Lesmahagow

Lesmahagow
Scottish Gaelic: Lios MoChuda
Scots: Lismahagie or The Gow

Lesmahagow Old Parish Church, August 2011
Lesmahagow
 Lesmahagow shown within South Lanarkshire
Population 3,685 [1]
OS grid referenceNS8139
    Edinburgh  35.8 miles (57.6 km) 
    London  324 miles (521 km) 
Council areaSouth Lanarkshire
Lieutenancy areaLanarkshire
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LANARK
Postcode district ML11
Dialling code 01555
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentEast Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
Scottish ParliamentClydesdale
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 55°38′17″N 3°53′13″W / 55.638°N 3.887°W / 55.638; -3.887

Lesmahagow ( listen ; Scots: Lismahagie[2] or Lesmahagae,[3] Scottish Gaelic: Lios MoChuda) is a small town on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. Lesmahagow was also a Civil Parish.[4]

It is also known as Abbey Green or the Gow.

Etymology

The name means "Enclosure (meaning a walled area, like a monastery or fort) of St Machutus". The saint was born in Wales and may originally have been known as "Mahagw" prior to emigrating to Brittany where he became known by the Latinised form of the name and also as "St Malo". It is also possible that the first syllable may mean "garden" rather than "monastery", although Mac an Tailleir (2003) believes the former was altered from the latter in Gaelic.[5][6]

Religion

The town has two Church of Scotland congregations, namely Lesmahagow Old Parish Church and Abbeygreen Church. There is also an Evangelical Hall on the main street and the Roman Catholic residents are served by Our Lady and St John's in the neighbouring village of Blackwood, 3 miles (5 km) away.

Lesmahagow Priory, founded by Benedictine monks in 1144, no longer stands but its foundations were excavated in 1978 and can be seen next to the Old Parish Church off Church Square.

The Scottish branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness operates from Lesmahagow.

Twin towns

Clydesdale International Twinning Association (CITA) was set up in 1975 to promote the benefits of twinning to all sections of the local community. Lesmahagow falls under the Clydesdale community and consequently became linked to Hemmingen in Lower Saxony, Germany, and Yvetot, in Normandy, France.

Highland Games

The Highland Games are held annually with Pipe Bands competing in Grades 1 through 4. There are also events for Highland dancing, weight over the bar, tossing the caber and archery.

Development Trust

Lesmahagow Development Trust (LDT) was formed on 28 August 2009.It is an independent, not-for-profit company registered as a charity in Scotland and the UK, The overriding objective of LDT is funding and implementing projects to enhance the facilities and environment of the village of Lesmahagow.

Notable residents

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lesmahagow.
  1. "Comparative Population Profile: Lesmahagow Locality, Scotland". 2001 Scottish Census. General Register Office for Scotland. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  2. Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots
  3. The Online Scots Dictionary
  4. The Imperial gazetteer of Scotland. 1854. Vol.II (GORDON-ZETLAND) by Rev. John Marius Wilson. pp.324-325 https://archive.org/stream/imperialgazettee02wilsuoft#page/324/mode/2up
  5. "Chapter 1 - Derivation of Name.." lesmahagow.com. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  6. Iain Mac an Tailleir. "Placenames" (PDF). Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  7. Alexander Muir at The Canadian Encyclopedia
  8. Jim Holton at Scottish Football Association website
  9. http://www.carlukehistory.co.uk/stories/story.php?page=156
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