Shotts
Encyclopedia
Shotts is a small rural town
in North Lanarkshire
, Scotland
. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow
(21 miles) and Edinburgh
(29 miles). As of the 2001 census
, the population was 8,235. A local story has Shotts being named after the legend
ary giant
Bertram de Shotts
, though toponymists
give the Anglo-Saxon
derived 'sceots' (steep slopes) as the real source of the name.
Shotts was known for its mining
and ironworks. In the years leading up to World War II
there were 22 coal mines in the area, but the last of these (Northfield Colliery) closed in the 1960s.
Shotts is the home of the former world champion
pipe band
, the House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band
.
HMP Shotts, a high security prison, is located between Shotts and Salsburgh.
The town is also served by Shotts railway station
, which is connected on the Shotts Line
between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...
, 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...
. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
(21 miles) and Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
(29 miles). As of the 2001 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, the population was 8,235. A local story has Shotts being named after the legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary giant
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
Bertram de Shotts
Bertram de Shotts
Bertram de Shotts is known locally as a legendary Giant that roamed the then village of Shotts, Scotland in the 15th Century. Shotts was then a dreary moorland place on the Great Road of the Shire. The road was an important route for tradesman carrying their wares around Scotland. Bertram de Shotts...
, though toponymists
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
give the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
derived 'sceots' (steep slopes) as the real source of the name.
Shotts was known for its mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
and ironworks. In the years leading up to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
there were 22 coal mines in the area, but the last of these (Northfield Colliery) closed in the 1960s.
Shotts is the home of the former world champion
World Pipe Band Championships
The World Pipe Band Championships is a pipe band competition currently held in Glasgow, Scotland every August. The event has been operating regularly since 1930, when the Scottish Pipe Band Association was formed...
pipe band
Pipe band
A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands, pipes and drums, is also common....
, the House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band
Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band
The House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band, also known as Shotts and Dykehead or simply "Shotts", is a grade one pipe band from Shotts, in the North Lanarkshire region of Scotland...
.
HMP Shotts, a high security prison, is located between Shotts and Salsburgh.
The town is also served by Shotts railway station
Shotts railway station
Shotts railway station is a railway station serving Shotts in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on the Shotts Line, 33 km east of towards .Shotts station is the last stop before the SPT area boundary on the Shotts Line.-Services:...
, which is connected on the Shotts Line
Shotts Line
The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line linking Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts in Scotland. The route from Glasgow to Shotts is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network...
between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Geography
Notable Shotts People
- Gavin HamiltonGavin HamiltonGavin Hamilton was an early modern Scottish prelate, coadjutor of the Archdiocese of St. Andrews, and Archbishop of St. Andrews.Gavin was the son of James Hamilton of Raploch. He had been Abbot of Kilwinning. In 1555, he was appointed as the coadjutor, i.e. successor, of Archbishop John Hamilton of...
, Artist - George MacBethGeorge MacBethGeorge Mann MacBeth was a Scottish poet and novelist. He was born in Shotts, Lanarkshire.When he was three, his family moved to Sheffield....
, Writer - Andrew KeirAndrew KeirAndrew Keir was a Scottish actor, who rose to prominence featuring in a number of films from Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and particularly in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s...
, Actor
Schools Within Shotts
- St.Paricks Primary
- Stane Primary
- Dykehead Primary
- Calderhead High School
Nearby Villages/Towns
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- HartwoodHartwoodHartwood is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Nearby settlements include Shotts, Allanton and Bonkle. The area is rural, with fewer than 50 houses....
- HarthillHarthillHarthill could be*Harthill, Cheshire*Harthill, Derbyshire*Harthill, Scotland, on the border of North Lanarkshire and West Lothian*Harthill, South Yorkshire*Harthill a former wapentake in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
- NewmainsNewmains-External links:* *...
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- HamiltonHamilton, South LanarkshireHamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
- WishawWishawWishaw is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the edge of the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow....
- MotherwellMotherwellMotherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
- SalsburghSalsburghSalsburgh is a small semi rural former coal mining village in the heart of greenbelt surrounded by farmland in the district of North Lanarkshire, Scotland, the closest major town to the village is Shotts 3 miles to the South East and Airdrie, North Lanarkshire 6 miles to the North West...
- HolytownHolytownHolytown is a small village outside Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.-History:The area was born and grew on the back of the nearby coal mining industries in the 18th century, although the roots of the town stretch back to at least the 17th Century, where records show that a meeting house...
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Football Teams
- Shotts Bon AccordShotts Bon Accord F.C.Shotts Bon Accord Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Shotts, North Lanarkshire.-History:Playing at Hannah Park, they were formed in 1950 and currently compete in the West Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association....
- Shotts Vics
- Shotts YMCA
- Springfield AFC