Until 1457[9] Shotts was part of the Lanarkshire parish of Bothwell under the designation of "Bothwell-muir".[6][10]Groome related that the pre-reformation church of Bertramshotts is mentioned in a Papal bull in 1476.[11] The parish, one of the largest in Lowland Scotland at 10 miles long and 8 miles wide, was sometimes called Shotts[12] but officially it was known as Bertram Shotts.[13]
In 1830s the principal owners of the land were the Duke of Hamilton,[14] Sir Thomas Inglis Cochrane of Murdoston MP, the Right Honourable Dowager Lady Torphichen, and Robert Carrick Buchanan Esquire of Drumpellier.[6]
Shotts was known for its mining and ironworks. The Shotts Iron Company was first established in 1801 and provided employment for Shotts and the surrounding area for 150 years, and was eventually wound up in 1952.[15][16] These were developed when transport by canal and railway became possible.[17] By the late 1800s the ironworks had grown to the extent that the village slogan was "Shotts lights the world", as gas lamp standards made here were exported throughout the British Empire and beyond.[18] In the years leading up to World War II there were 22 coal mines in the area, but Northfield Colliery, the last of these, closed in the 1960s.
Geography
Blaeu's map[19] based on Pont's original[20] "Glasgow and the county of Lanark" map c.1596 depicting Schots (Shotts), Falas (Fauldhouse), Torbrecks (Tarbrax), Allentoun (Allanton) etc.
Shotts is south of the M8 in North Lanarkshire between Wishaw and Harthill. Historically the Shotts Iron Works were between Calderhead, source of the South Calder Water, and Stane.[21] Shotts parish was originally made up of five villages: Dykehead,[22] Calderside, Stane, Springhill and Torbothie; all growing up around the old coach roads between Glasgow and Edinburgh that expanded and merged during the 18th and 19th centuries following the growth in mining.[23]
Shotts has a number of sports facilitated in the local community. Shotts Golf Club, an 18-hole course founded in 1895, is to the North-East of the town.[24] On the first Saturday in June each year, Shotts hosts its own Highland Games in Hannah Park.[25]
HMP Shotts, a high security prison holding male prisoners with maximum security classification, is located between Shotts and Salsburgh. It opened in 1978 and provided a new source of employment after the closure of the mines.
The Henderson Theatre is a 147 seater black box theatre built in 1982 within the Shotts Community Education Centre.[28] It is named after Archibald James Henderson, a coal miner who later became a member of the Scottish National Theatre Society, the Scottish National Players and formed several local drama groups - the YMCA Players, Shotts Labour Party Drama Team, Shotts Miners' Welfare Players, Shotts Bertram Players and was active in Shotts Community Drama Association.[29]
Jim Rodger OBE, also known as 'Scoop' or 'the Jolly' - former pit worker and famous for being a football journalist[32][33] and “Scottish footballs ‘Mr Fixit’”. Renowned for facilitating player transfers and helping managers into jobs. Described by Alex Ferguson as his “mentor”.[34]
^ abcColvin, Reverend Walter L. (1845). "Parish of Bertram Shotts - Presbytery of Hamilton, Synod of Glasgow and Ayr". The New Statistical Account of Scotland - by the Ministers of the respective Parishes, under the superintendence of a committee of the Society for the benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clegy (1st ed.). William Blackwood and Sons. pp. 622 & 629 – via The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791-1845.
^Colvin, Walter L. (1845). The new statistical account of Scotland (Vol 6 ed.). Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons. pp. 624–635. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
