. Polnoon castle was refurbished for occupation in 1617 but was ruined by 1676.

Anther motte likely to be a site of the first wooden castle of the Montgomeries in the 12th century is recorded as being in Eaglesham. The motte or Motte Hill is a flat-topped mound situated on the north-west bank of the Linn Burn (or Kirkton Burn as it used to be known) in the Orry and was likely to have incorporated a broad ditch. The south-east side was truncated in the late 18th century by the building of the Orry Mill which has resulted in the removal of probably about a third of the site.

Fifteenth to seventeenth centuries

The Covenanting years

Hugh de Montgomerie, 2nd Lord Montgomerie acquired the title of Earl of Eglinton in 1508 as a reward for supporting King James IV in the feud against his father. Following a period of relative peace and stability in Scotland during the reign of King James VI, religion continued to be a major issue. The Covenanter movement which resulted from an attempt by King Charles I to impose a new prayer book and regulations on the Scottish Church became a powerful religious and political force. The population of Renfrewshire was predominantly in favour of the National Covenant and Alexander, 6th Earl of Eglinton signed the covenant in 1638. Covenanters faced steep fines or even the threat of execution for expressing their faith and in response to ever increasing repressive laws, the Covenanters held their meetings (conventicles) on common land, in particular the Eaglesham moors. This was one of the bloodiest periods in Scottish history and became known as the 'Killing Time'. Picketlaw took its name from an area where Covenanters kept watch for Government Troops during their conventicles on the moors. A memorial to local Covenanters Robert Lockhart and Gabriel Thomson who were shot by Highlandmen and Dragoons under the command of Ardencaple for their adherence to the Solemn League and Covenant as they returned from a coventicle on 1st May 1685, stands in the kirkyard of Eaglesham Parish Church. The inscription on the memorial has probably been transcribed from a more ancient headstone.

Fairs and markets

Alexander, 8th Earl of Eglinton obtained an Act of Parliament in 1672 for "ane yeirlie fair and weiklie mercat at the Kirktoun of Eagleshame". The act grants that the mercat be kept for "buying and selling of all sorts of merchandise and other commodities necessary and useful for the country". The weekly market had been abandoned by the time the New Statistical Account for Scotland published in 1845. The fair was also abandoned long ago but revived again in the late 20th century. Nowadays the fair is held bi-annually in June. The fair-day traditionally opens with a procession leaving from the school and parading through the village to the show ring. Leading the procession is the Fair Queen and her attendent. The Kilmarnock Bunnet race originated as a riding of the marches but had become a race which involved stops at the local hostelry and houses for a dram and cake. The winner, if he survived, was presented with a decorated Kilmarnock bonnet. Today the race is a much more sedate affair.

Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

Agricultural improvements

In the mid-eighteenth century the inhabitants of the Parish subsisted mainly on a centuries’ old runrig system of subsistence farming. This form of land occupation was characterised by strips of land worked on a ridge (run) and furrow (rig) pattern. Typically leases were short and there were no guarantees that the tenant farmers would receive the same strip of land the following year. Not surprisingly there was little incentive for tenants to improve either the land or buildings. Landlords keen to increase their profits leased larger farms to individuals. The introduction of turnips for feeding cattle and sheep and of potatoes for feeding people were grown. Land was enclosed by hedges and fences so that animals could be kept off the land when wet or during the growing season; the use of grass seed to improve pasture; crop rotation and the use of dung and lime to improve the soil. According to the Statistical Account of Scotland, "The principal object of the farmer is to produce butter and butter milk for the Glasgow market. The butter made here is preferable to any other". The well known song, Drivin in tae Glesca in a Soor Milk Cairt, was written by Tom Johnstone who had a sister in Eaglesham and often travelled back home to Glasgow in the cairt. Ewan McVicar, author of "One Glasgow One Song" explained that 'The sour milk cart was drawn at a reasonable pace by one horse, of a steady disposition and 'a certain age'. Giving the driver the chance of clicking with a lass. The sweet milk cart came at a spanking speed, pulled by two fiery young horses. The sweet milk needed to be in town early to get into the teacups of the well-off. The sour milk was used for baking.'


Until the 18th century, Scotland's villages were little more than settlements loosely organised around fermtouns. Settlements that had a church were known as kirktouns and tose with mills were milltouns. In 1769 Alexander, 10th Earl of Eglinton, began the work of developing the old kirktoun of Eaglesham into a planned village. However it was his successor, Archibald, 11th Earl of Eglinton, who largely saw Alexander's plans through to completion as Alexander was shot on his estate near Ardrossan by excise officer Mungo Campbell on 24th October 1769 following a dispute about Campbell's right to bear arms on the Earl's grounds. The Earl planned his new village with two ranges of houses built around the Orry, an area of common land about one-third of a mile in length, interspersed with trees and divided in the centre by the Linn Burn or Kirkton Burn. Tacks were offered on 999 year leases on condition that a house was built on a tack within five years otherwise a fine of five pounds was imposed. The Earl granted permission for tenants to quarry stone and were given sand from the Earl’s estate to assist with the building of houses. At the rear of the houses is a rood (one quarter of an acre) of garden ground. Tenants were allowed to use the Linn Burn for washing and the green for bleaching but no cattle were allowed to graze or tread on the Orry.

Industrial improvements

Weaving and cotton mills

Weaving became the main industry until the establishment of a cotton mill in the village in 1791, 13 years after the first cotton mill in Scotland was built at Rothesay. The New Statistical Account of Scotland notes that 'About 1790, there were 63 silk-looms at work in Eaglesham; in a few years after they sunk down to 33; and at present that branch of the trade is extinct and has been entirely replaced by the weaving of cotton goods, the materials for which are furnished by the Glasgow and Paisley manufacturers'. Evidence of the weavers can still be seen in the village to this day. A lintel at a former weaver's cottage at 50 Montgomery Street is inscribed "James Kego & Jean Mitchell 1774". James Kego was born in Eaglesham on 7th November 1731 and married Jean Mitchell from Carmunock on 14th June 1765. Kego was a weaver which was the main industry until the establishment of a cotton mill in the Orry. Weavers from the Ayrshire villages of Darvel and Newmilns used to make a 16 mile journey from Darvel to Eaglesham on occasion carrying a piece of finished cloth for the markets and collecting a new clue of yarn which would arrive with the carriers from Glasgow and Paisley. The Weavers Trail still exists today as a public right of way.


The Orry Mill burned down in 1817; was rebuilt on an enlarged site in 1823 and subsequently modified several times before destruction by fire in 1876. It was rebuilt on a smaller scale and was derelict by the early twentieth century. At its peak the mill, the property of Messrs. McLean and Brodie of Glasgow employed 400 people. The mill had 15,312 spindles and was set in motion by a cast-iron water-wheel, 45 feet in diameter and equivalent 50 horsepower. Water was supplied to both the cotton and corn mills in the Orry from three lochs Link ; Picketlaw, Mid Dam (formerly Mid Loch) and High Dam (High Loch) situated above the village on Eaglesham Moor. Water was drawn-off into the Linn Burn with dams and sluices. All that remains of the Orry Mill today is the fragments of three buildings and a wheel-pit. The stone from the buildings were used to build a dry stane wall bounding Eaglesham House.


Another mill was built at Millhall in 1822 by John White. This was a much smaller concern and mainly produced cotton wad for use in hospitals to bind wounds as well as spinning shuttle cord for power-looms and candle wicks. Ludovic Gavin bought the mill from John White's creditors in 1837. The mill contained 620 spindles and employed 64 hands. The waterwheel was equivalent to the power of 24 horses. Following Gavin's death, powerlooms were installed for weaving blankets and tweeds in an attempt to keep-up with technology however this and the carding machine that was installed at the Orry Mill in 1871 reduced the need for labour. In 1852 the dam back and a part of the mill were carried away when Dunwan Dam burst. Afterwards a weir was built across the burn. The New Statistical Account of Scotland notes that the wad produced at Millhall is 'of the most approved sort. Persons ought to be aware of that purchased in the shops with a glazed surface, strengthened by glue, as it is manufactured with arsenic to preserve it from insects, and often proves hurtful when applied to open wounds.'

After the decline of the Orry Mill, Eaglesham was left without an industry. Without work many of the mill workers drifted away and their homes lay empty. The population of the village dropped from 2,428 in the mid-nineteenth century to 1,075 at the end of the century – a population similar to the level at the village’s establishment.

Public gas lighting

Eaglesham is believed to be the first place in the world where William Murdoch first used gas for public street lighting in 1802, five years before the London and Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company illuminated Pall Mall in London. The gas works were situated in Gas Works Lane although old maps show this to be Kirk Wynd which leads off Montgomery Square. Kirk Wynd is known locally as Gassy Brae possibly in reference to the gas works that were once situated here.

Religious life

Places of worship

It is probable that there has been a place of worship in Eaglesham since the fifth or sixth centuries. The present church was designed by Robert McLachlane and completed in 1790 replacing an earlier building which stood on the same site. The church was originally a small octagonal building and later extended with sittings for 550 worshippers. Robert McLachlane also designed similar octagonal churches at Dreghorn in Ayrshire and Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire. Scotland's religious history is complex. The introduction of the patronage system whereby the local lord or laird was responsible for providing the building for worship and appointing the minister, gave rise to great contention and led to many secessions. In Eaglesham, the village was at one time much over populated with churches.

The Secession Church broke away from the established church in 1733 and established a church of the Burgher Faction. Eaglesham Old and Carswell Church and Session House was built in 1788 and contained 480 sittings. The building was formerly the Carswell United Presbyterian Church (the United Presbyterian Church was formed in 1847 following the union between the Secession Church and the Relief Church) before it merged in 1900 with the Free Kirk who had their church in what is the present church halls in Montgomery Street opposite Mid Road. In 1929, the united congregations became the Carswell Church of Scotland before finally merging with the Parish Church to form the present Eaglesham Parish Church. The church is now the Carswell Halls and takes it's name after the Rev. William Carswell who was ordained in 1827. In 1858, a church was built mainly for Irish immigrant workers in the cotton mill and farms. St. Bridget's Church is located behind 'Mayfield' in Polnoon Street.

Land ownership

Eaglesham Estate

After seven centuries of ownership, the Montgomery family's finances floundered and Eaglesham Estate was put on the market in 1835. Hugh, 12th Earl of Eglinton promoted and partially funded the Glasgow, Paisley and Ardrossan Canal and Ardrossan Harbour projects. The Earl wanted to connect the booming industrial towns of Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone to his new deep sea port at Ardrossan and his Ayrshire coal fields. However funds ran out and the canal was only constructed from Glasgow to Johnstone via Paisley. Archibald, 13th Earl of Eglinton and 1st Earl of Winton spent £30,000 or £40,000 on the ill-fated Eglinton Tournament organised in 1839. Eaglesham Estate was finally sold £217,000 in 1844 to Allan and James Gilmour. Allan Gilmour was a prominent Scottish-born lumber merchant and shipowner and his brother James, a prominent Scottish-born entrepreneur, farmer, school trustee, justice of the peace, militia officer, and co-founder of both Douglastown, New Brunswick, and Gilmour, Rankin & Co. Allan Gilmour contributed to the survival of the original village after inheriting Eaglesham Estate in 1858 by refusing to allow a railway to cross his land. Despite plans being prepared by the Busby Railway Company in 1887 to extend the railway to Eaglesham, the railway never did cross Gilmour's land.

Twentieth century

Scotland's first conservation area

By the 1930s many of the houses were lying empty and damp and in such a poor state of repair Link that a local councillor suggested that the village be entirely demolished and replaced with council housing. Fortunately the plans were shelved when hostilities in Europe broke-out. In the late forties, two villagers, Nina Davidson and Kathleen Whyte began to arouse interest in restoring the 18th century village. A letter-writing campaign was started and by the fifties, a world-wide appeal was launched for funds towards Eaglesham’s conservation. Such was the success of the campaign, that the village was designated Scotland's first conservation area in 1960. In 1969, two-hundred years after Alexander, 10th Earl of Eglinton, began the work of developing the old kirktoun of Eaglesham into a planned village, a bi-centenary plaque was erected by Renfrew County Council and Eaglesham Restoration Joint Committee in acknowledgement of the work of Sheriff J.B.M. Young and Mr G.M. Rhodes towards the preservation of Eaglesham. Many of the buildings are grade 'B' and 'C' listed but as a whole the village is 'A'-listed.

Wartime events

One of the most remarkable events during World War II was the landing of Rudolf Hess at Eaglesham. Shortly after 11 p.m. on 10 May 1941, local ploughman, David McLean heard an explosion, looked out from the window of his farmhouse and saw a parachutist float down into the fields at Floors Farm near Eaglesham. McLean ran out and found a crashed and burning Messerschmitt Bf-110 E-1/N aircraft and a slightly injured German officer who identified himself as Hauptmann (Captain) Albert Horn. McLean took the officer prisoner and held him at the farmhouse at Floors Farm pending the arrival of the Busby Home Guard Company. Horn was arrested and taken to the 3 Battalion Home Guard Headquarters at Giffnock Scout Hall before being transferred to Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow and other locations before finally being to transported to P.O.W. Reception Station, Maindiff Court, Abergavenny, South Wales where he remained for the duration of the hostilities. Horn turned-out to be the Deputy Reichsfuhrer, Rudolf Hess and claimed that he had flown to Britain with a message for the Duke of Hamilton in an attempt to persuade the British government to restore peace. Hess was navigating to Dungavel House, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, near Strathaven but in poor light mistook his intended destination as Eaglesham House. Hess was diagnosed as having a "hysterical personality" and was tried as a war criminal at Nuremburg. The International Military Tribunal found him guilty on two counts of 'concerted plan or conspiracy' and 'crimes against peace'. Hess was imprisoned in Spandau prison where he committed suicide on 17 August 1987.

The village today

Today Eaglesham still attracts visitors whether wishing to walk around the Orry, looking at the many attractive buildings, visiting the local gallery or enjoying a refreshment at one of the tearooms or hostelries. The opening of the Glasgow Southern Orbital road linking East Kilbride with the M77 motorway extension at Maidenhill has relieved the village of the heavy traffic leaving the village to be enjoyed once again by locals and visitors alike.

Whitelee Windfarm

Construction began on 9th October 2006 on Europe’s largest on-shore windfarm operated by Scottish Power Renewables. The initial 140 turbines covering approximately 13,590 acres at Whitelee Windfarm are capable of producing up to 322MW of electricity. A proposal to extend the site by another 130 MW has been approved by the Scottish Government and a planning application has been lodged for a second extension, which could add a further 140MW. The visitor centre is managed by Glasgow Science Centre. A network of 56 miles of paths gives walkers, cyclists and horse riders access to the local countryside.
Link

Buildings past and present

Eaglesham House

David Bryce designed Eaglesham House, formerly Brackenrig House, in Scots Baronial style for the Gilmours as a residence in 1859 at a cost of £70,000. The house was built on the site of Brackenrig Farm. The policies extended to some 225 acres and were laid out and planted with trees in the 1860s. Bryce's other work includes Balfour Castle, on Shapinsay in the Orkney Isles, The Bank of Scotland headquarters at The Mound, Edinburgh and Fettes College, Edinburgh. Following the sale of the lands and estates by the trustees of Captain Angus Cecil Gilmour, Eaglesham House together with its policies and South Floors field were purchased by Matthew Dickie, a builder from Glasgow. The house lay abandoned for a while before being used as a transport depot by the Polish army during World War II. Later the house was used as grass drying factory by Weir's of Glasgow. The house was destroyed by fire in 1956 after 300 tons of grass caught fire. Despite the efforts of the Fire Service, the blaze spread to the north part of the building where 200 gallons of petrol were stored. Linn Products own and operate a state-of-the-art hi-fi production facility designed by Sir Richard Rogers at the site.

Coronation Buildings

The Coronation Buildings was a Glasgow style tenement block that was situated between the Old Schoolhouse and Eglinton Arms Hotel in Gilmour Street. The tenement was demolished during the restoration of the village as it was considered out-of-keeping with the character of the village.

Royal Oak Hotel

The Royal Oak Hotel was situated in Montgomery Street. The building was demolished and later replaced with a two-storey dwelling house.

Moor Road

Polnoon Street

Montgomery Street

Mid Road

Gilmour Street

Cheapside Street

Lochs, reservoirs and watercourses

Whitelee Windfarm

Places of interest

Situated in a lane beside Pillar House, Montgomery Street is Statue House, a museum owned by East Renfrewshire Council and dedicated to the work of local joiner and sculptor William Gemmell (1814 - 1891). The museum contains a collection of William Gemmell's works. An online exhbition of the William Gemmell Collection can be seen at Portal to the Past, East Renfrewshire's Heritage Collection.

Appendices

Appendix I - Bibliography

The Statistical Account of Scotland, 1791 - 1799
New Statistical Account of Scotland, 1834 - 1845, William Blackwood & Sons
Buchan, Jim (2009) Eaglesham: 'A' Planned Village, article in East Renfrewshire Council Magazine, Autumn 2009
Chambers, Robert & William (1844) The Gazetteer of Scotland, R & W Chambers
Groome, Francis H. (1884) Ordnance Gazeteer of Scotland, Vol II, Thos. C. Jack
Hill, Alistair R. (1991) A Short Account of the Family of Gilmour of Eaglesham
McDonald, Hugh (1856) Rambles Around Glasgow, second edition
McVicar, Ewan (1990) One Singer One Song: Songs Of Glasgow Folk, Glasgow City Libraries
Montgomery, Thomas Harrison (1863) A Geneaological History of the Family of Montgomery including the Montgomery Pedigree
Museums, Glasgow (2008) East Renfrewshire Draft
Wilson, John (1812) General View of the Agriculture of Renfrewshire
Wilson, Rona (1997) Old Eaglesham, Stenlake Publishing Ltd.

East Renfrewshire Council, Portal to the Past, Link
Eaglesham Parish Church, Link
Future Museum South West Scotland, The Battle of Largs, Link
Royal Commission for Ancient and Historic Monuments (RCAHM), Link
Secret Wiki Scotland, Rudolf Hess Flight Link
University of London & History of Parliament Trust, British History Online, Link
Wikipedia, Glasgow, Paisley and Johnstone Canal, Link

Appendix II - Further reading

Brown, Gordon (2008) The Killing Times, Link , Geograph British Isles
Future Museum South West Scotland, The Covenanting Wars 'The Killing Time', Link
Mallard, Kenneth (2009) The Darvel to Eaglesham Weavers' Trail, Link Geograph British Isles
Mearns History Group, Mearnshistory, Link
Whitelee Windfarm, Link
Wikipedia, Battle of Otterburn, Link
Wikipedia, Earl of Eglinton, Link
Wikipedia, Eglinton Castle, Link
Wikipedia, Eglinton Tournament of 1839, Link
Wikipedia, Allan Gilmour, Sr., Link
Wikipedia, James Gilmour (Miramichi lumber baron), Link

Appendix III - Street names

Brownmuir Avenue takes its name from 'The Auld Broom Mair', the name of a local birch wood.

Appendix IV - Kilmarnock bonnet

A Kilmarnock bonnet is a famous piece of headwear, dating back at least to 1647 when the 'Kilmarnock Corporation of Bonnet Makers' was founded.

Appendix V - The Soor Milk Cairt

Oh I am a country chappie and I'm serving at Polnoon,
On a fairm near to Eaglesham, that fine auld-fashioned toon,
Whaur, wi' the milk each mornin', a little after three,
We tak the road richt merrily, my auld black horse and me.

chorus-
Wi' her cheeks sae red and rosie, and e'en sae bonnie blue,
Dancin' and glancin' she pierced me through and through,
She fairly won ma fancy, and stole awa' ma hert,
Drivin' into Glesga on a soor milk cairt.

I raised her up beside me and we soon got on the crack,
I slipped my airm aroond her waist as by my side she sat,
I telt the auld, auld story as the woods around me rang,
Wi' the singing o' the mavis and the blackbird's cheery sang.

I've heard o' lads and lasses making love in shady bowers,
And hoo they woo'd and won amang the roses and the flowers,
But I' ne'er forget the morning wee Cupid threw his dart
And made me pop the question in the soor milk cairt.

Since the lassie has consented next term time cams roon,
I mean tae buy a harness plaid and a bonnie silken goon,
We're settlin' tae get marret just aboot next August fair,
When aw oor auld acquaintances I hope to see them there.

The lass had never had a hurl in a carriage aw her days,
Sae when that I proposed tae hae a coach and pair o' greys,
"Na, na " quo' she, "The siller's scarce, ye ken we canna spare't
And I'd rather hae the jooglin' o' the soor milk cairt."

Tom Johnstone

Image gallery

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