Blantyre
South Lanarkshire

An extensive settlement in South Lanarkshire, Blantyre lies on the River Clyde, 4 miles (6 km) north of East Kilbride and 8 miles (12 km) southeast of Glasgow. A priory attached to Jedburgh Abbey was established here in the 13th Century for the Augustinian canons and in 1598 High Blantyre was chartered as a burgh of barony. In 1785 a large water-powered cotton-mill was established at Low Blantyre just over a mile (1.5 km) northeast of High Blantyre and a model village was created to house the textile workers. The explorer David Livingstone was born in a mill tenement in Low Blantyre in 1813. High Blantyre developed in associated with coal mining in the 19th Century and in the 20th Century the settlement further expanded with industries including quarrying, engineering and the manufacture of concrete products. Modern industry is centred on the Auchenraith industrial site and the Hamilton International Technology Park. The David Livingstone Centre, established in 1923, is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.

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