Product Code Database
Wanlockhead is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, nestling in the Lowther Hills and south of Leadhills at the head of the Mennock Pass, which forms part of the Southern Uplands. It is Scotland's highest village, the village centre being at an elevation of around above sea level. Some sources, including VisitScotland, cite an altitude of but the highest house in the village has been measured at .
The village can be accessed via the B797, which connects it to the A76 near Sanquhar and the A74(M) motorway at Abington.
Lead, zinc, copper and silver were mined nearby, as well as some of the world's purest gold at 22.8 carats, which was used to make the Scottish Crown. Early gold miners included Cornelius de Vos, George Bowes, and Bevis Bulmer. Wanlockhead became known as "God's treasure house" from the richness of its mineral resources. Despite a branch railway (see Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway), also the highest in Scotland, which served the village from 1901 to 1939, lead mining declined in the 20th century and finished in the 1950s. From 1850 the Glasgow and South Western Railway had provided sidings at Mennock Lye Goods Depot for the use of the Wanlockhead and Leadhills mines.
The village had a curling club which was formed in 1777 and there were also quoits, bowling clubs, a drama group and a silver band which had instruments purchased for them by the Duke of Buccleuch.
William Symington was from Leadhills, but lived and worked in Wanlockhead. His fame lies in the fact that he designed the engine used to power the world's first steamboat. This boat was successfully tested on Dalswinton Loch near Ellisland on 14 October 1788. Dalswinton was the home of Robert Burns's landlord, Patrick Miller.
Burns also visited Wanlockhead in January 1792 to explore the lead mines. He was accompanied by Maria Riddell, the sister of Robert Riddell of Friar's Carse. They breakfasted at Sanquhar and then took a post chaise to the mines. They went a considerable distance into the mines, braving the dark, wet and cramped conditions at first; however they had to turn back as Burns found the poor air very distressing. Burns did not record this visit, but Maria included the details in a letter.
Wanlockhead is on the Southern Upland Way, a walking trail that traditionally starts at Portpatrick on the west coast, in Dumfries & Galloway, and finishes some away at Cockburnspath on the east coast, in the Scottish Borders.
The village is also the home of the highest pub in Scotland, the Wanlockhead Inn, which opened in 2003; an earlier pub on a track rising from the other side of the main road through the village was considerably higher, but closed in the late 1990s.
The village is the setting for the BBC television drama series Hope Springs.
The school housed the library at first, but as the number of books increased, it became necessary in 1787 to move the library to a cottage given for this express purpose by the mine overseers. However the cottage was a small one and it was found to be necessary to construct a larger building. The number of books purchased through subscription eventually rose to over 2,000 and in 1851 a new library was built and survives to this day. In 1974 the Wanlockhead Museum Trust took over the running of the library. (2025). 9781349652303 ISBN 9781349652303
The Miners' Library became a Recognised Collection of National Significance in October 2007.
The beam engine allowed miners to continue working in the Straitsteps mine, and assuming that there were two strokes of the beam per minute, this engine would have been able to lift around and requiring little attention it would have been left to do this twenty-four hours a day. The wooden bucket was fed from a cistern above and once the weight of water was greater than the water above the pump piston the beam was lifted, carrying water from up to below ground into a wood lined culvert which carried it off to the nearby burn. Periodically the weight of the piston was adjusted so that it remained heavier than the empty bucket, ensuring that the beam fell to start the cycle again.
The Secretary of State for Scotland in 1972 took on the guardianship of the beam engine, making it Scotland's third Industrial Monument. Historic Scotland owns and maintains the engine. A working model of the engine is located in the Museum of Scottish Lead Mining.
Since the 1920s skiing in the Wanlockhead area has been organised intermittently by a succession of local residents as well as several non-for-profit sports clubs. Lowther Hill, above the village, is home to the only ski area in the south of Scotland, and Scotland's only community-owned ski centre. Operated by Lowther Hills Ski Club, the ski centre runs three ski lifts above the villages of Leadhills and Wanlockhead for beginners and intermediate skiers.
|
|
