Recording Your Heritage Online
Event ID 566116
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Recording Your Heritage Online
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/566116
EAGLESHAM
The ancient Kirktoun of Eaglesham lies in a hollow south of the steeper rise from Clarkston, and slopes gently downwards to the White Cart Water on the east. The lowest part of Eaglesham is at an elevation of about 162m (530ft), sloping up to over 213m (700ft) on the way to Ballageich Hill and the Bonnyton Moor. Belonging to the Montgomerie family since the 12th century, the village was rebuilt from 1769 by Alexander Montgomerie, 10th Earl of Eglinton. It was not completed for a generation, because some feuars delayed building their new houses, even though the superior gave them the materials. The roofs of the houses were originally thatched, but the owners were later forced, by national building regulations, to adopt slate to restrict the spread of fire. The street layout is a letter A, with the Lynn Burn running downhill from the apex, in the common green or 'Orry', between the two rows of houses in Montgomerie (originally South) Street and Polnoon (North) Street. The cross-link is formed at the eastern end by Gilmour Street, while the slightly later Cheapside Street extends Montgomerie Street eastwards towards the River Cart and the Lanarkshire boundary. The original village was listed in its entirety as early as the 1960s. It is now a major Conservation Area and practically every building is worth a look. [Small column 65]
Eaglesham House, in ruins by 1959 and now entirely demolished, was entered from Floors Road, which runs between Waterfoot on the Glasgow Road and the Humbie Road from Eaglesham to Mearns.
Taken from "Greater Glasgow: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Sam Small, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk
