Wishaw (; ; ) is a large town in

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

, Scotland, on the edge of the

Clyde Valley The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. T ...

, south-east of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

city centre. The town is part of the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency. It has the postal code of ML2 and the dialling code 01698. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

. The town developed extensively during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, in particular during the

Second Industrial Revolution The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of rapid Discovery (observation), scientific discovery, standardisation, mass production and industrialisation from the late 19th century into the early ...

. New industry and factories were established, including those in steel and iron production, as well as manufacturing, textiles and the processing of coal. The towns population increased as a result and new homes were built resulting in a conurbation with neighbouring

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

and

Newmains Newmains is a village and former mining community on the eastern edge of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south-east of Glasgow. Although it is considered by the local authority to have a town centre in its own right. History The story of ...

. As a result, Wishaw formed a joint

large burgh Large burgh was a type of municipal structure in Scotland, which existed from 1930 to 1975. History When county councils had been established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, there were 26 burghs which were excluded from ...

with its neighbour

from 1920 until its dissolution when

Scottish local authorities Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as ''councils''. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the ma ...

were restructured in 1975, and was then in Motherwell district within the

Strathclyde region Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

until 1996. The town suffered during deindustrialisation as businesses closed in the mid to late 20th century. In the 21st century, the town has a mixed economy with services industries and is a residential area within North Lanarkshire.

Etymology

It is not certain how Wishaw's name came into being. The town is named after

Wishaw House Wishaw House was a large mansion located in Wishaw, Scotland. Once the family seat of the Belhavens and Hamilton family, the mansion was abandoned by the 20th century and was demolished, now nothing more than a ruin in the woodland by the South ...

, a large manor built in the woods by the

South Calder Water The South Calder Water, known locally as "The Cawder", or simply "Calder", is a river in Scotland. It runs west from the high plateau between Shotts and Fauldhouse to its joining with the much larger River Clyde. The high plateau is also the w ...

. The house was probably built some time after the sale of the lands of

Coltness Coltness is the largest suburb of the town of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The 2001 census indicated a population of almost 4,500. Lying to the north east of Wishaw town centre, Coltness is an area of mainly local authority built h ...

, Wishaw, Watstein and Stain to the predecessor of Lord Belhaven: Hamilton of Uddsten. It could be a corruption of "''Via shaw"'' meaning "way through the woods", which would make sense as an ancient Roman road was built through the modern town. Another theory is that the name derives from "Wee Shaw", meaning small wood, or that the "wis" comes from the medieval Scots for "water", meaning "water wood". In Scottish Gaelic, the main name of the town is Camas Neachdain.

History

Ancient history

The area of what is now Wishaw once lay on important

Roman roads Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

that ran through the areas of the Clyde (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

– ''Cluta)'' and

. In fact, the current Main Street is based on a road built by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. Another such road ran close to Wishaw House. In the 1960s, a pagan religious figurine was found in the woods near Netherton, showing that there was some form of settlement near Wishaw before the

Christianisation of Scotland The Christianisation of Scotland was the process by which Christianity spread in what is now Scotland, which took place principally between the fifth and tenth centuries. Christianity was probably introduced to what is now Lowland Scotland by ...

, which occurred between 400 and 600 AD.

Medieval era

A small church was established by a bend (''camas/cambo-'' in

Cumbric Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...

) on the banks of the Clyde near what is now Netherton in the eighth century. There is however dispute to whether this was named after (or established by)

Neithon of Alt Clut Neithon son of Guipno (died c. 621) was a 7th-century ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Guipno map Dumnagual Hen. Alfred Smyth suggests he is the same man as ...

or perhaps

St Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason, he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedicatio ...

. Nonetheless, the area became known as

Cambusnethan Cambusnethan is a historic parish in North Lanarkshire in Scotland. The largest settlement in the parish is Wishaw, and Cambusnethan now appears on maps as a village almost contiguous with Wishaw. The village is approximately long, straddling ...

or ''Kamnethan'' from then on. The site of the original church remains as a ruined

burial ground A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ) implies th ...

, including an impressive

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

Lord Belhaven Lord Belhaven and Stenton, of the County of Haddington, is a Lordship of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1647 for Sir John Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, with remainder to his heirs male. History This branch of the prominent ...

. The churchyard is notably round, similar to those found in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and Ireland, suggesting it could have been built on an earlier Celtic temple. Excavated from this area was the Cambusnethan Stone, a large Christian tablet created by the

Strathclyde Britons Strathclyde (, "valley of the Clyde"), also known as Cumbria, was a Brittonic kingdom in northern Britain during the Middle Ages. It comprised parts of what is now southern Scotland and North West England, a region the Welsh tribes referred ...

. In the 12th century, a Norman lord constructed a large manor near Gowkthrapple, as well as another small church. This was the beginning of the parish of Cambusnethan, which lasted up until 1930. In the 13th century, administrative control of the parish was ceded to

from the previous

Kelso Abbey Kelso Abbey is a ruined Scottish abbeys, Scottish abbey in Kelso, Scottish Borders, Kelso, Scotland. It was founded in the 12th century by a community of Tironensian monks first brought to Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in the reign of Alexander ...

. Small

fortresses A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

and

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

s were built, and after the

Scottish Wars of Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

, the

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

y was transferred by

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

to local lords, however the title lay abandoned by the 20th century. The Somervilles of Cambusnethan were the principal aristocrats in the area, although sold their land to

Sir James Steuart Sir James Steuart, 3rd Baronet of Goodtrees and 7th Baronet of Coltness (; 21 October 1712 – 26 November 1780), also known as Sir James Steuart Denham, was a prominent Scottish Jacobite and author of "probably the first systematic treatise ...

,later

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

in 1653. Wishaw House is thought to date back to the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

, and appears on Pont's map of Scotland from 1583, as ''Wisha.'' The settlements of ''Greenhead'', ''Camnethan'', ''Peddyr'' and ''Overtoun of Camnethan'' also appear. The ruined church on Kirk Road, mere yards away from the current Cambusnethan church, is thought to date back to the 1600s or earlier.

18th to 20th century

In the 18th century agriculture in the area consisted mainly of growing oats although some wheat and pear trees were cultivated. Members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church took up the favourable terms of the proprietor to enable them to establish a congregation in Wishaw in 1792. The village itself was laid out in 1794, named Cambusnethan, and later renamed Wishawtown. In 1801 the population of Wishaw was about 400 and that of the whole parish only 1,972. In the 1830s Lord Belhaven set up a

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

in Wishaw. Other nineteenth century industries included coal mining, iron and steel making, foundry work, railway-waggon building and fire-clay making. Wishaw grew dramatically in the 1830s, with railways and

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

coming to the town, many

collieries Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. 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 extrac ...

opening during this time period. In 1840, the Old Parish Church was built. By the time the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively ex ...

's main line came through Wishaw in 1848 it was a major mining centre fueling an important part of Scotland's industrial heartland. There were also factories for needle-work and tambouring, and confectionery. In 1848 Polish composer

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

visited Wishaw. Chopin was entertained at Wishaw house and played there for the family, the Hamiltons of Belhaven (the event has been commemorated by local residents in the past). In the mid 19th century, the Coltness estate in the town was developed under ownership of the Houldsworths family, following the building of the Coltness Iron Company in 1837. The Jacobean style Coltness House was demolished in 1970, along with much of the historic estate, although the Category B listed Gate House on Main Street and Kenilworth avenue survives and until the early 21st century was used as a public toilet. On 4 September 1855, the town was incorporated with the villages of

and

Stewarton Stewarton (,
) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. ...

to form the

Burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

of Wishaw, with a population of approximately 5,000. Four years later, in 1859, St.Ignatius Parish Church was established, and the church built on Young Street, where it remains to this day. In 1882, Groome recorded that there were 5 schools in Wishaw as well as others in nearby villages. In 1905, the Category B listed Clyde Chambers were built as tenement flats, shops and offices on Main Street. During the mid 20th century, Wishaw had 5 cinemas, all since closed. These included the Classic Cinema at 57 Kirk Road which opened in 1920, closed in 1985 and was Category B listed in 2001. The largest cinema in Wishaw was next door, the Greens Playhouse which opened in 1940 with seating for 2,982 patrons. It closed in the 1970s, becoming a bingo club but then falling into disuse before being Category B listed in 2004. In the mid to late 20th century, deindustralisation caused many factories and businesses to cease operation. The Coltness Iron company wound up in 1950. The (now-defunct) local firm of ''R Y Pickering & Co Ltd'' (later Norbrit-Pickering) built railway rolling stock (especially wagons) and many tramcars for tram systems throughout the UK. One of its last tramcar orders was for 10

double-decker tram A double-decker tram or double-deck tram is a tram that has two levels or decks. Some double-decker trams have open tops. Double-deck trams were once popular in some European cities, like Berlin and London, throughout the British Empire count ...

s for

Aberdeen Corporation Tramways Aberdeen Corporation Tramways formerly served the City of Aberdeen, Scotland. The system The city's tram system was the most northerly municipal tramway in the United Kingdom. It started on 26 August 1898 when the Aberdeen Corporation purchase ...

in 1949. Wishaw and its nearby neighbour of

were once the centre of steel manufacture in Scotland, as both towns were located either side of the former

Ravenscraig steelworks The Ravenscraig steelworks, operated by David Colville & Sons, Colvilles and from 1967 by British Steel Corporation, consisted of an integrated iron and steel works and a hot strip steel, strip steel mill. They were located in Motherwell, North ...

which closed in 1992. In November 1996, the world's worst recorded outbreak of '' E. coli O157'' occurred in the town, in which 21 people died and around 200 were infected.

21st century

The town has partially recovered from the loss of industry such as

steelworks A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

and coal mines which closed down in the 1980s and 1990s although unemployment remains as other factories, such as the Courtauld textile factory closed in 2000. At the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...

, Wishaw along with its neighbour Motherwell, voted 52% in favour of

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

, meanwhile 48% voted against independence. The high support for Scottish independence in the area may be due to the higher than average Roman Catholic population compared to the rest of Scotland, along with higher than average levels of poverty; alongside lower than average levels of education and low incomes. Since

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Wishaw has voted SNP at both

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

and local

Scottish elections Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, replacing Labour as the dominant party of the town. Wishaw also has had a Scottish Conservative Councillor since 2017. At the 2024 general election, Labour gained the Motherwell & Wishaw seat after 9 years of being held by the SNP. North Lanarkshire Council suggest that the majority of the biggest employers in the town are supermarkets, with the exceptions of

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

; which has its main Scottish distribution centre at Shieldmuir and the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

as a result of

University Hospital Wishaw University Hospital Wishaw (formerly known as Wishaw General Hospital) is a district general hospital in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, situated between the areas of Craigneuk to the north and Netherton to the south. The hospital, managed by NHS ...

. There are many service industry businesses located in the town's industrial areas, though none with more than a few hundred employees.

Town centre

Main Street is the predominant shopping area in Wishaw. It is partly made up of major national stores such as Peacock's,

Poundland Poundland Limited is a British variety store chain founded by Dave Dodd and Steven Smith in 1990, originally selling all of its items at the single price of £1. The retailer grew from a single location in Burton upon Trent, opening its hund ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and

Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as baked goods, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is lis ...

. The Main Street shopping area also features small independent retailers. The

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

have a community centre in Wishaw, having moved to new premises from a purpose-built building that opened in 1915. The old YMCA building on Main Street is Grade B-listed but currently unused since becoming unsafe, although plans have been proposed for its restoration. There are also many supermarkets in the area, with a new small format

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

in the eastern suburb of

that opened in October 2007. A

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

Extra superstore was also opened during November 2007, and is adjacent to the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, replacing the smaller Metro store on Main Street, about from the new store. Wishaw also has the "''Caledonian Centre''", a shopping complex in the northern suburb of Craigneuk consisting of other national store chains such as

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

Matalan Matalan Retail Ltd is a British clothing and homewares retailer based in Knowsley, Merseyside, founded by John Hargreaves in 1985. In August 1988, its operations director at the time, Duncan Sullivan, transformed Matalan into an out-of-town wa ...

B & M B & M Retail Limited, trading as B&M, is a British multinational variety store and garden centre chain founded in 1978 and based in Speke. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. B&M is part of t ...

Pets at Home Pets at Home Group PLC (sometimes shortened to Pets) is a British retailer selling pets (not limited to rabbits, rodents and fish), pet food, toys, bedding and medication. Founded in 1991, the company operates 453 stores across the UK, as wel ...

and The Range. The first stage of the modern town centre regeneration programme was completed in 2004, with a new car park being constructed between the local library and health centre and with the formation of a taxi rank adjacent to the library also a water fountain was put on the ground of Wishaw Library which looks like the old one which used to stand near the former Wishaw Health Centre. A piece of eyesore land between Station Road and Alexander Street (the railway station and sports centre) was converted into a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

facility, as part of this programme. This has led to a decrease in railway parking and traffic next to the station. The facility was later increased in size as it was too small. In late 2011, Kitchener Street was converted from a small neighbourhood to a main road, routing traffic away from the Main Street to Kenilworth Avenue, where a new roundabout was built. Lammermore Terrace, which was previously one-way, was converted into a two-way street. In 2014 work on a new modern housing estate called Ravenwood began on the site of the old Lammermoor Primary school, which was renamed Calderbridge and moved to a new building 600m away. The neighbourhood was finished in 2016 and now consists of around 50 houses.

Geography and climate

Locale

Wishaw lies within

, the fourth largest local authority in Scotland by population. The town is located in the relatively level

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the Demographics of Scotland, area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in ...

area; while there are valleys and high moors, there are no hills or summits over 1,640 feet. The defined "locality" of Wishaw had a population of 30,290 in 2016, the 26th largest such place in the country. Along with its neighbours of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

and

it had been considered to form part of the

Greater Glasgow Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

, which as of 2019 had a population of around 1,670,000 (around a third of Scotland's total); however, since 2016 Wishaw, Motherwell and Bellshill have been officially considered separate from the Glasgow '

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

' due to small gaps in the chain of occupied postcodes used to determine a grouping, and instead form their own settlement which itself has the fifth largest population in Scotland at 124,000.

Climate

Wishaw experiences mild summers and cool winters, with the most rainfall coming between October and March. Snow, while not unheard of during winters, is not the norm. Most winters in Wishaw see around 10–20 days of snow. The warmest month on average is July, with an average daily temperature of 14.7 °C, while the coldest is January with an average daily temperature of 2.3 °C. Wishaw lies on two rivers, the Clyde running near Overton and Netherton and its tributary the

, further north near Coltness and Newmains.

Public services and religion

Education

Coltness High School from the air - geograph

At present there are three high schools in the area: Clyde Valley High School in Overtown, and Coltness High School and

St Aidan's High School St Aidan's High School (simply referred to as St Aidan's) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, secondary school in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell. It was rated 'good' by Education ...

, both in Coltness. St. Aidan's High School serves not only Catholic pupils from Wishaw, but nearby towns such as Newmains, Shotts and Carluke. St. Aidans, therefore has the highest number of pupils at around 1,100. Primary schools in Wishaw include Calderbridge, St. Thomas', Thornlie, St. Aidan's, Cambusnethan, St. Ignatius' and Wishaw Academy (with both the latter two schools being a joint campus). The town does not have a university or college at present, with the nearest college being

Motherwell College New College Lanarkshire Motherwell Campus is a further education college located in the Ravenscraig area of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. An independent institution from 1967, in 2013 it merged with Cumbernauld College to form New Co ...

, based in

Ravenscraig Ravenscraig is a housing development and historic village located in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, north-east of central Motherwell. Ravenscraig was formerly the site of Ravenscraig steelworks; once the largest hot strip steel mill in western E ...

, and the

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland (), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Blantyre, Dumfries and Ayr, as well as a campus in London, England. T ...

(formerly Bell College of Technology) in

being the nearest university.

Health

The town is served by

, in the

Craigneuk Craigneuk is a suburb of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The original village of Craigneuk was located in the area where Meadowhead Road meets the A721 at Craigneuk Street. It was originally part of Dalziel parish, along with the other ru ...

area. It was formerly known as Wishaw General Hospital and is still referred to as such by many local people today. It serves as an A&E to nearby settlements such as

, Newhouse and

Shotts Shotts is a small town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow () and Edinburgh (). The town has a population of about 8,840. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertra ...

. It is one of three acute hospitals in Lanarkshire, the others being

Monklands Hospital University Hospital Monklands is a district general hospital in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves a population of approximately 260,000 people of North and South Lanarkshire council areas and is managed by NHS Lanarkshire. Histor ...

in Airdrie and Hairmyres Hospital in

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...

. Also based in the town, on the site of the old town library in Kenilworth Avenue, is the Houldsworth Centre which houses a café, public toilet, Wishaw library and Wishaw Health Centre. The centre opened in April 2015 along with a multi-storey car park.

Religion

Wishaw has many churches in it of various kinds and denominations. There are several

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

congregations. Serving principally the town centre are Wishaw Old Parish Church, the oldest building in Wishaw with the Town Clock in the steeple as the town's principal landmark, and

South Wishaw Parish Church South Wishaw Parish Church is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, serving the southern area of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire (stretching from the Main Street down to the banks of the River Clyde - including Pather Pather is a suburb of Wis ...

, on the outskirts of the town centre. The Old Parish Church was built 1840 in the Gothic Venetian style, however declining attendance resulted in the church being closed at the end of 2024. Serving the outlying parts of Wishaw are – Cambusnethan North Parish Church, Cambusnethan Old and Morningside Parish Church, Craigneuk and Belhaven Church, Coltness Memorial Church (Newmains) and St. Mark's Church (Coltness). The Church of Scotland "charges" have been reduced in recent years through the union of Thornlie and Chalmers Churches to form South Wishaw Parish Church. The town also has a United Free Church, an Episcopal Church dedicated to St. Andrew, a Baptist church (both in Belhaven Terrace), a Gospel Hall (Ebenezer Gospel Hall), a Methodist church (now known as Netherton Methodist Church) and a Christian Outreach Centre. There are five Roman Catholic Churches:

St. Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the So ...

(Young Street), St. Aidan's (Coltness), St. Thomas' (Pather), St. Brigid's (Newmains) and St. Patrick's (Shieldmuir). St. Ignatius Church is the only Category A listed building in Wishaw Town Centre, as the Gothic-revivial style church was primarily designed by George Goldie, built in 1865. The town has a large

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

population and strong Catholic links. These Catholics are mainly descended from the

Irish Catholics Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...

who fled the

Famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

to settle in and around Glasgow, with many coming to Lanarkshire in particular. Today, the descendants of these immigrants constitute most of the Catholics in the town but there are also Catholics who are from other ethnicities, in particular those from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

communities in Scotland. Some Catholics are even ethnically Scottish.

Governance and politics

Wishaw is represented by several tiers of elected government.

Council, the unitary local authority for Wishaw, is based at

, and is the executive,

deliberative Deliberative may refer to: *Deliberative agent *Deliberative assembly *Deliberative Council of Princes and Ministers *Deliberative democracy *Deliberative mood *Deliberative opinion poll *Deliberative planning *Deliberative process privilege *Deli ...

and

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

body responsible for

local governance Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. The

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

is responsible for devolved matters such as

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

and

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

, while reserved matters are dealt with by the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. The Motherwell and Wishaw constituency is represented in the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

Pamela Nash Pamela Ann Catherine Nash (born 24 June 1984) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke since 2024. She previously served as Chief Executive of Scotland in Union, ...

MP (Labour). In the

, the constituency is represented by

Clare Adamson Clare Anne Adamson (née Pickering; born 1 August 1967) is a Scottish politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Motherwell and Wishaw since 2016. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was previousl ...

(SNP). In addition to this, Wishaw is represented by seven regional MSPs from the Central Scotland electoral region.

Sports and recreation

Facilities

There is no professional football team in Wishaw. Many of the town's residents are followers of

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and near-neighbours

. There is however a junior football team,

Wishaw Wishaw (; ; ) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the River Clyde, Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The town is part of the Motherwell and Wishaw (UK Parliament constituency), Motherwell and Wishaw c ...

, which plays its home games at Beltane Park, near to the town's sports centre. There is also a large juvenile football club, Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers, who have many registered young players, playing football in age groups from Under 6s to Under 21s. Wishaw has a King George's Field in memorial to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

, next to the town's hospital. This small park has two full-sized football pitches as well as a swing park and play area. To the northwest of the town, there is a large

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, the Wishaw Golf Club, founded in 1894 and the course designed in 1935 by James Braid. The town's municipal sports centre also includes two small swimming pools, badminton and martial arts facilities and gymnastic equipment. A full-length running track is also on site along with a full-sized football pitch. Long jump pits and throwing cages are also issued within the track. There are also 5-a-side astroturf pitches for football, where many local games are held. Elsewhere, all-weather pitches and a children's play area behind Morrison's have been closed for a new shared campus primary school by St. Ignatius Primary and Wishaw Academy Primary. The local council has made no announcement on whether these facilities will be replaced. The town previously had a large swimming pool complete with a large spectator grandstand, an underwater viewpoint and diving facilities (with boards at 1.5m, 3m and 5m). This was closed during the late 1990s to make way for a much smaller facility on the site of the town's sports centre. The reason given for this decision was the cost of maintaining such a facility for a town as small as Wishaw. Over the years it had played host to many regional swimming events and also benefited from being within walking distance of the two main secondary schools in the area as well as a host of primary schools.

also has a heat pool for specialist physio treatment.

Town park

Wishaw also has a town park named after

, Belhaven Park. It has a swing park with plenty of climbing frames and slides, and plenty of benches. There is a pathway at the back of the park which leads through the trees and into a council estate. In March 2011, the parks play-area underwent a significant upgrade.

Transport

Railway

Wishaw railway station on the

Argyle line The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Arg ...

(running from

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

and

Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs r ...

Milngavie Milngavie ( ; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milngavie is a commuter t ...

and

Dalmuir Dalmuir (; ) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots language, Scots derivation of the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic meaning Big Field. ...

). A mainly half hourly Mon-Sat service & hourly late evening and all day on Sundays is provided by

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail (), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise as an operator of las ...

which connects Wishaw to places such as: *

Carluke Carluke (; ) is a town that lies in the heart of the Lanarkshire countryside in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, northwest of Lanark and southeast of Wishaw. Carluke is largely a commuter town, with a variety of small stores and supermarkets a ...

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

Uddingston Uddingston (, ) is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city. Geography and boundaries Uddingston is located to t ...

* Glasgow Central Wishaw also has a second station,

Shieldmuir railway station Shieldmuir railway station is a railway station in the Craigneuk suburb of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, and lies on the West Coast Main Line, although it is not served by mainline services – local commuter services from the station ar ...

, serving the Craigneuk area of the town. There is also a few services to

Edinburgh Waverley Edinburgh Waverley (also known simply as Edinburgh; ) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East C ...

which run Mon-Sat. Some extra peak services are provided Mon-Fri to/from Carstairs and Anderston via Glasgow Central Low Level. Trains on the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

pass through the town but no passenger service trains stop there, as the main

Wishaw South railway station Wishaw South was one of two stations that served the town of Wishaw in Scotland between 1841 and 1958, the other station being Wishaw Central. It was on the Caledonian Main Line, which was later known as the West Coast Main Line. History Th ...

on the line closed in 1958.

Roads

Wishaw is on the A71, Edinburgh,

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

and

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 ...

road which links the town to the M74 as well as the A73 which links the town with the

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

regions and the M8. Following a campaign by local politicians, the area is now well signposted from the nearby M8 and M74 motorways. This move was considered necessary as although the town is not considered a principal destination from either of these roads and therefore not included as standard on the signage, it is now the home to the main hospital for an area stretching right down the M74 corridor almost to the English border approximately 75 miles (120 km) away.

Airport

The nearest airport to Wishaw is

Glasgow Airport Glasgow Airport, also known as Glasgow International Airport () and formerly Abbotsinch Airport, is an international airport located in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, west of Glasgow city centre. In 2019 it handled 8.84 million passe ...

at 20 miles (32 km) distant, though at 26 miles (42 km)

Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Airport is an international airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located west of the city centre, just off the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. It is owned and oper ...

is not much further. Connections to both airports are only via the cities they serve as no direct public transport links are available.

Wishawhill

Wishawhill () is a small neighbourhood village in Wishaw. It is located to the north of the town. The suburb can be entered by Heathery Road or Cleland Road, with both roads leading onto the A721 or Glasgow Road running towards Wishaw Main Street. Wishawhill is situated within walking distance from the major places in the town such as the Main Street, the large

Tesco Extra Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

superstore and

Wishaw General Hospital University Hospital Wishaw (formerly known as Wishaw General Hospital) is a district general hospital in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, situated between the areas of Craigneuk to the north and Netherton, North Lanarkshire, Netherton to the south. ...

. There is also the large

located to the north of the area. Virtually all of Wishawhill is low density residential housing and flats, with only a Community Center and the Wishaw Ex-Servicemen's Club being the non-residential buildings in the area. Due to its close proximity with Wishaw Main Street, there is only one local newsagent shop. The suburb also has a swing park and a football pitch. The area used to be host to one

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Primary School, St Matthew's, located on Pentland Road, until it was shut down in June 2010 due to councillors voting against their constituents wishes. This happened despite a large campaign by local residents to keep the school open. It is now being demolished due to repeated vandalism. Saint Thomas' in

Pather Pather is a suburb of Wishaw, Scotland and was initially built as a council estate. It is situated around ½ miles (0.8 km) from the town centre. Pather can be entered by vehicle from Caledonian Road into either Lomond Drive or Tarbert Av ...

is now the nearest Roman Catholic school to Wishawhill. The

Argyle Line The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Arg ...

next to Campsie Road passes through the suburb, with passenger services located at Wishaw railway station a mile away. Buses such as

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

. The rectangular road that run through the whole of Wishawhill (Campsie Road, Pentland Road, Grampian Road and Heathery Road) links to all the streets.

People

Notable people from Wishaw include: * Thomas Canfield Pomphrey, architect, was born here in 1881. *

The Alexander Brothers The Alexander Brothers were an easy-listening folk-music duo from Scotland, who had a long career beginning in the 1950s. Career Thomas Armit "Tom" Alexander (25 June 1934 – 9 January 2020) and John "Jack" Armit Alexander (11 November 1935 ...

, musicians and entertainers *

Joe Baker Joseph Henry Baker (17 August 1940 – 6 October 2003) was an England international footballer who played at club level for Hibernian, Torino, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Raith Rovers. At the age of 26 he achieved the feat ...

, footballer *

Andrew Barrowman Andrew Barrowman (born 27 November 1984) is a Scottish retired professional footballer, who played as a striker. A journeyman, Barrowman played for 15 different sides during his career, including Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Ross County and ...

, footballer *

John Cleland John Cleland (24 September 1709 – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist best known for his fictional '' Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'', whose eroticism led to his arrest. James Boswell called him "a sly, old malcont ...

, motor racing champion * Enrico Cocozza, underground filmmaker *

Colin Cramb Colin Cramb (born 23 June 1974 in Lanark) is a Scottish former professional footballer and coach who played as a forward from 1991 and 2009. He notably played for Hamilton Academical, Doncaster Rovers, Bristol City and Stirling Albion. Cramb ...

, footballer * Sir Samuel Curran, physicist, inventor of the

scintillation counter A scintillation counter is an instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation by using the Electron excitation, excitation effect of incident radiation on a Scintillation (physics), scintillating material, and detecting the resultant li ...

, and founder of

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

* Alan Fisher, journalist *

Tommy Gemmell Thomas Gemmell (16 October 1943 – 2 March 2017) was a Scottish football player and manager. Although right-footed, he excelled as a left-sided fullback and had powerful shooting ability. Gemmell is best known as one of the Celtic side who w ...

, footballer *

Jim Graham James McMillan Nielson Graham (August 26, 1945 – June 11, 2017) was a Scottish-born American politician and a member of the Council of the District of Columbia. As a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat he represented Ward One of the Di ...

, Washington, D.C. politician * Roy Henderson, footballer *

John Higgins John Higgins (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 33 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the List of snooker players by num ...

, world snooker champion * Paul Higgins, actor and writer *

Derek Holmes Derek Holmes (born 18 October 1978) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played for Heart of Midlothian, Cowdenbeath, Raith Rovers, Ross County, AFC Bournemouth, Carlisle United, Rotherham United, St Johnstone, Queen of the Sout ...

, footballer *

The Jolt The Jolt were a Scottish band formed in Wishaw, Scotland in September 1976. History At the time, Robbie Collins and Jim Doak were clerks in the civil service and Iain Shedden was a music journalist for a local paper. They had known each oth ...

, 1970s pop group * Lewis Macleod, footballer *

John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...

, biographer and novelist *

Stan McEwan Stanley McEwan (born 8 June 1957) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He spent eight years at Blackpool in the 1970s and 1980s, making over 200 Football League appearances for the club. He also played for four other professional clubs ...

, footballer * Marie McLaughlin, opera singer *

Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. Miller was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, becoming a fashion and fine-art pho ...

, footballer *

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

, politician *

Deborah Orr Deborah Jane Orr (23 September 1962 – 19 October 2019) was a British journalist who worked for ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'' and other publications. Early life and education Orr was born on 23 September 1962 to Winifred "Win" and John ...

, journalist and columnist * Paul Quinn, footballer * Charles Reid (photographer) Victorian Photographer * Gordon Reid, actor *

Anne Sharp Anne Sharp (24 October 1916 – 25 August 2011) was a Scottish coloratura soprano particularly associated with the operas of Benjamin Britten. Background and education Anne Smellie Graham Sharp was born in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, the eighth an ...

, opera singer * Saint Phnx, musical group * Bill Scott, rugby player * Alison Turriff, musician * Frank S. Walsh, scientist * Alex Wilson, footballer *

Thomas Winning Thomas Joseph Winning (3 June 1925 – 17 June 2001) was a Scottish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Glasgow from 1974 and President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland from 1985 until his death. Winning wa ...

, archbishop and cardinal *

Nicholas McDonald Nicholas "Nicky" McDonald (born 23 November 1996) is a Scottish singer–songwriter and recording artist. He was the runner-up of the The X Factor (UK series 10), tenth series of ''The X Factor (UK), The X Factor'' in 2013. After the show, he ...

, Singer and runner-up of ITV's ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' *

Kieran Tierney Kieran Tierney (born 5 June 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Scotland national team. Tierney came through the Celtic youth system and made his first-team debut in ...

, footballer for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and the Scotland national team

References

External links

Wishaw High School Facebook page

Wishaw High School Remembered – Website under construction
*

* ttps://movingimage.nls.uk/film/6900 Scenes at West CrossEnrico Cocozza interviews local people. *
Scenes at West Cross
Compilation of views around West Cross in Wishaw. {{authority control Towns in North Lanarkshire Burghs