In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Lanarkshire like this:
Lanarkshire, inland co. in SW. of Scotland; is bounded N. by Dumbartonshire and Stirlingshire, E. by Linlithgowshire, Edinburghshire, and Peeblesshire, S. by Dumfriesshire, and W. by Ayrshire and Renfrewshire; greatest length, NW. and SE., 52 miles; greatest breadth, NE. and SW., 34 miles; area, 564,284 ac., pop. ...
904,412. Lanarkshire is often called Clydesdale, occupying, as it does, the valley of the Clyde, which traverses the county from SE. to NW., and receives numerous tributary streams, including the Douglas, Avon, and Calder. The surface rises towards the S., where the Lowther or Lead Hills reach an alt. of 2403 ft. The Upper Ward is chiefly hill or moorland, affording excellent pasture for sheep; the Middle Ward contains the orchards for which Clydesdale has long been famous; and in the Lower Ward are some rich alluvial lands along the Clyde; but all over the county a considerable proportion of the soil is moist, marshy, and barren. Dairy-farming is prosecuted with success. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.) The minerals are very valuable; coal and iron are wrought to such an extent that Lanarkshire is one of the principal seats of the iron trade; lead is mined in the Upper Ward. The co. comprises 40 pars. and 4 parts, the parl. and mun. burgh of Glasgow (7 members, and Glasgow University, with that of Aberdeen, 1 member), the parl. and police burghs of Airdrie, Hamilton, and Lanark (part of the Falkirk Burghs), the parl. and police burgh of Rutherglen (part of the Kilmarnock Burghs), and the police burghs of Biggar, Govan, Govanhill, Hillhead, Maryhill, Motherwell, Partick, and Wishaw. For parl. purposes it is divided into 6 divisions--viz., Govan, Partick, North-Western, North-Eastern, Mid, and Southern, 1 member for each division. The representation of Lanarkshire was increased from 2 to 6 members in 1885.
Vision of Britain presents long-run change by redistricting historical statistics to modern units. However, none of our modern units covers an area close to that of Lanarkshire. If you want trends covering a particular location within the county, find it on our historical maps and then select "Tell me more".
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Lanarkshire | Map and description for the county, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/17447
Date accessed: 05th November 2024
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