Biggar is a burgh in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Biggar is the name of more than one place. ... A sign in Linlithgow, Scotland. ... South Lanarkshire (Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, covering the southern part of the traditional county of Lanarkshire. ... This article is about the country. ...

The town is situated in the Southern Uplands, near the River Clyde, around 30 miles from Edinburgh along the A702. The closest towns are Lanark and Peebles, and as such Biggar serves a wide rural area. The population of the town is around 2,000. The Southern Uplands is the southernmost of Scotlands three major geographic areas (the others being the Central Belt and the Highlands). ... The River Clyde opening out at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow past Clydeport Ocean Terminal, Greenock, to the Firth of Clyde on the left, and to the right past Ardmore Point to the Gare Loch. ... For other uses, see Edinburgh (disambiguation). ... The A702 is a major road in Scotland, that runs from Edinburgh to St. ... This article describes the town in Scotland. ... Old Parish Church, Peebles Location within the British Isles Peebles (Gaelic: Na Pùballan) is a burgh in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders, lying on the River Tweed. ...

The town was once served by the Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway Company, which ran from the Caledonian Railway (now the West Coast Main Line) at Symington to join the Peebles Railway at Peebles. The station and signal box are still standing but housing has been built on the line running west from the station and the railway running east from the station is a public footpath to Broughton, part of the Biggar Country Path network. The Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway Company was a railway in southern Scotland. ... The Caledonian Railway was a Scottish railway company which was grouped into the London Midland and Scottish Railway by the Railways Act 1921 in 1923. ... The WCML running alongside the M1 motorway at Watford Gap in Northamptonshire A Virgin Pendolino and freight train on the WCML The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important intercity railway lines in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. ...

Biggar has several museums, including the Moat Park Heritage Centre, Gladstone Court Museum, Greenhill Covenanters Museum, and the Biggar Gasworks Museum, the only preserved gas works in Scotland. Many of the museums are run by the Biggar Museum Trust. Additionally, Biggar has Scotland's only permanent puppet theatre, Biggar Puppet Theatre, which is run by the well known Purves Puppets family. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... James VI of Scotland (James I of England) was opposed by the Covenanters in his attempt to bring the Anglican Church into Scotland The Covenanters formed an important movement in the religion and politics of Scotland in the 17th century. ... Biggar Museum Trust (BMT) consists of several museums based in and around the town of Biggar in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. ... A puppet is a representational object, usually but not always depicting a human character, used in play or a presentation. ...

Hugh MacDiarmid spent his later years at Brownsbank, near the town. Ian Hamilton Finlay's home and garden at Little Sparta is nearby in the Pentland Hills. The fictional Midculter, which features in Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles novels, is set here. The town hosts an annual arts festival, the Biggar Little Festival. The town has traditionally held a huge bonfire at Hogmanay. Hugh MacDiarmid was the pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve (August 11, 1892, Langholm - September 9, 1978), perhaps the most important Scottish poet of the 20th century. ... Ian Hamilton Finlay, Star. ... Little Sparta is a garden at Dunsyre in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh, created by artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, CBE. The five-acre Arcadian garden includes concrete poetry in sculptural form, polemic, philosophical aphorisms, together with conventional sculptures and temple-like buildings as well as mature plantings. ... The Pentland Hills is a range of hills to the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Dorothy Dunnett (August 25, 1923 – November 9, 2001) was a Scottish historical novelist. ... Francis Crawford of Lymond is a fictional character created by the novelist Dorothy Dunnett. ... Hogmanay (pronounced — with the main stress on the last syllable - hog-muh-NAY) is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year (Gregorian calendar) in the Scottish manner. ...

A group of Biggar residents has recently launched the Carbon Neutral Biggar project, with the stated aim of becoming the first Carbon Neutral town in Scotland. The launch of the project, covered in both local and national media, took place at the town's annual eco forum in May 2007. The group has formed links with the town of Ashton Hayes in Cheshire, who have a similar group working toward carbon neutral status for their town. Ashton Hayes is a village and civil parish in the Chester District of Cheshire, England. ... Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a county in North West England. ...

History

Biggar occupies a key location close to two of Scotland's great rivers, the Clyde flowing to the west, and the Tweed flowing to the east. The area has been occupied since Mesolithic times[1]. The present day A702 follows the route of a Roman road, which linked the Clyde Valley with Musselburgh. There are other rivers with this name: see Tweed River The River Tweed at Abbotsford, near Melrose The River Tweed at Coldstream The River Tweed (156 kilometres or 97 miles long) flows primarily through the Borders region of Scotland. ... The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the Middle Stone Age[1]) was a period in the development of human technology between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age. ... The A702 starts at Lothian Road in Edinburgh and runs south-west through the Pentland Hills to Biggar, before following the Clyde Valley to Abington and the M74. ... Roman roads, together with Roman aqueducts and the vast standing Roman Army (until 284 A.D., c. ... Showing the Brunton Hall, from the west of the town Musselburgh is a town in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre. ...

In the 12th century, a motte and bailey castle was constructed by the Normans, and the first permanent crossing of the Biggar Burn was built. It is thought that there has been a church at Biggar since the 6th or 7th century, although the first stone kirk was built in 1164, on the site of the existing kirk. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Model of a motte-and-bailey Plan of Windsor Castle in 1743 by Batty Langley The remains of a motte, at Brinklow in Warwickshire, England The motte, at Knockgraffon, New Inn in County Tipperary, Ireland The remains of a Motte situated in Callan, Co Kilkenny, Ireland A motte-and-bailey... Norman conquests in red. ... Kirk can mean church in general or the Church of Scotland in particular. ... Events Count Henry I of Champagne marries Marie de Champagne. ...

In the 14th century, the Fleming family were given lands in the area by Robert the Bruce, whose cause they had supported. The Flemings built Boghall Castle, visible as a ruin until the early 20th century, but now only represented by a few mounds. The town continued to grow as an important market town, and in 1451 the town became a burgh. The market place remains the central focus of the town. The kirk was rebuilt as a Collegiate church in 1546, the last to be established before the Reformation of 1560. The Flemings found themselves on the wrong side in the 17th century, when they supported Mary, Queen of Scots, and their lands were given over to the Elphinstone family. This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... Robert I, King of Scots, usually known as Robert the Bruce (July 11, 1274 – June 7, 1329, reigned 1306 – 1329), was, according to a modern biographer (Geoffrey Barrow), a great hero who lived in a minor country. ... // Events February 3 - Murad II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his son Mehmed II. April 11 - Celje acquires market-town status and town rights by orders from the Celje count Frederic II. June 30 - French troops under the Comte de Dunois invade Guyenne and capture... A sign in Linlithgow, Scotland. ... A collegiate church was a church served and administered by a body of canons or prebendaries, similar to a cathedral, although they were not the seat of a bishop. ... // Events Spanish conquest of Yucatan Peace between England and France Foundation of Trinity College, Cambridge by Henry VIII of England Katharina von Bora flees to Magdeburg Science Architecture Michelangelo Buonarroti is made chief architect of St. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Mary I (popularly known as Mary, Queen of Scots: French: ); (December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587) was Queen of Scots (the monarch of the Kingdom of Scotland) from December 14, 1542, to July 24, 1567. ...

Biggar Gas Works opened in 1836, producing gas from coal. In 1973, with the introduction of natural gas, the works closed. Biggar had its own railway station between 1860 and 1953. Year 1836 (MDCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... For other uses, see Natural gas (disambiguation). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

John Brown the physician and essayist was born in a house in the South Back Road in 1810 which was at that time a manse. He is commemorated with a plaque on the front wall of the municipal hall. John Brown (September 22, 1810 - May 11, 1882) was a Scottish physician and essayist. ...

External links

• Undiscovered Scotland: Biggar
• Biggar Museums Trust
• Biggar Puppet Theatre
• Biggar Little Festival
• Carbon Neutral Biggar
• Carbon Neutral Biggar Yahoo Group

Coordinates: 55°37′N, 3°31′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...