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FASKINE, a village,
in the parish of Old
Monkland, Middle
ward of the county
of Lanark, 1½ mile
(S.) from Airdrie;
containing 408
inhabitants. It is
situated in the
eastern extremity of
the parish, and is
one of the numerous
villages that owe
their rise to the
minerals or
manufactures of the
district. Faskine is
the seat of an
extensive colliery,
and it was here that
the coal called the
Splint, or Lady Anne
coal, was first
found, the seam
deriving its name
from Lady Anne
Stirling, the wife
of A. Stirling, Esq.
In the neighbourhood
of the village are
four ironstone
mines. From: A
Topographical
Dictionary of
Scotland (1846),
http://www.british-history.ac.uk
"Old description:
Faskine, or Fasken,
an estate and a
village in Old
Monkland Parish,
Lanarkshire, on the
right bank of North
Calder Water, ¾ mile
W of Calderbank,
1½
miles south of
Airdrie.
The estate contains
coal and ironstone
mines, worked from
an earlier period
than any others in
the great Clydesdale
mineral field. Pop.
of Faskine and
Palacecraig
(including Hillhead),
(1881) 475, (1891)
486".
The Faskine sits
nearly two
miles to the south of
Airdrie town centre and
three miles east of
Coatbridge. It’s the
small neighbour of Calderbank. As most
families had relations
in both villages it
would be right to say
that the Faskine was the
wee cousin. Both
communities were mainly
made up of mining and
steel working families.
In years gone by the man
of the house would only
have to fall out of his
bed to make his work.
Faskine was the site of
the first Clydeside and
Monklands coal mines
supporting three mines
in all not including the
neighbouring Palacecraig,
Hillhead and Calderbank
pits. The mines came
about through the
extension of the
Monklands canal to Calderbank. Prior to
this the land was very
much used for farming
with tenants being
monks.
The
coal was mainly used in
fuelling the many Iron
works that surrounded it
in Lanarkshire including
Calderbank Iron works as
well being carried by
barge into Glasgow.
Local folk-lore tells
the story of two men
fishing in the canal
when there 'tinny cup'
fell into the water and
floated, hence the
building of the 'Vulcan'
that was launched into
the canal at Faskine to
travel the Monkland
canal from Calderbank to
Glasgow.
The Faskine was by far
the smallest neighbour
with only two remaining
miners rows, the Brick
Row and the Bottom Row
along with the old
school house and Faskine
farm all overlooked by
the mighty High
Palacecraig house.
The
Bottom Row sat on the
canal banking, the Monkland canal built to
carry the iron and steel
from Calderbank and
Coatbridge
all the way to the Clyde
in
Glasgow.
The Brick Row
sat almost at the top of
the long wide hill that
makes its way to Airdrie
overlooking the canal
and the North Calder
water as well as Calderbank and the
surrounding Woodhall
estate.
Palacecraig was a
mansion that sat above
Faskine and stands to
this day. The remains of
the village that once
supported a population
of around 500 people (Scotlands
Gazetteer) consists of
Faskine farm that is
still being worked, the
Old School House and Low
Palacecraig (private
houses) and William
Millers bus garage that
stands on the site of my
mothers birth place and
our ancestors (Kelly's)
going back to
1758.
Other lost
villages that surrounded Faskine included 'Peep
O' Day' (between
Calderbank and Hillhead)
and 'Mount Bonnie' that
sat further along the
canal banking towards
Greenend, both were very
small consisting of 1
row. Heading towards
Calderbank on the canal
banking you would also
find 'Woodhall'
Location of the
Faskine; as you
go down the hill
from Cairnhill to
Sikeside you will
have two turn offs
to the left. The
first takes you into
where Millers bus
garage is, this was
the site of my
mothers home, Brick
Row. Carry on down
the hill and you
will come to Low
Palacecraig where
you can turn right
and that takes you
to High Palacecraig
(the big White
House). Follow this
road to its' end and
you will pass
Palacecraig and join
up with the Sikeside
road again (the
second cut off to
the left as you come
down the main road
from Cairnhill to
Sikeside).
Back in the Faskine
as you walk down
towards the canal
from Millers bus
garage you will come
to a bridge over the
canal. You will see
on the opposite bank
Faskine Farm and
sitting on the canal
banking to your left
from the bridge 'The
Old School House'.
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Williams
mother and
uncle, the
children
(uncle now
lives in
California),
his
grandmother
top left and
great
grandmother
in the
middle,
grandmothers
sister top
right. |
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William's
Great
Grandfather
John Kelly
was known as
'the Doc'.
This
confused
some locals
to this day
who would
argue that a
Doctor
stayed in
his mothers
home (before
Millers
buses) but
it was 'The
Doc' who
stayed
there. He
was given
the nic-name
as he was
the fireman
down the pit
and as he
was a
fireman he
was also a
trained
first-aider
so it would
be him the
locals would
come to when
needed as
doctors
could not be
afforded, |
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Faskine
Farm c1970
-photo by
Graham
Gartshore
Does anyone
recognise
the boy
picking
blackberries?? |
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