XL. The Silurian Districts of Leadhills and Wanlockhead, their early and recent Mining History

Abstract

Leadhills, the seat of an extensive mining industry, is situated in the parish of Crawford, in the southern extremity of Lanarkshire, adjacent to the sources of the Glengonnar Water, on the mountain road leading from Upper Nithsdale to Upper Strathclyde. It is about 2 miles distant from Wanlockhead, about 44 miles S.E. by S. from Glasgow, and 46 miles S.W. by S. from Edinburgh. Its site has an elevation of at least 1300 feet above sea-level, and is possibly the highest inhabited land in Scotland. The village lies on the side of a valley; some of the houses being in rather a low position, one position being named the High Toun and the other the How Toun. The appearance of the neighbouring country is of the most sterile character, hill above hill showing only scanty herbage or heather. The miners have, however, reclaimed about 300 acres, and grow crops of potatoes and hay, corn not ripening here, and the green patches show in pleasing contrast to the otherwise bleak and barren country above. The outlook is magnificent: in a clear day can be seen on the north the Pentlands, on the south the Solway Firth, the Isle of Man, the Cumberland Hills, on the west Ailsa Craig, the Arran Peaks, the Paps of Jura, and Ben Lomond. The parish of Crawford is very hilly, and was aptly designated a portion of the Southern Highlands by Heron, the friend and admirer of Robert Burns. According to Forrest’s map of the county, This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract