Elvanfoot

Last updated

Elvanfoot
Motorway Bridge over the River Clyde - geograph.org.uk - 946040.jpg
View of A74(M) crossing the River Clyde near Elvanfoot
South Lanarkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Elvanfoot
Location within South Lanarkshire
OS grid reference NS953171
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BIGGAR
Postcode district ML12
Dialling code 01864
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°26′13″N3°39′20″W / 55.437°N 3.6555°W / 55.437; -3.6555 Coordinates: 55°26′13″N3°39′20″W / 55.437°N 3.6555°W / 55.437; -3.6555
View of Elvanfoot church. Church in Elvanfoot - geograph.org.uk - 406093.jpg
View of Elvanfoot church.

Elvanfoot is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Contents

Elvanfoot is located at the confluence of the River Clyde and Elvan Water. [1] The Clyde is crossed by a pedestrian suspension bridge that has been closed since 2007 for want of repair. [2] The unused church is on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland, [3] as are the stables of Newton House, once home to the Scottish judge Alexander Irving, Lord Newton. [4] [5]

Etymology

The name 'Elvan' includes the element *al-, which occurs in river names in Roman Britain and continental Europe. A number of meanings have been suggested, including 'bright, shining, white', 'sparkling, speckled' and 'holy' amongst others. Almost all attestations of the root occur with the Proto-Indo-European suffix -*awe- and "root-determinative -*n- or participial -*ant-", giving the proto-form *al-au-n-. [6]

Andrew Breeze has suggested that the name is derived from Cumbric *halẹ:n 'salt', cognate with Welsh halen, which is found in a number of Welsh river names. As Elvan Water passes through a mining area, Breeze suggests that there may be high levels of salt in the river. The loss of initial /h/ could be explained as a result of the name's transmission via Gaelic. [7] [8]

Transport

Elvanfoot is at the junction of the A702 and B7040 roads and 1+12 miles (2.4 km) south from junction 14 of the M74 motorway. Until 1965 it was served by Elvanfoot railway station on the West Coast Main Line. The village is also served by Stagecoach West Scotland service 102 from Edinburgh to Dumfries which operates 1 bus each day in each direction, There used to be 2 buses per day but were cut due to Council funding being reduced.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittonic languages</span> Celtic subfamily including Welsh, Cornish, Breton and Cumbric

The Brittoniclanguages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family; the other is Goidelic. It comprises the extant languages Breton, Cornish, and Welsh. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning Ancient Britons as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avon Water</span> River in United Kingdom, Scotland

Avon Water, also known locally as the River Avon, is a 24-mile-long (39 km) river in Scotland, and a tributary of the River Clyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Tweed</span> River in the Scottish Borders and northern England

The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, Scots: Watter o Tweid, Welsh: Tuedd), is a river 97 miles (156 km) long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers of Britain and the only river in England where an Environment Agency rod licence is not required for angling. The river generates a large income for the local borders region, attracting anglers from all around the world.

Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland, northern Lancashire in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands, alongside the Kingdom of Elmet in modern day Yorkshire. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. Place name evidence suggests Cumbric may also have been spoken as far south as Pendle and the Yorkshire Dales. The prevailing view is that it became extinct in the 12th century, after the incorporation of the semi-independent Kingdom of Strathclyde into the Kingdom of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Dee, Galloway</span> River in Scotland

The River Dee, in south-west Scotland, flows from its source in Loch Dee amongst the Galloway Hills, firstly to Clatteringshaws Loch, then into Loch Ken, where it joins the Water of Ken. From there, the Dee flows 15 miles (24 km) southwards to Kirkcudbright, and into Kirkcudbright Bay to reach the Solway Firth. The distance is just over 38 miles (61 km) in total. Together with its tributaries, the Dee's total catchment area is over 400 square miles (1,000 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Aln</span> River in Northumberland, England

The River Aln runs through the county of Northumberland in England. It rises in Alnham in the Cheviot Hills and discharges into the North Sea at Alnmouth on the east coast of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dun</span> Type of ancient or medieval fort in Britain and Ireland

A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Kelvin</span> River in Scotland

The River Kelvin is a tributary of the River Clyde in northern and northeastern Glasgow, Scotland. It rises on the moor south east of the village of Banton, east of Kilsyth. At almost 22 miles (35 km) long, it initially flows south to Dullatur Bog where it falls into a man made trench and takes a ninety degree turn flowing west through Strathkelvin and along the northern boundary of the bog parallel with the Forth and Clyde Canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terregles</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Terregles is a village and civil parish near Dumfries, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the former county of Kirkcudbrightshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carstairs</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Carstairs is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located 5 miles east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs railway station, which is served by the Caledonian Sleeper to and from London Euston. Carstairs is best known as the location of the State Hospital. Carstairs is applied to the places Carstairs Village and the village of Carstairs Junction where the railway station is situated. The two places are two completely different villages divided by 1 mile of land, a parkland area and the railway line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Water</span>

The Douglas Water is a river in South Lanarkshire of south-central Scotland. It is a tributary of the River Clyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cummertrees</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Cummertrees is a coastal village and civil parish of Annandale in the historical county of Dumfriesshire in Dumfries and Galloway. It lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) inland, on the Pow Water to the northwest of Powfoot, 12 miles (19 km) from Dumfries and 3 miles (5 km) from Annan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celtic toponymy</span> Etymology of placenames derived from Celtic languages

Celtic toponymy is the study of place names wholly or partially of Celtic origin. These names are found throughout continental Europe, Britain, Ireland, Anatolia and, latterly, through various other parts of the globe not originally occupied by Celts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowther Hills</span> Geographical object in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK

The Lowther Hills, also sometimes known as the Lowthers, are an extensive area of hill country in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, though some sub-ranges of hills in this area also go under their own local names - see "Hillwalking" below. They form a roughly rhomboidal or lozenge shape on the map with the acute angles being to north and south. It has river valleys along its boundaries to north east (Clydesdale) and south west (Nithsdale) which carry the two largest arterial routes northwards into the west side of the Central Belt of Scotland. A string of small towns have long since developed along these routes. Most of the Lowther Hills lie in the Administrative County of Dumfries and Galloway, though part in the administrative county of South Lanarkshire moves into them around the village of Leadhills and the Daer Reservoir.

The Quair Water is a tributary of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Its name is related to Traquair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonjedward</span>

Bonjedward is a hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, two miles north of Jedburgh where the Jed Water joins the River Teviot.

Common Brittonic, also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, was a Celtic language spoken in Britain and Brittany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troqueer</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Troqueer is a former village and a parish in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway on the west side of the River Nith. The eastern-side was merged with Dumfries to the east in 1929, and today eastern Troqueer is a suburb of Dumfries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daer Water</span> River in Scotland

Daer Water is one of the streams located in the watershed region which surrounds the River Clyde in Scotland. It begins in the Lowther Hills about 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level and joins with Potrail Water near the Lanarkshire town of Elvanfoot at which point they become the River Clyde. The Daer Water flows through the Daer Reservoir which supplies water to the nearby towns of Lanarkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarras Water</span> River in the United Kingdom

Tarras Water is a river in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

References

  1. Gazetteer for Scotland
  2. "Elvanfoot Suspension Bridge, Elvanfoot". Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. "Elvanfoot Parish Church, Dumfries Road, Elvanfoot". Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. "Buildings At Risk register for Scotland - Newton House stables" . Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  5. "Groom's Vision of Britain - Newton House, Elvanfoot" . Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  6. James, Alan G. (2014). The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence (PDF). Vol. 2: Guide to the Elements. pp. 9–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2014.
  7. Breeze, Andrew (2002). "Brittonic Place-Names from South-West Scotland, Part 3: Vindogara, Elvan Water, 'Mondedamdereg', Troquhain and Tarelgin" (PDF). Transactions and Journal of Proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society: 108–109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015.
  8. James, Alan G. (2014). The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence (PDF). Vol. 2: Guide to the Elements. p. 195. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2014.