Aerial photograph of Plains (2003)

Plains (pron. pleɪnz) is a village (pop. 2291) ^[1] situated 2 miles east of the town of Airdrie in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, between Scotland's two largest cities: Glasgow and Edinburgh, being approximately one third of the distance from Glasgow (14 miles) to Edinburgh (30 miles) along the A89 road. Plains and Airdrie form part of the eastern periphery of the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1267x1029, 583 KB)A photograph of Plains, North Lanarkshire taken by jd2207 from an Edinburgh to London jet plane, April 2003. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1267x1029, 583 KB)A photograph of Plains, North Lanarkshire taken by jd2207 from an Edinburgh to London jet plane, April 2003. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Masouleh village, Gilan Province, Iran. ... Airdrie (Gaelic An Àrd Ruigh/An Àrd Àirighe) is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland[1]) . It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft (130 m) above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Glasgow. ... Location Geography Area Ranked 19th  - Total 470 km²  - % Water  ? Admin HQ Motherwell ISO 3166-2 GB-NLK ONS code 00QZ Demographics Population Ranked 4th  - Total (2005) 323,420  - Density 688 / km² Scottish Gaelic  - Total () {{{Scottish council Gaelic Speakers}}} Politics North Lanarkshire Council http://www. ... This article is about the country. ... “Glaswegian” redirects here. ... , Edinburgh (() pronounced ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is the capital of Scotland and its second largest city. ... The numbering zones for A-roads in Great Britain List of A roads beginning with 8 in Great Britain starting north of the A8 and west of the A9. ... Greater Glasgow is the conurbation that includes and surrounds the city of Glasgow in the west of Scotland. ...

Etymology

The origin of the name "Plains" is unknown. One suggestion is that the name derives (via the plural of Plain) from the view afforded to the Cistercian Monks of Newbattle Abbey as they travelled to what is now the site of the village. These monks farmed the wider area for grain in what became known as Monklands. But the geography of the area runs contrary to this idea. Alternatively, the name may be a contraction of "The Plains of Waterloo" - a name given by a returning soldier from the Napoleonic wars.^[2] Eitherway, it is not uncommon for locals to refer to the village as "The Plains". In geography, a plain is a large area of land with relatively low relief. ... The Order of Cistercians (OCist) (Latin Cistercenses), otherwise Gimey or White Monks (from the colour of the habit, over which is worn a black scapular or apron) are a Catholic order of monks. ... Newbattle Abbey was a Cistercian monastic community founded in 1140 by monks from Melrose Abbey. ... Monklands (Bad nam Manach in Scottish Gaelic) was formerly (1975-96) a local government district in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. ... Combatants First French Empire Seventh Coalition: United Kingdom Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of the United Netherlands Kingdom of Hanover Dutchy of Nassau Duchy of Brunswick Commanders Napoleon Bonaparte, Michel Ney Duke of Wellington, Gebhard von Blücher Strength 73,000 67,000 Coalition 60,000 Prussian (48,000 engaged by... Combatants Austria[1] Portugal Prussia[1] Russia[2] Spain[3] Sweden United Kingdom[4] French Empire Holland Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Duchy of Warsaw Bavaria[5] Saxony[6] Denmark [7] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack von Leiberich Gebhard von Blücher Duke of Brunswick Prince of...

There is no known association to any other place called Plains. But in 1976, newly elected US President Jimmy Carter (of Plains, Georgia) received a congratulatory telegram from Plains newsagent - also Jimmy Carter. Thus the family "the Carters of Plains" were featured in the Scottish national tabloid, The Daily Record. == Headline text == Plains is the name of several places in the [[United usyduisaydashdsdsjdn Plains, North Lanarkshire, Scotland There are also The Plains, Ohio; Plainsboro, New Jersey; and Plainville, Kansas You might also be looking for the geographical feature plain; or the Plains Indians. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ... Plains is a city located in Sumter County, Georgia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Daily Record building at Central Quay, Glasgow The Daily Record is a combination of a comic for the mentally sub-normal and substitute tiolet paper, based in Glasgow. ...

Geography

Plains is situated on the gentle south facing slope of the valley of the North Calder Water, a tributary of the River Clyde. 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. ...

The Main Street (the A89) runs in a straight line for about 1 mile east to west. Almost all of the residential housing of the village lies on the northern side of Main St., forming a roughly square shape (1 mile each side). To the south of Main St., the valley drops more steeply down to the North Calder then steeply up the other side which is home to the parkland Easter Moffat golf course.

Plains lies at around 500 ft above sea level. From nearby Airdriehill, there is a wide vista to the west across the urbanised lower Clyde valley. Beyond, on a clear day, it is possible to see Ben Lomond and the Isle of Arran. Airdriehill is a village in the Scottish council area of North Lanarkshire. ... Ben Lomond, 974 m (3196 feet), is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. ... The Isle of Arran (Scots Gaelic: Eilean Arainn) is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde with an area of 430 km² (167 square miles). ...

To the south east of Plains, the land rises to almost 1000 feet - the highest land in the narrow isthmus across central Scotland - Scotland's "Continental Divide". Consequently, the area was chosen as the location for Scotland's first television transmitting stations. The Black Hill Transmitter, at 1000 ft tall, is a very prominent local landmark. It began broadcasting independent Scottish Television services in August, 1957. Nearby, but not so tall or prominent, is Kirk o'Shotts transmitter mast which broadcast Scotland's first BBC television signals in March, 1952. A continental divide is a line of elevated terrain which forms a border between two watersheds such that water falling on one side of the line eventually travels to one ocean or body of water, and water on the other side travels to another, generally on the opposite side of... Black Hill Transmitter is a facility for FM and TV-broadcasting at Black Hill, Scotia (national grid reference: NS828647 ) on the eastern outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. ... Scottish Television (now legally known as STV Central Ltd and referred to on-air as STV) is Scotlands largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since August 31, 1957. ... The Kirk oShotts transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications site between Glasgow and Edinburgh in central Scotland. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ...

History

The village was founded in the mid 19th century along what is now the A89 Airdrie to Bathgate road. The population of the village in 1860 is recorded at just over 200. Much of the original growth of the village was in keeping with the expansion of the coal mining industry in North Lanarkshire, most notably the Ardenrigg Coal Co Ltd. This coal mining activity dwindled in the second half of the 20th century. However, Scotland's largest open cast coal mine is currently in operation at Drumshangie Moss, a few miles north-west of Plains. There has recently been controversy ^[3] regarding the impact of this mine on the site of the Stanrigg Mining Disaster where, in July 1918, a collapse led to the deaths of 19 local mine workers. ^[4] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Wyoming coal mine Coal mining is the mining of coal. ...

Late 20th century expansion of the village has been to the north of the A89 road in separate developments of local government or Council houses, consisting of blocks of terraced houses. Originally planned as affordable, rented accommodations for the predominantly working class population, a large percentage have become owner occupied in recent years. At the beginning of the 21st century, a new development of relatively large, detached houses was established in the north-east corner of the village. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A street of British Victorian/Edwardian terraced homes. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... An owner-occupier is a person who lives in a house that he or she owns. ...

There is no significant single employer within the village. During the last decades of the 20th Century the main employers were the Geest Company and Beechams. Geest was a large fruit and vegetable producing company which was acquired by Bakkavor Geestland is a type of terrain Geest is old superficial alluvial soil Category: ...

Geest occupied a site in the middle of the village, South towards the railway, and was involved in the receipt and packaging of fruit for distribution throughout the country. This lead to the local description of the facility as the "Banana Factory". Children of employees and outsiders, when enquiring as to what went on within the unit, were told that "they bent bananas!" The site is now a timber yard managed by a company called Rowan Timber.

The Beecham site was a warehouse and distribution facility employing a number of local drivers and located adjacent to Geest Bananas. Such were the distinctive markings and colourings (red and yellow) of the trucks they used, it was a common site to see "Looki Vans" parked outside the drivers' homes. "Looki" being of course a reference to one of the main products distributed from and marketed on the vans - Lucozade. The warehouse was recently demolished and the site is to be developed for additional housing. Beecham can refer to: Thomas Beecham (1879-1961) - a British conductor Beechams, a pharmaceutical business This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Lucozade logo Lucozade logo Lucozade is an energy drink containing glucose syrup and caffeine, produced by GlaxoSmithKline plc. ...

Plains Today

Today, Plains is a largely working class settlement with local people commuting for employment throughout urban central Scotland.There has been recent housing developments that have expanded the village.These tend to be more up market dwellings with many of the houses being bought by outsiders.

Sectarianism

In contrast to most other towns and villages in North Lanarkshire, Plains is predominantly Catholic with many people being the descendants of immigrant Irish workers from the 19th century. As elsewhere in the West of Scotland, a sectarian tension persists between (descendants of Irish) Catholic and (descendants of Scottish) Protestants. In Plains, this is manifest in graffiti bearing the slogans of Irish Republicanism. However, the seriousness of the slogan writers is questionable: in the 1990's, a prominent slogan which had read "Remember the Easter Rising" was soon edited to read "Remember the Easter Bunny" and remained on display in this form for years thereafter. On a point of interest, no parades by the Orange Order are allowed to pass through the village. However, this may change in the future with the steady influx of outsiders who are non Catholic and the dwindling numbers of practicing Catholics attending Mass. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Graffiti (strictly, as singular, graffito, from the Italian — graffiti being the plural) are images or letters applied without permission to publicly viewable surfaces such as walls or bridges. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Combatants Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army, Irish Republican Brotherhood British Army Royal Irish Constabulary Commanders Patrick Pearse, James Connolly Brigadier-General Lowe General Sir John Maxwell Strength 1250 in Dublin, c. ... An Easter Bunny figurine The Easter Bunny is an example of folklore mythology. ...

Organised Religion

The village church, St. David's, was established in 1897 and rebuilt in 1994. It serves a congregation of approximately 1800. St. David's is part of the Diocese of Motherwell. Other Christian worship takes place at the Elim Gospel Hall. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. ...

Education

There are two state schools: St David's Primary (Catholic) and Plains Primary (Non-denominational). St David's had a school roll of 155 (2006-2007. In the same year Plains Primary looked after 71 pupils.

In 2006,work began on a new building to be constructed in the centre of the village to house both schools. However, as of July 2007 it is still not complete.

The crest of St. David's Primary Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The crest of Plains Primary. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Points of Interest

Running parallel and around 100 metres south of Main Street is National Cycle Route 75, a Sustrans long distance cycle path. This was constructed along the bed of a former industrial railway line which ultimately linked Glasgow and Edinburgh. As of 2005, there is a proposal to re-establish a commuter railway along this line. ^[5] On May 10th 2007, the bill to allow this was passed by the Scottish Parliament. There will however be no stop at Plains meaning that the benefit to the local community will be minimal. Sustrans is a British engineering charity which promotes sustainable transport. ...

The Sustrans path passes near to Plains Countryside Park - a local picnic area overlooking the North Calder stream. In the mid to late 20th century, this was the site of the annual Plains summer gala (Gala Day) - a day of parades, children's sports events and entertainment - a tradition typical of villages in the area. In Plains the custom is now defunct although it continues in many neighbouring communities to the east such as Harthill, Whitburn and Armadale. Harthill is a small settlement between Glasgow and Edinburgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. ... Whitburn is the name of more than one place: for the Scottish town see Whitburn, West Lothian; for the English village see Whitburn, South Tyneside This article consisting of geographical locations is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Armadale is the name of several different things: Armadale (novel) is a book by Wilkie Collins Places in Australia: Armadale, Victoria is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. ...

The village was briefly the host to one of the stranger 'celebrity' hangouts in the UK. Following a request by River Phoenix, then promoting one of his last movies, to visit somewhere 'authentic' the Plains based limo driver to him to Jack's Bar in the town, where he stood his round. Subsequently several Hollywood stars (often promoting films ostensibly about Scottish subjects, but filmed elsewhere) dropped by, as the pub was only slightly off the route between Glasgow Airport, then host to Scotland's only transatlantic connection, and Edinburgh. The practice stopped after a few years when Edinburgh got its own New York flight and the pub itself closed in 1999. Other celebrities believed to have visited the village include David Soul (joined on at least one occasion by Antonio Fargas), John Hurt and Emilio Estevez. Whilst all of this is considered in some circles as speculation, David Soul was known to have a set make-up artist or hairdresser who had, at the time of Starsky and Hutch, relatives who lived in the village. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article refers to an airport in Montana, USA. For airports in Glasgow, Scotland, see Glasgow International Airport and Glasgow Prestwick Airport. ... David Soul (born August 28, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor and British citizen and singer best known for his role as the seat-of-the-pants California police detective Ken Hutch Hutchinson (opposite co-star and long-time friend Paul Michael Glaser) in the cult television program... Antonio Fargas Antonio Juan Fargas (born August 14, 1948) is a tall African American actor famous for roles in Blaxploitation films of the early 1970s. ... John Vincent Hurt CBE (born January 22, 1940) is an Academy Award-nominated British actor. ... Emilio Estévez (born May 12, 1962 in New York, New York) is a Spanish American actor, director and writer. ... For the film, see Starsky & Hutch (film). ...

There is a local saying in The Plains that it attracts mad men and mad dogs. In the 1970's it featured in a national magazine as having the highest crime rate per head of the population in Britain.

References and Further reading

Maps of Plains

1. ^  Scottish Census Information
2. ^  Wilson, Rhona: "Old Airdrie Villages" ISBN 1-84033-004-X
3. ^  Sunday Herald article, 4th July 2004
4. ^  Description of the Stanrigg Mining Disaster at www.pitwork.net
5. ^  Airdrie to Bathgate Rail Link Project

Coordinates: 55.87916° N 3.93253° W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...