Douglas Water, South Lanarkshire
Encyclopedia
Douglas Water is a small village in Lanarkshire
, Scotland
. Named after the Douglas Water
, which flows through the village, local mining operations provided employment to local people, and the village was bolstered by the Coltness
Iron
and Coal
Company establishing an operation nearby. Three haulage companies that operated from the village also provided a source of employment.
There was for many years a junior
football
team that played in the village, known as Douglas Water Thistle, but they became defunct some time ago. Several of their players would go on to enjoy careers as professional footballers.
There was also a train station servicing Douglas Water, but it stopped being a working station around the time of the Beeching
cuts. The station platform still exists.
When the last coal mine in the village closed in 1967 the village lost much of its population, as people left for other areas in search of employment. This was the beginning of the decline for Douglas Water as after then the local amenities, football club, train station and much of the other services in the village closed. The village today is a shadow of its former self, with many streets lying totally empty where the houses that once stood there having long since been demolished.
Douglas Water was the site for the performance of a play called "The Disinherited" by local people in the 1930s that had been written by the socialist writer and activist, Edward Hunter.
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Named after the Douglas Water
Douglas Water
The Douglas Water is a river in south-central Scotland, and is a tributary of the River Clyde. Its course is entirely within the South Lanarkshire council area. The river's name comes from the Gaelic dubh-glas, meaning black water....
, which flows through the village, local mining operations provided employment to local people, and the village was bolstered by the Coltness
Coltness
Coltness is the largest suburb of the town of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The 2001 census indicated a population of almost 4,500.Lying to the north east of the town centre, Coltness is an area of mainly local authority built housing, divided into the two distinct areas of East and West...
Iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and Coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
Company establishing an operation nearby. Three haulage companies that operated from the village also provided a source of employment.
There was for many years a junior
Scottish Junior Football Association
The Scottish Junior Football Association is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the Junior grade of football in Scotland. The term "Junior" refers to the level of football played...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team that played in the village, known as Douglas Water Thistle, but they became defunct some time ago. Several of their players would go on to enjoy careers as professional footballers.
There was also a train station servicing Douglas Water, but it stopped being a working station around the time of the Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
cuts. The station platform still exists.
When the last coal mine in the village closed in 1967 the village lost much of its population, as people left for other areas in search of employment. This was the beginning of the decline for Douglas Water as after then the local amenities, football club, train station and much of the other services in the village closed. The village today is a shadow of its former self, with many streets lying totally empty where the houses that once stood there having long since been demolished.
Douglas Water was the site for the performance of a play called "The Disinherited" by local people in the 1930s that had been written by the socialist writer and activist, Edward Hunter.