Wishaw

The area of what is now Wishaw once lay on important Roman roads that ran through the areas of the Clyde (Latin - Cluta) and South Calder Water. In fact, the current Main Street is based on a road built by the Romans.[12] Another such road ran close to Wishaw House.[13] The Roman fort at nearby Bothwellhaugh (now Strathclyde Park) means the area would have been vital for supplying soldiers fighting the native Caledonians in the Highlands. The exact dates of the Roman occupation range from the first Roman invasion around 70 AD, and the final retreat of Roman legions from Scotland around the year 210 AD. Wishaw was in the region of the Brittonic Celts of ancient Britain. It is likely that at this time the site of the modern town was covered by woodland, marshes and meadows. A small Celtic farming settlement may have existed in the area. Lanarkshire has been inhabited almost continuously since around 6500 BCE,[14] so it is possible that Wishaw could have been inhabited before the Roman arrival, but no such evidence has yet been found.

In the Early Middle Ages, where is now Wishaw fell under the rule of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, however no settlement was recorded. Strathclyde then unified with Alba around 1000 AD, forming modern Scotland. Due to its proximity to Glasgow and Lanark, it was most likely in the area of Cumbric speakers at some point.

Wishaw is not one of Scotland's medieval towns, but a settlement in the area dates back to the 12th century when a Christian monk named Nethan established a kirk dedicated to St. Michael by a bend (Gaelic camus) in the Clyde near what is now Netherton. The area then became known as the parish of Cambusnethan, and remained so until the Reformation. The site of the original church remains as a ruined burial ground,[15] including an impressive mausoleum to Lord Belhaven.[16] In 1303, a medieval document on the county of Lanark accounts "the farm of the vill of Weteshaw".[17] This is the earliest known use of a name similar to Wishaw. No archaeological evidence has yet to point to exact location of this medieval site or its remains. The village could have been abandoned due to the Black Death. The Cambusnethan/Wishaw area would have remained small in population, likely only totaling tens of people in farmsteads during the Middle Ages.

In a map of Lanarkshire[18] published in the 1500s, the names of areas such as Nothorton (Netherton), Camunethan (Cambusnethan), and Greenhead (Greenhead) all appear in the general location of Wishaw. In the modern day, these areas are all neighbourhoods of Wishaw.

In the 18th century agriculture in the area consisted mainly of growing oats although some wheat and pear trees were cultivated.[19] Members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church took up the favourable terms of the proprietor to enable them to establish a congregation in Wishaw in 1792.[20] The village itself was laid out in 1794, named Cambusnethan, and later renamed Wishawtown.[21]

In 1801 the population of Wishaw was about 400 and that of the whole parish only 1972.[22] In the 1830s Lord Belhaven set up a distillery in Wishaw.[23] Other nineteenth century industries included coal mining, iron and steel making, foundry work, railway-waggon building and fire-clay making.[24] Wishaw grew dramatically in the 1830s, with railways and gasworks coming to the town, many collieries opening during this time period. By the time the Caledonian Railway's main line came through Wishaw in 1848 it was a major mining centre fueling an important part of Scotland's industrial heartland. There were also factories for needle-work and tambouring, and confectionery.[25] On 4 September 1855, the town was incorporated with the villages of Coltness and Stewarton to form the Burgh of Wishaw, with a population of approximately 5,000. Four years later, in 1859, St.Ignatius Parish Church was established, and the church built on Young Street, where it remains to this day. In 1882 Groome recorded that there were 5 schools in Wishaw as well as others in nearby villages.[26] During the Irish Famine, many Irish refugees settled in Central Scotland and many came to Wishaw. The descendants of these Irish Catholics can be found today in Wishaw's large Catholic population. One notable visitor to Wishaw in the middle of the 19th century was the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin.[27] Chopin was entertained at Wishaw house and played there for the family, the Hamiltons of Belhaven.[28]

During World War I, 3,050 men from the Wishaw area were drafted into the British Armed Forces. Many of these men were sent to the Western Front to fight the German Imperial Army. Many local men would be killed in action, and many would win war medals as altogether over 100 medals were given to Wishaw men for their heroic actions. Again in World War II, Wishaw was vital to the British war effort as it was a hub for railways, coal mining and steelworks. American soldiers were present in Wishaw at some point during the war. The men from Wishaw who fought in WW2 mostly did so in Western Europe and in the North African Campaign.

As a result of its history as a steel manufacturing and mining community, Wishaw was also home to mining and industrial equipment manufacturers such as Anderson Boyes (now part of Long-Airdox) and Svedala, but both these businesses have since gone through changes leading to their movement away from these businesses and the Wishaw area. Former industrial employers in the area include many steelworks such as the former British Steel Corporation, Clyde Alloy, Bone Connell & Baxter, though most of these are now defunct due to the decline of the steel industry. Wishaw and its nearby neighbour of Motherwell were once the centre of steel manufacture in Scotland, as both towns were located either side of the former Ravenscraig steelworks which closed in 1992. The (now-defunct) local firm of R Y Pickering & Co Ltd (later Norbrit-Pickering) built railway rolling stock (especially wagons) and many tramcars for tram systems throughout the UK. One of its last tramcar orders was for 10 double-decker trams for Aberdeen Corporation Tramways in 1949. In November 1996, the world's worst recorded outbreak of E. coli O157 occurred in the town, in which 21 people died and around 200 were infected.

A roundabout in Wishaw, 2014

The town has recovered from the loss of industry such as steelworks and coal mines which closed mainly closed down in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the late 1990s and 2000s were a recovery period of the town, as high unemployment and crime became an issue. However, in the 2010s, Wishaw's economy recovered and began growing again, just as Scotland's economy did. The 2010s were a time of great change for Wishaw, mostly for the better. The town is now looking ahead to better things in the future, after coming out of a difficult patch in its history. In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Wishaw along with its neighbour Motherwell, voted 52% in favour of Scottish independence, meanwhile 48% voted against independence.[29] On both the 2015 and 2017 general election, Wishaw and Motherwell voted for SNP.[30]

Throughout the 2010s, Wishaw underwent various regeneration efforts and new developments. On 15 April 2012, roadworks began in the town centre.[31] These roadworks finished in 2013. The roadworks changed the layout of most areas of the Main Street. In 2014, construction on a new housing estate in Coltness began. The construction was on behalf of Barratt Homes, and included new large homes mainly for families. The new area/development became known as Ravenwood. This year also marked the beginning of the construction of the new Holdsworth Centre and its adjacent car-park. The building opened in August 2015. In 2017, a JD Sports was built in the area near several other retail stores, such as McDonald's, Aldi and Home Bargains. This year also saw the renovation of the McDonald's, which occurred in May 2017.

These days, North Lanarkshire Council suggest that the majority of the biggest employers in the town are supermarkets, with the exceptions of Royal Mail, which has its main Scottish distribution centre at Shieldmuir and the NHS as a result of University Hospital Wishaw. There are many service industry businesses located in the town's industrial areas, though none with more than a few hundred employees.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wishaw has been a key area in the British government's response, due to University Hospital Wishaw being a major reigonal hospital.

Wishaw countryside

The first stage of the modern town centre regeneration programme was completed in 2004, with a new car park being constructed between the local library and health centre and with the formation of a taxi rank adjacent to the library also a water fountain was put on the ground of Wishaw Library which looks like the old one which used to stand near the former Wishaw Health Centre.

A piece of eyesore land between Station Road and Alexander Street (the railway station and sports centre) was converted into a park and ride facility, as part of this programme. This has led to a decrease in railway parking and traffic next to the station. The facility was later increased in size as it was too small.

In late 2011, Kitchener Street was converted from a small neighbourhood to a main road, routing traffic away from the Main Street to Kenilworth Avenue, where a new roundabout was built. Lammermore Terrace, which was previously one-way, was converted into a two-way street.

In 2014 work on a new modern housing estate called Ravenwood began on the site of the old Lammermuir school, which became was renamed Calderbridge and moved to a new building 600m away. The neighbourhood was finished in 2016 and now consists of around 50 houses.

The Motherwell and Wishaw constituency is represented in the UK Parliament by Marion Fellows MP (SNP).

In the Scottish Parliament, the constituency is represented by Clare Adamson (SNP).

In addition to this, Wishaw is represented by seven regional MSPs from the Central Scotland electoral region.[34] They are: Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, SNP), Jamie Hepburn (SNP), Christina McKelvie (SNP), Margaret Mitchell (Scottish Conservative Party), Alex Neil (SNP), Hugh O'Donnell (Scottish Liberal Democrats), and John Wilson (SNP).

North Lanarkshire has many councillors; currently, the Labour group is in control of the council and the leader of the council is Jim Logue, councillor for Airdrie Central.[35]

Wishaw has a very large Mecca Bingo hall in Kirk Road. In recent years, the town has turned into a nightspot when it comes to pubs and clubs that are on offer. The Commercial Hotel has a nightclub and also a restaurant, bar and hotel, with rooms and accommodation for overnight stay. Pubs include: Girdwood's', a well established and long running live music venue https://girdwoods.co.uk/', the Cross Keys, the Waverley ' and the Yard The Westend and The Corner which shut down in 2012 has being replaced with the bar-restaurant Corrigans. On Stewarton Street, near the town centre, there is an Irish pub named The Cross Keys Inn. The pub regularly shows Celtic games, as the majority of its customers are supporters of the club.

Wishaw is not short of eating establishments, from small local cafes to international global chains such as McDonald's. As well as the Commercial, the town is home to a Wetherspoons restaurant, known as the Wishaw Malt, directly opposite the Mecca bingo. There is an Indian buffet restaurant, known as the Pink Turban, located in the Waterloo suburb. Wishaw has a McDonald's restaurant and a KFC restaurant (both located on Glasgow Road), which opened in 2004 and 1942 respectively. The grand opening of KFC was a joyous occasion with Frank Roy MP cutting the ribbon and also being the first person in Wishaw to sample a Zinger box meal. The main street also contains two national sandwich chains, Subway and Greggs. The town is also host to a modern Scottish restaurant called Artisan, which may have one of the largest ranges of whisky in Scotland. It also has large number of independent takeaway restaurants and cafes, most of which are located in the main street. The Cafe Shabbab is located in Newmains.

A Pizza Hut opened in 2017, located on Main Street from an old Blockbuster LLC and a Domino's opened in September 2018, in a previously abandoned shop on Kirk Road.

There is no professional football team in Wishaw. Many of the town's residents are followers of Rangers, Celtic and near-neighbours Motherwell. There is however a junior football team, Wishaw, which plays its home games at Beltane Park, near to the town's sports centre. There is also a large juvenile football club, Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers, who have many registered young players, playing football in age groups from Under 6s to Under 21s.

Wishaw has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, next to the town's hospital. This small park has two full-sized football pitches as well as a swing park and play area.

To the northwest of the town, there is a large golf course.

Wishaw Sports Centre from the air (top centre), during winter.

The town's municipal sports centre also includes two small swimming pools, badminton and martial arts facilities and gymnastic equipment. A full-length running track is also on site along with a full-sized football pitch. Long jump pits and throwing cages are also issued within the track. There are also 5-a-side astroturf pitches for football, where many local games are held. Elsewhere, all-weather pitches and a children's play area behind Morrison's have been closed for a new shared campus primary school by St. Ignatius Primary and Wishaw Academy Primary. The local council has made no announcement on whether these facilities will be replaced.

The town previously had a large swimming pool complete with a large spectator grandstand, an underwater viewpoint and diving facilities (with boards at 1.5m, 3m and 5m). This was closed during the late 1990s to make way for a much smaller facility on the site of the town's sports centre. The reason given for this decision was the cost of maintaining such a facility for a town as small as Wishaw. Over the years it had played host to many regional swimming events and also benefited from being within walking distance of the two main secondary schools in the area as well as a host of primary schools.

Wishaw General Hospital also has a heat pool for specialist physio treatment.

Wishaw also has a town park named after Lord Belhaven, Belhaven Park. It has a swing park with plenty of climbing frames and slides, and plenty of benches. There is a pathway at the back of the park which leads through the trees and into a council estate. In March 2011, the parks play-area underwent a significant upgrade.

The town has a comprehensive bus network operated by First Glasgow. Other smaller providers include: JMB Travel, Stuart's, Henderson Travel, Coakley and Whitelaw's. Destinations that can be reached by bus from the town include:

Historically, bus services in the Wishaw area were operated by a local company, Hutchison's. Their distinctive blue and cream buses finally gave way in 2007 to a friendly takeover by one time rival First.

Despite initially closing the Hutchison depot in Overtown upon the takeover, and moving all staff and vehicles to Blantyre, First have since launched new services in the Wishaw area, that has required the re-opening of the depot and indeed a major recruitment campaign.

Wishaw was formerly served by an intensive network of services provided by McKindless. This company was wound up in 2010 following a tax investigation. This had the potential to leave many parts of Lanarkshire without a decent public transport link as McKindless had forced many other operators to abandon routes to places such as Lanark and Shotts. However, SPT and Irvine's and First stepped in to replace most services almost straight away.

Wishaw railway station on the Argyle line (running from Lanark and Carstairs to Milngavie and Dalmuir).

A half-hourly service provided by Abellio ScotRail connects Wishaw to places such as:

Wishaw also has a second station, Shieldmuir railway station, serving the Craigneuk area of the town. There is also a twice daily service to Edinburgh Waverley.

Trains on the West Coast Main Line pass through the town at 115 mph, but no passenger service trains stop there, as the main Wishaw South railway station on the line closed in 1958.

Wishaw is on the A71, Edinburgh, Livingston and Kilmarnock road which links the town to the M74 as well as the A73 which links the town with the Borders regions and the M8.

Following a campaign by local politicians, the area is now well signposted from the nearby M8 and M74 motorways. This move was considered necessary as although the town is not considered a principal destination from either of these roads and therefore not included as standard on the signage, it is now the home to the main hospital for an area stretching right down the M74 corridor almost to the English border approximately 75 miles (120 km) away.

The nearest airport to Wishaw is Glasgow Airport at 20 miles (32 km) distant, though at 26 miles (42 km) Edinburgh Airport is not much further. Connections to both airports are only via the cities they serve as no direct public transport links are available.