NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Lanark

Coordinates: 55°40'29′65″N, 3°46'37′27″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland, the county town of the former county of Lanarkshire. It has a long history, old traditions, and some fine parks and buildings. Lanark has railway and coach stations, with frequent services to Glasgow. There is little industry in Lanark. The shops serve the local agricultural community and surrounding villages. There is a large modern auction market on the outskirts of the town. Some residents commute to work in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The town has a serious traffic problem. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as Council Areas which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as Councils. They have been in use since April 1, 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. ... 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. ... Constituent country is an official term used to describe three of the four principal component parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK): England; Scotland; Wales. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification - by Kenneth I... This is an alphabetical list of countries of the world, including both internationally recognized and generally unrecognized independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... There are a number of policing agencies in the United Kingdom. ... The Lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lords-lieutenant, the monarchs representatives, in Scotland. ... Lanarkshire (Siorrachd Lannraig in Gaelic) is a traditional county of Scotland. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This is a list of post towns in the United Kingdom, sorted by the postal area (the first part of the outward code of a postcode). ... This is a list of the post towns of the United Kingdom sorted in postcode sequence. ... The UK telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Numbering Plan, is regulated by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which replaced the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) in 2003. ... The Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system of election, and eight additional member regions, each electing seven additional member MSPs. ... Clydesdale is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. ... Scotland is divided into 59 constituencies of the United Kingdom Parliament - 19 Burgh constituencies and 40 County constituencies. ... Lanark and Hamilton East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... This is a list of Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom in the 2004 to 2009 session, ordered by name. ... Scotland constitutes a single constituency of the European Parliament. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Lanark may refer to: Lanark, a novel by Alasdair Gray the town of Lanark in Scotland several places in Canada: Lanark County, Ontario the village of Lanark, Ontario the community of Lanark in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia There is also in Scotland: the former county of Lanarkshire the village of... The Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification - by Kenneth I... Lanarkshire (Siorrachd Lannraig in Gaelic) is a traditional county of Scotland. ...

History

The historic burgh of Lanark was the location of the first meeting of the Scots Parliament in 978. Events Badìa Fiorentina, an abbey in Italy, is founded by Willa, Margravine of Tuscany. ...

Lanark has served as an important market town since medieval times, and King David I made it a Royal Burgh in 1140, giving it certain mercantile privileges relating to government and taxation. King David I realised that greater prosperity could result from encouraging trade. He decided to create a chain of new towns across Scotland. These would be centres of Norman civilisation in a largely Celtic country, and would be established in such a way as to encourage the development of trade within their area. These new towns were to be known as Burghs. In France Bastides were established for much the same reason. King David I (or DabÃd mac MaÃl Choluim; also known as Saint David I or David I the Saint) (1084 â€“ May 24, 1153), was King of Scotland from 1124 until his death, and the youngest son of Malcolm Canmore and of Saint Margaret (sister of Edgar Ã†theling). ... A Royal Burgh is a type of Scottish burgh (town or city), used today for ceremonial purposes only. ... Events Henry Jasomirgott was made count palatine of the Rhine. ... Bastides are fortified towns built in medieval France starting around 1229, the date of the first recorded bastide. ...

When a site had been selected for a new town the King’s surveyors would lay out an area for the town’s market. Each merchant who came to the town was granted a plot of land [usually rent free for the first few years] bordering on the marketplace. These plots were known as feus or rigs. Each feus in a burgh was the same size, though the size varied between burghs. In Forres each feus was 24 feet 10 inches wide and 429 feet deep. The layout of the feus in Lanark can still be easily seen between the north side of Lanark High Street [the former market place] and North Vennel, a lane which runs behind the feus. A motte and bailey castle was also constructed at the bottom of Castlegate.

Lanark Lanimers

This historic background forms the basis for the Lanimer celebrations, which take place each year for one week in June. Local schoolchildren elect a Lanimer Queen and court; and a Lord Cornet is chosen from local businessmen. On the Monday night, the Walking of the Marches takes place, when townspeople turn out to walk around half the town boundary, inspecting the border-stones. The other half of the boundary is inspected on the Wednesday night by many local riders who participate in the Riding of the Marches. On the Thursday morning, schools and other organisations parade before the Lanimer Queen in fancy dress, accompanied by pipe bands. The best floats win prizes, and after the parade the crowning of the Queen takes place. The Queen holds a reception party on the Thursday and Friday nights, where the children perform songs and dances, and earn themselves a disco at the end of the night Every June the town of Lanark in Scotland holds its Lanimer celebrations. ... A pipe band is a group of pipers and drummers. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

Railway station

The town is served by Lanark railway station which provides has a half hourly First Scotrail train service on the Argyle line to Glasgow Central Low Level. The Lanark railway station is a railway station in Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. ... First ScotRail is the brand under which First Group PLC runs its railway franchise to operate all domestic passenger services within Scotland, as well as the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London, England. ... The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. ... The Heilanmans Umbrella Inside Glasgow Central, looking south east across the main concourse Inside Glasgow Central, looking north east across the main concourse Glasgow Central Station is the larger of the two main-line railway stations in Glasgow, Scotland. ...

See main article, Lanark railway station. The Lanark railway station is a railway station in Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. ...

Music

Lanark boasts some three pipe bands which is quite noteable for a town with a population of circa. 11,000. All three bands compete in competitions run by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. Vale of Clyde Pipe Band competes in grade 4b and Lanark and District Pipe Band contains two units - one competing in grade 4b and one in grade 3b. A pipe band is a group of pipers and drummers. ... The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association was founded in 1930 as a governing body to oversee Pipe Band competition and to promote and encourage the development of Pipe Band culture throughout the world. ...

There is also the 'Music in Lanark' programme which began in 2000 with the aim of bringing a variety of the highest quality live music to the town. In the first five years, three classical concerts, one jazz and one traditional (Scottish) music concert made up the series programmes each year. In this way, Music in Lanark brings something to the town for everybody and offers excellent concerts at reasonable prices. Since its inception, it has proved to be a very successful formula and the programme continues to grow year on year.

Notable Lanarkians

Lanark's local hero William Wallace "first drew sword to free his native land" in Lanark in 1297, when he killed the English sheriff Haselrig. A statue of Wallace stands at St Nicholas' Church at the foot of the High Street, and a plaque commemorates his exploits. A public house bears the name of the "Wallace Cave". William Wallace William Wallace (c. ... Events 8 January - Monaco gains independence. ... Look up Sheriff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

George Gray, born in Lanark in the 1620s, was a POW from the Battle of Dunbar (1650), Durham Cathedral survivor, and New World refugee upon arrival to Berwick, Maine. Cromwell at Dunbar, Andrew Carrick Gow The Battle of Dunbar (3 September 1650) was a battle of the Third English Civil War. ... Durham Cathedral silhouetted against the sunset Durham Cathedral from nearby The Rose Window in the Chapel of the Nine Altars. ... Carte dAmÃ©rique, Guillaume Delisle, c. ... Berwick is a town located in York County, Maine. ...

Lanark has produced the rallying family of Jimmy, Alistair and Colin McRae. Jimmy drives an Audi 80 S2 Quattro on a stage rally in Scotland. ... Colin McRae MBE (born in Lanark, Scotland, 5 August 1968) is, together with SÃ©bastien Loeb, the second most successful World Rally Championship driver of all time (in the currency of individual rally wins), second only to Carlos Sainz. ...

Scotland goalkeeper and former Glasgow Celtic goalkeeper, Robert (Rab) Douglas hails from Lanark. A football goalkeeper leaves the ground to parry a shot on goal In many team sports, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender, or goalie in some sports) is a designated player that is charged with directly preventing the opposite team from scoring by defending the goal. ... Celtic F.C. (pronounced seltic, not keltic) is perhaps the most famous Scottish football club. ... Image: eur. ...

Points of interest

Visitors to the town can visit the nearby World Heritage Site of New Lanark, close to the spectacular Falls of Clyde, and Corehouse Nature Reserve. A large boating lake, Lanark Loch, adjoins a golf course and a racecourse, the latter offering pony-trekking activities. The town's Castlebank Park lies near the former site of Lanark Castle, and allows access to the River Clyde and the Clyde Walkway. Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ... New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately two kilometres from the Royal Burgh of Lanark, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. ... For other uses of the term Falls of Clyde, see the disambiguation page. ... The River Clyde, looking eastwards upstream, as it passes beneath the Kingston Bridge in Central Glasgow. ...

An ornate lamp, known as the 'Provost's Lamp' stands at the bottom of the high street. The lamp used to be placed outside the home of whoever was Provost of Lanark at the time [see photograph below].

In the 1840s there was ill feeling between Deacon McDonald of Castlegate and a Miss Inglis who lived just across Castlegate in Vere House. One day, Deacon MacDonald’s dog was poisoned and he suspected that it was Miss Inglis who had done the evil deed. Deacon McDonald chose an effective form of revenge. He commissioned a local stonemason to cut a life sized stone replica of the dead dog and paint it, then place it on a skewputt on the Deacons roof, with its head tilted reprovingly towards the house of Miss Inglis. The reason for the statue was soon known throughout the town. The statue, also known as the Girnin Dog, can be seen in Castlegate [see photograph below].

One of the churches in the town bears the name of St Kentigern (perhaps better known as St Mungo), who set up many medieval churches in the Scottish Lowlands, including Glasgow, and died in c612 AD. Saint Mungo, also known as Saint Kentigern, traditional apostle to Strathclyde and patron saint and alleged founder of the city of Glasgow. ... The Scottish Lowlands ( an Galldachd in Gaelic ), although not officially a geographical area of the country, in normal usage is generally meant to include those parts of Scotland not referred to as the Highlands (or GÃ idhealtachd), that is, everywhere due south and east of a line (the Highland Boundary... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... Events Saint Columbanus moves to Italy to establish the monastery of Bobbio (approximate date). ...

The town's cemetery stands on the site of the old St Kentigern's kirk, and includes many Covenanter graves. The Covenanters are a radical Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century. ...

St. Nicolas' Parish Church [see photograph below] stands at the bottom of the high street. The church bell is believed to date from 1130, and may be one of the oldest church bells in the world. It was recast in 1659 and 1983.

Lanark used to have a racecourse and the 'Lanark Silver Bell' is thought to be one of the oldest racing trophies in Europe.

References

Building the Royal Burghs by John Barrett and David Iredale. Published in The Scots Magazine. Volume 142, Number 1. January 1995. pp 10 – 22.

Historical Tours in the Clyde Valley. Published by the Clyde Valley Tourist Association and the Lanark & District Archaeological Association. Printed by Robert MacLehose and Company Limited, Renfrew, Scotland. 1982.

Maps

An annotated map of Lanark and New Lanark Image File history File links Dot4gb. ... Image File history File links Gb4dot. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ...

Photographs