Elvanfoot
| Elvanfoot | |
| Lanarkshire | |
|---|---|
 View of A74(M) crossing the River Clyde near Elvanfoot | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NS953171 |
| Location: | 55°26’13"N, 3°39’20"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Biggar |
| Postcode: | ML12 |
| Dialling code: | 01864 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Lanarkshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale |
Elvanfoot is a small village in the parish of Crawford, Lanarkshire. It is located at the confluence of the River Clyde and Elvan Water.[1] The Clyde is crossed by a pedestrian suspension bridge that has been closed since 2007 for want of repair.[2] The apparently-abandoned church is on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland,[3] as are the stables of Newton House, once home to the Scottish judge Alexander Irving, Lord Newton.[4][5]
Etymology
The name 'Elvan' apparently includes the element *al-, which occurs in river names in Roman Britain and continental Europe. A number of meanings have been suggested, including 'bright, shining, white', 'sparkling, speckled' and 'holy' amongst others. Almost all attestations of the root occur with the Proto-Indo-European suffix -*awe- and "root-determinative -*n- or participial -*ant-", giving the proto-form *al-au-n-.[6]
Andrew Breeze has suggested that the name is derived from Cumbric *halẹ:n 'salt', cognate with Welsh halen, which is found in a number of Welsh river names. As Elvan Water passes through a mining area, Breeze suggests that there may be high levels of salt in the river. The loss of initial /h/ is explained as a result of the name's supposed transmission via Gaelic.[7][8]
Transport
Elvanfoot is at the junction of the A702 road and B7040 roads and a mile and a half south from junction 14 of the M74 motorway. Until 1965 it was served by Elvanfoot railway station on the West Coast Main Line.
References
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Elvanfoot) |
- ↑ Gazetteer for Scotland
- ↑ Elvanfoot Development Group
- ↑ [http://www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/ref_no/4514 Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland
- ↑ "Buildings At Risk register for Scotland - Newton House stables". http://www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/details/896636. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ↑ "Groom's Vision of Britain - Newton House, Elvanfoot". http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/134620. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ↑ James, Alan G. (2014). The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence. Volume 2: Guide to the Elements. pp. 9–10. http://www.spns.org.uk/bliton/BLITON2014ii_elements.pdf.
- ↑ Breeze, Andrew (2002). "Brittonic Place-Names from South-West Scotland, Part 3: Vindogara, Elvan Water, 'Mondedamdereg', Troquhain and Tarelgin". Transactions and Journal of Proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society: 108–109. http://www.dgnhas.org.uk/transonline/SerIII-Vol76.pdf#page=113.
- ↑ James, Alan G. (2014). The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence. Volume 2: Guide to the Elements. p. 195. http://www.spns.org.uk/bliton/BLITON2014ii_elements.pdf.
