Cambusnethan

Cambusnethan
Lanarkshire
Cambusnethan Old Parish Church
Location
Grid reference:	NS812556
Location:	55°46’45"N, 3°53’44"W
Data
Post town:	Wishaw
Postcode:	ML2
Dialling code:	01698
Local Government
Council:	North Lanarkshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Motherwell and Wishaw

Cambusnethan is a parish that encompasses the town of Wishaw in Lanarkshire. Cambusnethan itself forms a suburb on the eastern edge of the town on a hill overlooking it, while the parish extends from the Clyde right to the borders with Midlothian and West Lothian.

Transport

Cambusnethan is served by bus service 267 every 10 minutes from Glasgow's Buchanan bus station. It also has a separate hourly express bus services to Glasgow in the form of the X11 service. An infrequent local bus service to Livingston, West Lothian also serves the area.

Keen observers will notice the remnants of a railway line running through the area. This has been disconnected for almost 80 years with most of the track and bridges now gone, though some elements of the line still exist behind the telephone exchange and the social club. The section between the Miners’ Club and the Hot Water pond was used as a dump in the 70s/80s, and is thus now mostly filled in.

Local facilities

Cambusnethan has two Church of Scotland Presbyterian churches: the North Parish Church, at the top of Kirk Road, and the Old Parish Church, further down the hill. Cambusnethan Primary School is non-denominational and previously sat between the two churches on the other side of the road. Plans for a new, updated primary school have been confirmed, and in Summer 2006 construction work began at the top of Branchal Road, with the clearing of the local park and some of the woods surrounding the area. The new school was completed in Summer 2007, and the original building has been demolished.

Following the demise of the New Day there are currently two pubs: The Horse and Anchor and The Auld Hoose. There are two convenience stores in the area. A popular meeting place is the Cambusnethan Miners' Club at the foot of Woodhall Road, also known as the red road.

Boys' Brigade

Cambusnethan has two active Boys' Brigade companies: 1st Cambusnethan, which is affiliated to the Old Parish Church, and 2nd Cambusnethan, affiliated to the North Parish Church. 1st and 2nd Cambusnethan has 3 sections Anchors for 3-6yr olds Juniors for 7-11yr olds and Company for 12 and over. Boys at the BB's are trying their best to achieve the Queen's Badge.

Local landmarks

Cambusnethan House or Priory a few miles to the west is a stunning Gothic house by James Gillespie Graham. It was so named because, before Wishaw existed, Cambusnethan was the name of the whole burgh stretching from Newmains to the River Clyde. Today the main town sits between Cambusnethan and the River Clyde.

Famous people

• Alex Duthart (October 7, 1925 – November 27, 1986) was a drummer who revolutionised Scottish pipe band drumming.
• Dame Dr Ruth Silver, DBE is the Principal of Lewisham College and an adviser to the Select Committee in the House of Commons and a member of the Skills Commission.
• Pte William Johnstone Milne. Born December 21, 1891. Killed in Action at Thelus, France, April 9, 1917 serving in the 16th Battalion, Manitoba (Canadian Scottish) Regiment. Posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross. Citation reads “For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack. On approaching the first objective, Pte Milne observed an enemy machine gun firing on our advancing troops. Crawling on hands and knees, he succeeded in reaching the gun, killing the crew with bombs, and capturing the gun. On the line re-forming, he again located a machine gun in the support line, and stalking this second gun as he had done the first, he succeeded in putting the crew out of action and capturing the gun. His wonderful bravery and resource on these two occasions undoubtedly saved the lives of many of his comrades. Pte. Milne was killed shortly after capturing the second gun." His original burial site was destroyed in later fighting. His V.C. medal is on display at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec.
• Sir James Denham-Steuart, 7th Baronet of Coltness, an early economist whose Inquiry into the Principles of Political Oeconomy predates Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by nine years, is buried in the family vault at old Cambusnethan church (now a ruin).