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    Shire Extra for lanarkshire Shire Extra Across Lanarkshire

Wilsontown – Iron Gates

Background

In the hamlet of Wilsontown (near Forth) is an area of land that once had iron works and terraced houses for its workers. The last of the dwellings were raised to the ground in the 1950’s, with the exception of a row of houses at The Pleasance and the remains of what was the village store. The community was inhabited by around 2000 people, whose housing was tied to the iron works and their employers ensured that they could only spend their earnings in the village store, with a voucher scheme that was known as the Truck System. When the iron works closed, most of the inhabitants moved to Forth or other neighbouring villages.


The gateway into the former village is at what used to be an overbridge for the Auchengray to Wilsontown and Kingshill railway line. Two split gates depict the iron works, terraced houses, furnaces and wagons. The creators of the gates were Barry Hearse and P. Johnson and Co.

On one of the walls of the bridge are old photgraphs of the streets, houses and ironworks of the village.

The village was named after the Wilson brothers (William, Robert and John), who lived in the nearby Cleugh Farm. On discovering iron ore in the area, they founded the Ironworks in 1779 and built the community for their workers on around 4500 acres of land. For more information on the history of Wilsontown, click HERE.


The land is now mostly forested and managed by Forestry Scotland, albeit with a guided pathway and exhibits to show the history of the community.

To see more works by Barry Hearse click HERE.

To see more works by P. Johnson & Co click HERE.

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