Statistical Account
Source 6 : Report for the Parish of East Kilbride, County of Lanark, in volume 3 of the ‘Statistical Account’
Printed book (NLS shelfmark: S.A.S.)
In the 1790s, East Kilbride, the first Scottish new town, was a larger settlement than the other places studied in the sources here. Due to its proximity to Glasgow, the way of life here was different to some of the other places described in these sources.
The minister who compiled the information about East Kilbride for the ‘Statistical Account of Scotland’ responded to the questions using text descriptions of the parish relating to the different topics Sir John Sinclair asked about and did not use tables to provide numerical information. Therefore, this source does not use a table to provide an overview of the state of the parish like the one in Source 5.
Use Sources 5, 6 and 7 for comparative questions studying different areas of Scotland.
Transcript
History of the Origin and Progress of the Statistical Account of Scotland
[page 133]
Statistical Account of Culross
…15s. and 10s. According to the quanlity, situation, and improvement of the ground.
Statistical Table.
For crop 1791.
- Acres in wheat 181
- Acres in barley 280
- Acres in oats 799
[Late oats are now given up by the judicious farmer, and the early sort almost universally substituted in their stead, particularly the Blainsley, which seems peculiarly adapted to the soil of this parish.]
- Acres in pease & beans 168 ½
- Acres in potatoes 67
- Acres in turnips 11
- Acres in flax 22
- Acres in sown grass 552
- Acres in fallow 169
- Acres in gardens and orchards 70
- Acres in arable land in pasture 939
Total arable land, acres3308 ½
- Plantations, acres 1101
- Preparing for planting, acres 200
- Natural wood, acres 100
- Ploughs 59
- Horses 164
- Black cattle 590
- Sheep 350
- Farmers above £50 per annum 17
- Farmers under £50 18
Valued rent, Scotch £3623 18s 3d
Real rent, Sterling, about £3000
- Population in 1755 1695
- Population in 1791 1442
- Males 655
- Females 787
- In the country 373
- In the town, and in the villages of Blairburn and Laigh Valley-field, adjacent thereto 1069
- Houses in the country 72
- Houses in the town and suburbs 203
- Married men and women 505
- Unmarried men above 50 12
[page 134]
- Unmarried women above 40 49
- Widowers 29
- Widows 77
- Under 10 249
- From 10 to 20 291
- From 20 to 50 627
- From 50 to 80 248
- From 80 to 90 23
- Above 90 4
- Shoemakers 21
- Tanner 1
- Weavers 72
- Taylors 9
- Carpenters and wrights 17
- Masons 16
- Bakers 7
- Smiths 6
- Butchers 3
- Brewer 1
- Licensed alehouses 11
- Schoolmaster, parochial 1
- Schoolmaster, private 2
[Besides these, a well accomplished female (Miss Farquharson) teaches, with success, English, French, writing, (an uncommonly fine hand), arithmetic, geography, and needle-work. She has 7 boarders, at £20 each per annum; and 5 day-scholars, at 10s. 6d. per quarter.]
- Scholars at the parochial school, viz.
- Learning Latin, at 2s. 6d. per quarter 4
- Learning arithmetic at 2s. 6d. per quarter 20
- Learning English at 1s. 6d. per quarter 52
Total 76
- Income of the school-master, exclusive of fees £18 7s 6¼d
- Scholars at the private schools 48
- In 1788, marriages 12
- In 1788, births, males 26
- In 1788, births, females 24
- In 1788, deaths 16
- In 1789, marriages 11
- In 1789, births, males 25
- In 1789, births, females 18
[The diminution of births in 1789 is to be attributed to a number of colliers having left the place, by a stop being put to the coalworks; and the increase of deaths in 1790, to the ravages of the small-pox. The practice of inoculation now begins to take place among all ranks in this parish and neighbourhood.]
- In 1789, deaths 20
- In 1790, marriages 14
Discussion Points
- Extract information about the following in East Kilbride:
- Population size and breakdown , e.g. age, occupation, sex
- Main crops or products of the parish
- Education provided
Compare what you find with the information you collected from Source 5:
- what are the key differences and similarities between the parishes?
Did you find comparable information about each item? Retain the information you have collated to use with Source 7.
- Compare the essay format used here to the Statistical Table (Source 5). In comparison to that source, what are the advantages and disadvantages for a researcher of information about the parish being presented as text? Is there any information which would be useful to a historian studying social conditions in the late eighteenth century? (Note that Source 5 was presented alongside a written report like this one).