Caldermill is a small settlement in

South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Caldermill is south-west of

Strathaven Strathaven ( ; from ) is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and is the largest settlement in Avondale. It is south of Hamilton. The Powmillon Burn runs through the town centre, and joins the Avon Water to the east of the to ...

, and is the next settlement a driver will come across after leaving Strathaven on the A71 westbound towards

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

. It is a hamlet of just a few houses. For children raised in Caldermill, the closest primary school is Gilmourton Primary, in the nearby hamlet of

Drumclog Drumclog is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Parish of Avendale and Drumclog, Scotland. The settlement is situated on the A71, between Caldermill and Priestland in East Ayrshire at an elevation of and about west of Strathaven. History ...

, which is further along the A71 towards Kilmarnock. The nearest high school is

Strathaven Academy Strathaven Academy is a non-denominational secondary school in Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. History In 1902, Avondale School Board decided to merge two local primary schools; Crosshill and Ballgreen and create a new "Academy". The m ...

, located in the town of Strathaven.

History

The name of the settlement means 'hazel stream' in Gaelic. It was linked with the

covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

s during the so called 'Killing Times'. The

Trumpeter's Well The Trumpeter's Well at Caldermill in South Lanarkshire, Scotland is recorded as the site of the death of a government trumpeter or Cornet (rank), cornet who was killed in the aftermath of the 1679 Battle of Drumclog, at which the Covenanters were ...

linked to the 1679

Battle of Drumclog The Battle of Drumclog was fought on 1 June 1679, between a group of Covenanters and the forces of John Graham of Claverhouse, at Drumclog, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Battle Following the assassination of Archbishop James Sharp on M ...

stands beside the entrance to Hillhead Farm off the A71. By 1858 a group of four dwellings are named as Calderbank on the north side of the main road and a building is shown to the west of Calder Mill. By 1896 one of the Calderbank buildings is shown as a smithy and the building close to the mill had been re-modelled as a farm.Lanarkshire XXX.2 Revised: 1896, Published: 1897
/ref> In 1909 a post office is shown next to the smithy and a horse trough stands opposite.Lanarkshire XXX.2 Revised:1909, Published:1911
/ref> A later OS map shows a telephone call box at the post office with the smithy no longer marked.OS 1944-71
/ref> The Caldermill Farm buildings next to the old Calder Mill are shown as greatly enlarged in the mid-20th century. The farm of Calderbraehead is recorded in the OS Name book for the period 1858 to 1861 as being occupied by William Wiseman and at the time it was the property of the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

Calder Mill

The mid-18th century map by

William Roy Major-General William Roy (4 May 17261 July 1790) was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of Gr ...

does not name the mill; however, a building is marked next to the mill lade running from the Calder Water is clearly shown. Calder Bridge is drawn and Hillhead Farm is shown. The mill is shown in 1776 on the Taylor and Skinner survey of road. Calder Mill is indicated by a waterwheel symbol in the early 19th century. The 1858 OS map records Calder Mill as a corn mill and a mill pond is shown on the north side of the main road with a dam on the Calder Water partly diverting the current down the lade towards the mill.Lanarkshire XXX.2 (Avondale) Survey date: 1858, Publication date: 1860
/ref> The OS Name Book records in the period 1858 to 1861 that the Corn Mill was occupied by John Barr and was the property of Thomas Allison of Strawfrank in Carstairs. In 1909 Calder Mill's mill pond is shown as abandoned and the route of the tail race of the lade to the Calder Water is not marked although the mill is still recorded as a corn mill. A 2005 photograph shows the old mill as a ruin (datum 2023), but it has since been restored as a private dwelling. In 2022 the site of the mill pond remains as a flooded area next to the old access road to the abandoned Calder Bridge. In the mid-20th century the mill is not shown as an operational corn mill. The mill had an overshot waterwheel and there was a grain kiln with two sets of millstones for general grinding and for producing oatmeal. The last miller was John McStrovock who died in January 1946, the mill having ceased operation in 1945. An earlier miller was William McKenzie.

Calder Bridge

The old Calder Brig or Bridge is Category B Listed and crosses the Calder Water and is dated 1829, with Thomas Telford and Henry Welch as architects. It has a single semi-circular span and is built of ashlar and parapet coping. The abutments are splayed and sloping. A date stone with 'Built by Wm Brownlie,' a Strathaven mason, is set in a rectangular panel over the keystone on the southern side.British Listed Buildings - Calder Bridge, Calder Mill
/ref> The bridge has been replaced by a wider concrete bridge with a new alignment through the settlement.

Transport

The Darvel and Strathaven Railway ran near to Caldermill; however, the nearest station was at

Ryeland The Ryeland is one of the oldest English sheep breeds going back seven centuries when the monks of Leominster in Herefordshire bred sheep and grazed them on the rye pastures, giving them their name. It was introduced into Australia in 1919 and ...

with passenger trains running to

and

Darvel Darvel (, ) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Loudoun, Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" (). The town's Latin motto, , means "Not for ourselves, but for others". History Prehis ...

from 1905 to 1939 with WWI closure between 1917 and 1922.

References

;Sources

External links

YouTube video history of the Trumpeter's Well
{{South Lanarkshire Settlements History of South Lanarkshire Buildings and structures in South Lanarkshire Hamlets in Scotland