Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

RUTHERGLEN
at all events — for in 1595 the presbytery had to trans-
mit letters to the bailie of the burgh, enjoining him to
stop the profane plays introduced on the Lord's Day,
' as they fear the eternal God, and will he answerable
to His kirk;' and they also made complaint as to the
practice of fishing for salmon on Sunday, and of the
colliers selecting the same time for the settlement of
their accounts. During the Covenanting times, Ruther-
glen was the scene of an event which was the prelude
to the armed rising which ended at Bothwell Bridge.
In 1679, the irreconcilables of the Presbyterian party
had determined to publish a ' Declaration and Testi-
mony of the true Presbyterian Party in Scotland, ' and
a body of 80 horsemen, under the command of Robert
Hamilton, brother of the laird of Preston, set off for
Glasgow, with the intention of there publicly proclaim-
ing their doctrine; but finding that that town was
occupied by a strong garrison of royalist troops, they
turned aside to Rutherglen. The day chosen was the
29th of May, the anniversary of the birthday of Charles
II., and also of the day on which he entered London, at
the Restoration, and the whole town was accordingly
lit up with bonfires in honour of the occasion. These
the Covenanters immediately extinguished, * and having
lit a bonfire of their own, they therein burnt all the
acts of parliament and proclamations directed against
themselves and their cause, and then having read their
testimony at the burgh cross, to which they also fixed a
copy, they retired to Evandale and Newmilns. Claver-
house and his dragoons arrived on the 31st to investi-
gate the matter, but none of the inhabitants seem to
have been implicated, and he passed on to Loudon Hill
(see Dbumcloo), where his force was defeated by the
armed Covenanters, and thereafter came the battle of
the Butts in Glasgow, and of fateful Bothwell Bridge.
Rutherglen espoused the cause of electoral reform at a
very early date, for in 1671 a new set was fixed whereby
the practice of the council's electing their successors
was abolished, and the right of election given to the
Incorporated Trades and the burgesses generally.
Shortly afterwards they anticipated the compulsory
clauses of the Education Act of two centuries after-
wards, by ordaining, in 1675, that all the inhabitants
of the burgh should send their children betwixt 6 and
12 years of age 'to the comune Schoole to be educat
yrat with certification that whaever neglects there
dewtye herein shall be compelled to pay the quarter
waidges as if there children were at the Schoole, ' and the
fees were to be recoverable by poinding and imprisonment.
As Glasgow rose in importance Rutherglen diminished,
and in 1695 it was reckoned as one of the least of the
royal burghs, the monthly cess being fixed at £1 ster-
ling, while thereafter it became practically a quiet
country village; and, though it has again become of
more importance, this has arisen rather from its having
become a manufacturing suburb of Glasgow than from
any power existing within itself. Some old customs
survived to a comparatively recent period, one of them,
entirely peculiar to the place, being a ceremonious
baking, on St Luke's eve, of excessively thin sour cakes,
which were given to strangers visiting St Luke's Fair.
The modern town consists of a very wide and spacious
Main Street, extending along the road from Glasgow to
Hamilton, and planted in 1893 with a row of young
trees on the north side. There are narrower streets
and lanes branching off from it, the chief being Farme
Loan Road (N) and Hamilton Road (S), both at the E
end; Castle Street (N), near the centre; and Mill
Street on the opposite side farther W, and leading
to the Cathkin Braes. Stonelaw Road on the east,
forming the continuation of Farme Loan Road, leads
also to the Braes, where is situated one of Glasgow's
* The fifth article of their own testimony was 'against that
preBnmptnous Act for imposing ane holy anniversary-day as they
call it, to he kept yearly upon the 29th of May as a day of rejoic-
ing and thanksgiving for the king's birth and restoration : whereby
the appointors have intruded upon the Lord's prerogative and the
observers have given the glory to the creature that is due to our
Lord Redeemer, and rejoiced over the setting up of an usurping
power to the destroying the interest of Christ in the land.'
1418
RUTHERGLEN
parks, with a magnificent view of the vale of Clyde
from Carmyle to Dumbarton, and as far as Goatfell in
Arran. This road passes through the fine residential
spot called Burnside, containing many elegant villas
and cottages, and in winter a fine skating pond lighted
up after dark. At the W end of the burgh the prin-
cipal street divides into two narrow branches, of which
that to the N retains at first the name of Main Street,
and then becomes Chapel Street, while the branch to
the S is Cathcart Road. Parallel to Main Street on the
N is the long narrow King Street. Though there are
several old and somewhat straggling streets, many new
and handsome streets have been and are still being
formed, and on the low rich fiat to the N and NW,
beyond the railway, are the principal manufactories.
The old town-hall projects into Main Street on the N
side. The modern town-hall, erected in 1861-62, farther
W, and subsequently added to on the E, is a very hand-
some building which would do honour to many a much
larger town, and cost altogether £14,778. This build-
ing adds very much to the appearance of the town, and
can be seen at a great distance. Late Baronial in style,
it has a street frontage of 120 feet, and near the centre
a square clock tower with turrets, with ogee roofs,
rising to a height of 110 feet. The portion to the W,
which was the first erected, contains a burgh court-
room, a council chamber, various retiring rooms, and a
public hall, measuring 75 by 40 feet, and with accom-
modation for about 800 persons. The eastern addition
contains the various burgh offices. The ancient parish
church was immediately to the W of the burgh hall,
and was a building of some note, for, according to Blind
Harry, it was in it that in 1297 a truce was agreed on
between Scotland and England.
' Erll of Stamffurd, was chanslar of Ingland,
With Schyr Amar this trawaill tuk on hand
A saiff condyt thai purchest off Wallace.
In Euglen Kyrk the tryst than haiff thai set.'
After telling how ' The gret chanslar and Amar thidder
past, ' and giving an account of the debate between the
parties, he tells how
1 Wallace said ; " Schyr, we jangill hot in wayne.
My consell gyfhs, I will na fabill mak,
As for a yer a finaill pess to tak.
Nocht for myself, that I byud to your seill
1 can nocht trow that euir ye will be Ieill;
Bot for pur folk grethye has beyne supprisyt,
I will tak peess, quhill forthir we he awisit."
Than band thai thus ; thar suld he no debait,
Castell and towne suld stand in that ilk stait,
Fra that day furth, quhill a yer war at an end :
Sellyt this pess, and tuk thar leyff to wend.'
According to the same authority it was here, too, that
Sir John Menteith agreed to betray Wallace to the
English :
' Schyr Jhon Menteth Wallace his gossop was,
A messynger Schyr Amar has gert pass
On to Schyr Jhon, and sone a tryst has set,
At Ruglyn Kyrk thir twa togydder met.'
Of the church, which was dedicated to the Virgin and
had altars of the Holy Trinity and St Nicholas, the
only part now remaining is the quaint low tower with
its curious spire, the rest having been demolished in
1794 when the present structure, about 30 yards farther
W, was constructed. It is somewhat curious that the
dedication of the church was to the Virgin, while the
chief fair was held on St Luke's day in October. The
modern church has 880 sittings, and is surrounded b"
a churchyard. The West Church, on the S side of
Chapel Street, was built in 1836 as a chapel of ease, and
stood unused for some time after the Disruption, but
it was constituted a quoad sacra charge in 1868. In
1883 the Established Church also purchased the for-
mer Congregational church at Wardlawhill, which was
erected into a quoad sacra parish in 1891. There is also
a mission church at Greenhill Road, opened in 1887.
The First Free church, on the NW, in Glasgow Road,
erected soon after the Disruption, is a plain Gothic
building with 820 sittings and a square pinnacled tower.
The Second Free church, in Farme Loan Road to the E,
was erected in 1871-72, at a cost of £3000, as a Reformed