Environment -
Preservation Projects
Preservation Projects
St. Anthony's Holy Well
Old Kirk Yard and St. Ninian's Bell
Tower
Memorial Fountain
Preservation Projects
Of all the most satisfying achievements, in establishing the Heritage
Group, the most rewarding and important have been the restoration and
recording of our historic sites.
Time, weather and vandalism have taken their toll on many of our
monuments, while others have been destroyed, or dismantled to rebuild
other structures. These sites are valuable historical evidence of our
long and eventful history as a community and provide us with the
opportunity to understand and learn of our development in rural
Lanarkshire. Other sites such as Double
Dykes remain to be properly
investigated to establish their significance in the wider context of
Scottish history.
In today’s society there would appear to be a greater awareness of
environmental issues and our cultural background. However, this does
not always mean there is any greater respect of such. Over the past
twenty years we have experienced several incidents of vandalism to our
most well known monuments, such as the bandstand, the memorial fountain
and the graveyard. Many of the gravestones in the old kirk yard have
been damaged beyond repair, preventing their recording and causing
great distress to the families concerned. The location of the old kirk
yard and indeed the Alexander Hamilton
Memorial Park make policing
these sites extremely difficult to monitor. It would appear the primary
solution would be to educate and instill pride in our heritage from an
early age, encouraging children to respect and learn of their villages
landmarks. To this end I have been invited to Newfield Primary since
1994 to give presentations on our heritage as part of the childrens
village study project.
St. Anthony’s Holy Well
The first preservation project I became involved in was that of St.Anthony’s Holy well, within
the private grounds of Spital House. On
a personal visit to the site, the former owners informed me the well
had dried up in the late 1970’s. It was suspected this had been the
result of boring during the survey undertaken for the proposed
Stonehouse New Town.
Of early pagan origin, the well had also suffered considerable damage
through vandalism and neglect, which the then owners were not able to
restore or maintain, due to their elderly years. The well was said to
have once been under the ownership of a convent of nuns, though I can
find no written evidence to support this. The only clue that may
support this theory is the remains of two, small, broken pieces of
sculpture. The first being a gothic style sandstone piece of
architecture and the second being the foot of a religious figure,
presumably St.Anthony, both of which I was informed were both
incorporated into the Holy well, when the elderly couple moved to the
property.
Extremely overgrown, the Heritage Group financed and restored the well,
preserving its existence for the next decade at least.
Old Kirk Yard and St. Ninian’s
Bell Tower
Stonehouse was witness to the national plague of unwarranted and
shameful vandalism of graveyards, when around 100-200 headstones were
pushed over in the old kirk yard,
including the Covenanters memorial
stone of James Thomson. With the financial assistance of the Heritage
Group and the services of ‘Headstart’ of the former Hamilton District
Council, a project was initiated to restore the graveyard and clean
many of the decaying stones. Headstart supplied the knowledge and
manpower needed in raising the stones manually due to the soft ground
and lack of access for machinery.
The project proved to be a success, though some stones have suffered at
the hands of the vandals since. As a result of the abuse and
deterioration, I initiated a project in 1999 to record all the stones
for future research and interest.
In 1994 I reported the poor condition and potential safety threat of
the deteriorating St.Ninian’s bell tower to the council. With the
assistance of Councillor Dick Gibb
and Hamilton District Council
Planning Department, finances amounting to £13,000 were
identified from the council budget, to stabilise the ‘B’ listed bell
tower and its decaying stonework. The work was carried out in 1996
using traditional materials, of sandstone and lime based mortar to
complement the original structure. Last restored in 1734, the remains
of the old kirk are probably the most recognised historic site in the
parish.
Memorial Fountain
Not so old, but none the less important, the fountain became the target
of vandalism in the late 1970’s, until it was recently restored in
1998. Through perseverance and communication with Hamilton District
Council and the newly formed South Lanarkshire Council, the fountain
regained its stature as one of only two original features in the public
park. Unfortunately the park is still a far cry from its former
glory
as one of Lanarkshires foremost tourist attractions.
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