The History of Cambuslang is explained to a great deal by its geography. Now in South Lanarkshire, the town of Cambuslang is an ancient part of Scotland where Iron Age remains (at Dechmont Hill)Dechmont Hill, Gazetteer for ScotlandDechmont Hill, CanmoreRuins on Dechmont Hill, The Blantyre Project, 29 June 2014 loom over 21st century housing developments. It has been very prosperous over time, depending first upon its agricultural land, (supplying food, then wool, then linen) then the mineral resources under its soil (limestone and coal, and, to some extent, iron).
History Etymology Reverend Doctor James Meek, minister in Cambuslang from 1772 until 1810 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1795, wrote in the First Statistical Account of Scotland (1792):
"Cameos, now changed into Camus or Cambus in the Gaelic language, signifies a crooked torrent or rivulet; and LAN or Launse, now changed into Lang, was the name of a saint famous as the founder of many monasteries".
His follower and son-in-law, Rev Dr John Robertson, assistant to, then Minister of Cambuslang from 1797 until 1843, suggested in the Second Statistical Account of Scotland (1845):
"Cam, in the British and Celtic, transformed by the Scoto-Saxons (sic) into cambus, signifies bending or bowed- usg or uisg means water- and glan, which in composition becomes LAN – denotes a bank or bank of water. Thus Cambuslang appears to signify the water with the bending bank. But whether the camb or cambus is to be sought for in the bending banks of the rivulet which passes the church or in the magnificent sweep of the Clyde, as it winds round the northern end of the parish, it is impossible to say."
However, Iain Mac an Tàilleir writes in his collection of placenames in Scotland (2003):
Cambuslang (Lanark). "River bend of ships", from Camas Long. This was the furthest point up the Clyde navigable by large vessels.Local and family history: Cambuslang and King Arthur, South Lanarkshire Council
Origins The Parish of Cambuslang in the Barony of Drumsargard – whose castle ruins can be discerned to the south-east of Hallside – can be traced back to the time of King Alexander II of Scotland (1214–49) when it belonged to Walter Olifard, Justiciar of Lothian. The Barony of Drumsargard passed to Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas in 1370, as part of the settlement in his marriage to Johanna, daughter of Thomas Moray of Bothwell. In 1452 the Douglases were displaced in favour of James Lord Hamilton, who became tenant-in-chief in 1455. This feudal superiority remained with the Dukes of Hamilton – who were also the largest landowners – up until 1922, though the abolition of feudalism in Scotland did not come until the end of the 20th century.
The church and Saint Cadoc
The origin of the Parish Kirk of Cambuslang is lost to history, though by struct tradition it was founded by Saint Cadoc in the 6th century. Certainly, St Cadoc (or Cadow in some sources) is recorded in Medieval texts to have founded a monastery at or near the mountain of Bannawc where a king called Caw had his stronghold or Caer, and that this was in the district of Lintheamus.Skene, W. F. (ed.) The Four Ancient Books of Wales, v.1 (Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1868) p.174 Antiquarians such as Skene suggested that Lintheamus was from Linthcamus, and that this equated to Cambuslang, while the seat at the mountain of Bannawc was the Caerbannawc, hence Carmunnock.Ditto, p. 174 This suggestion was focused on by Cambuslang antiquarians with gusto from the late 1800s onwards, especially as it found repetition in less detailed sources which clouded the particulars and uncertainty of the matter, such as The Lives of Irish Saints, or otherwise authoritative authors such as Joseph Bain in their contributions to the proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.O'Hanlon, J. (ed.) Lives of the Irish Saints: With Special Festivals [...] v.1. (London: James Duffy & Sons, 1875) p. 423Bain, J. 'Cambuslang: Some Notes on its Early Lords - The Barons of Drumsargard, and other Landowners', Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, v.7 - New Series (Edinburgh: Soc. Ant. Scot., 1885), pp. 380-385 However, this association with Cambuslang is not accepted by modern scholarship, including place-name studies, which find no relationship with Cambuslang or Carmunnock in the vitae, and that Skene's efforts are simply a case of fallacious soundalike etymology. These authors instead identify the locus in the vitae with other places in Scotland.Watson, J. The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland (Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd, 2011) pp. 8, 195 It is clear that a Cambuslang connection to this saint occurred far earlier and that the earlier association long predates antiquarian supposition and possibly may not be derived from reading into the saint's vitae. For example, the old testamentary records of the parish note dying wishes of residents in the 1550s - to be buried 'in the dust' (soil) of St Cadoc.Innes, C. (ed.), Origines Parochiales Scotiae, v.1, (Edinburgh: W. H. Lizards, 1851) There is no recent dedicated study determining any authentic connection between Cambuslang and Cadoc, or what the provenance of the older Cadoc association is. Consequently, the connection with Cambuslang and the missionary work of St Cadoc or his followers may be viewed at this time as tenuous until further evidence surfaces. Although popular recent sources, such as that disseminated by St Cadoc's Parish Church, assert that Saint Cadoc founded a monastery in Cambuslang, these traditions have their source as reworkings by that church or otherwise of popular literature available online or in printed examples (the two platforms interdependent for source material), such as A Welsh Classical Dictionary which actually contain no references to Cambuslang;Bartrum, P. C. 'Bachan', in A Welsh Classical Dictionary: People in History and Legend up to about A. D. 1000, (National Library of Wales, 2009) p. 38 thus, such modern associations are themselves spurious.
With potentially historical connections to Saint Cadoc in the sixth century acknowledged, the first truly historical reference to an ecclesiastic in Cambuslang dates to about 1180 AD in relation to the Barony of Drumasargard. Subsequently, there is a fairly full record of at least the names of Cambuslang clergy.
John Cameron of Lochiel was Rector of Cambuslang before he became Bishop of Glasgow. In 1429, as Bishop, he made Cambuslang a prebend of Glasgow Cathedral – meaning that the Rector (or Prebendary) could siphon off its teinds (that is tithes) to pay for one of his officials. The prebendary and his successor were to be perpetual Chancellors of the Cathedral. A later Archbishop of Glasgow James Beaton (or Bethune) was uncle to David Beaton, the Cardinal murdered at the Reformation. James made David Rector (and so prebendary) of Cambuslang in about 1520.
The prebendaries had a very fine view of the Cathedral from Cambuslang, but the distance meant they had to reside at Glasgow. Instead, they appointed vicars to care for the souls of the Parish. The vicars were allocated a house and 6 acres (24,000 m²), in an area near the Kirk, which is still called Vicarland. This indicates that the area was (relatively) prosperous. A post-Reformation church was erected in 1626 and a village (Kirkhill) grew up around it. A new kirk was built in the middle of the 18th century and this was replaced by the current building during the 19th century.
Our Lady of Cambuslang Another source of prosperity might have been derived from pilgrims to Our Lady of Cambuslang. Pilgrims had long come to Cambuslang to venerate the "ashes of St Cadoc" so it was not surprising that a chapel was founded in 1379 by William Monypenny, Rector of Cambuslang, and this had been ratified by a Charter of King Robert II (dated 8 August 1379). The chapel was on the edge of the ravine near Sauchiebog and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. No trace of the chapel remains. Even its location is in doubt, but local Catholics like to think their current church of Saint Bride’s is built on the spot. 19th century maps suggest it was situated where the Kirkburn gorge crossed the Caledonian Railway. Moreover, there are vestiges of an ancient hospital at Spittal (still called so to this day) some southeast of the Kirk. This again is suggestive of pilgrimages, in search of cures, which is confirmed by the fact that the Chapel was recorded as a valuable commodity at the time of the Reformation.
Prosperity The soil in Cambuslang was a light loam, suitable for cultivation, but its mineral reserves are what brought modern prosperity. There was a limestone so fine as to be called "Cambuslang marble". This is capable of a very high polish. A good example can be seen in an 18th-century fireplace in the Duke of Hamilton’s old hunting lodge at Chatelherault Country Park near Hamilton. (James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, was granted the title of Duc de Châtellerault in 1548 for his part in arranging the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Francis, Dauphin of France). However, coal was mined from the 16th century and ironstone from the 18th, and it was these that brought industrial wealth.
Clyde Iron Works started as an offshoot of the Carron iron works in 1786 and by the early 20th century was the largest ironworks in Scotland. It was here, in 1828, that the hot blast was invented by James Beaumont Neilson. Clydebridge Steelworks started in 1887. It was linked with Clyde Iron Works just prior to WWII when it became the largest integrated steelworks in the country, producing steel plates for most of the famous ships on the Clyde. Clyde Iron Works finally closed in 1978. Steelmaking at Clydebridge stopped in 1978, the plate mill closed in 1982, but the heat treatment section of the works is still in operation.
The extensive ironworks also attracted engineering and manufacturing during the 19th and 20th centuries – the most prominent being Mitchell Engineering and Hoover (since shut down). A shale oil business was present in the mid 19th century. There is also reference to a trade in violet quartz and turkey-red dyeing, associated with the textile industries of nearby Dalmarnock. The standard sandstone of the area was used in building – most of the elegant 19th century villas which cover much of today’s Cambuslang were built of sandstone, quarried on the spot, or from several quarries, including two at Wellshot and Eastfield. Nowadays, Cambuslang takes advantage of its proximity to the motorway system and has developed several industrial estates and distribution centres.
The Reverend Doctor James Meek wrote the entry for the First Statistical Account of Scotland (published 1791 to 1799). He writes clearly, elegantly, and enthusiastically. He was a true Enlightenment cleric. On the one hand he records personally-gathered and extensive data on weather, population, farming, industry, history, transport and local personalities. He gets quite carried away with enthusiasm in describing the great improvements brought to Cambuslang in the late 18th century as a result of applying reason and science to practical problems. The opening of the turnpike road to Glasgow was a particular joy. This allowed locals access to a burgeoning market (and allowed them to bring in cartloads of city manure in return). But he lays out a parallel table showing the vast improvements between 1750 and 1790.
The Cambuslang Wark