Probus club welcomed visitor

Jan 16 2013 by Kenny Smith, Rutherglen Reformer

Cambuslang Probus Club members learned about an old Glasgow burn last week.

President Norman Duguid welcomed members to the meeting in Kirkhill Bowling Club clubhouse and wished everyone a happyand prosperous new year.

President Norman welcomed Murray Blair, retired Army officer and historian, to talk on the Molendinar’,the burn that had flowed through old Glasgow.

Murray gave a most informative and entertaining talk on the Molendinar, tracing its route from source to the Clyde, stopping off at various points en route to highlight particular events and when they had taken place.

His talk was accompanied by assorted projected images of maps, drawings, paintings and photographs illustrating the points being made.

In the 6th century AD, when St Mungo arrived from Ireland, he built his church near the Molendinar on the site where Glasgow Cathedral now stands. Molendinar comes from Gaelic, meaning ‘beside the hill with the brown top’, the hill referred to being the site of the Necropolis across the burn from the Cathedral.

The Molendinar starts its life in Frankfield, east of Hogganfield loch, an area now developed as a housing estate.

It flows past the old University playing fields into Hogganfield loch at the east end before discharging at the west end and wandering through Provanmill and New Blackhill.

For the millennium in 2000 AD, a major redevelopment was carried outaffecting the Molendinar and the Forth and Clyde canal.

The Bridge of Sighs was built in 1832 above the dam and the burn culverted in 1860, now flowing beneath Wishart Street before re-emerging on its way to the Clyde on the south side of Duke Street.

Murray emphasised that water, and the power of water, was a precious resource; riparian business neighbours fought, sometimes through the courts, over rights to water and the times when sluices and penstocks could be opened and closed to control the water supply to where it was needed.

Iain Inglisin giving his vote of thanks, confessed to having never heard of the Molendinar before recently.

President Norman closed the meeting and reminded members that the next meeting would be on Thursday February 14 when the speaker will be David Carson talking on The Clydebank Blitz.