Wishaw

Wishaw Scots - pronounced "Wishae"


Population	28,565 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	NS795555
Council area	North Lanarkshire
Lieutenancy area	Lanarkshire
Constituent country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WISHAW
Postcode district	ML2
Dialling code	01698
Vehicle code	SA-SJ (Glasgow)
Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish
Scottish Parliament	Motherwell and Wishaw Central Scotland
UK Parliament	Motherwell and Wishaw
European Parliament	Scotland
List of places: UK • Scotland

Coordinates: 55°′″N 3°′″W / 55.773992, -3.918915

For the village in England, see Wishaw, Warwickshire

Wishaw (Scots Wishae) is a large town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located in the Clyde Valley, 15 miles south-east of Glasgow.

The main areas of Wishaw are: Cambusnethan, Coltness (East & West), Craigneuk, Gowkthrapple, Greenhead, Netherton, Pather and Waterloo. There are two adjoining villages: Overtown and Newmains.

Wishaw has long lived in the shadow of its bigger and better known neighbour, Motherwell, with which it formed the joint large burgh in 1920, the Burgh of Motherwell and Wishaw, until its dissolution when Scottish local authorities were restructured in 1975. The Motherwell and Wishaw constituency is represented in the UK Parliament by Frank Roy MP. In the Scottish Parliament the constituency is represented by Ex-First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell. In November 1996, the world's worst recorded outbreak of E.coli 0157 occurred in the town, in which 20 people died and around 200 were infected.[1]

History

The origin of the name is uncertain. One theory is that it derives from the Scots for "Wicket gate in the wood", and that it used to be called Wygateshaw. An alternative theory is that it was originally Viashaw, meaning way or road through the wood. Yet another theory is that the name derives from "Wee Shaw", meaning small wood.

The town of Wishaw itself is not very old, but settlement in the area dates back to the 12th century with the establishment of a kirk dedicated to St. Nethan by a bend (Gaelic camus) in the Clyde. This became known as Cambusnethan, and was in use as a church until the Reformation. The site remains as a ruined burial ground, including an impressive mausoleum to Lord Belhaven, although the church is long gone.

The village itself was laid out in 1794, named Cambusnethan, and later renamed Wishawtown. On September 4 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.

People

Main Street, Wishaw

Wishaw's contributors to Scottish culture (popular or otherwise) include:

Jamie Joseph O'Neill, Reality TV star
John Higgins, world snooker champion
Jennifer O'Hare, Town Drunk
Stuart McMinn, politician
Enrico Cocozza, underground film-maker
Philip Hayton, famed spastic comedian
John Cleland, motor racing champion
The Jolt, 1970s pop group
Gemma Fulton, Ginger
Freddy Bence and Harry Bence, musical directors and big-band leaders
The Alexander Brothers, musicians and entertainers
Gordon Reid, actor
Marie McLaughlin, opera singer
Joe Baker, footballer
Sir Mark Gallagher, Pervert
Alan Fisher, journalist
Alex Wilson, footballer
Carla Leith, Rooter
John Gibson Lockhart, biographer and novelist
Thomas Winning, archbishop and cardinal
Tommy Gemmell, footballer
Michael Moore, politician
Erin Burns, Prek

Transport

Wishaw is served by the bus companies First, McKindless, Irvines, Stuart and Coakley. Wishaw also has a railway station on the Lanark to Glasgow line (Argyle Line), with a half hourly service to places such as Motherwell, Carluke, Hamilton, Cambuslang, Bellshill and Dalmuir. It also has a twice daily service to Edinburgh Waverley. The West Coast Main Line passes through town at 115mph, but no trains stop there, though the main Wishaw South station on the line closed almost 40 years ago. Wishaw is also on the A71 to Edinburgh, Livingston and Kilmarnock.

Shopping

Wishaw Countryside

The Main Street is the predominant shopping street in Wishaw. It is mainly made up of small retailers, although there are major stores. There are many supermarkets in the area, with a new Asda store currently being constructed in the eastern suburb of Newmains and opened in late September 2007. A new Tesco is also currently under construction adjacent to the railway station which should open in November 2007.

The original Safeway on Kirk Road is now a small mall and hosts various small stalls and a cafe.

The Caledonian Centre is an out-of-town shopping complex in Glasgow Road consisting of other national store chains, such as Argos and Homebase.

Sports and recreation

Leisure

The modern cinema closed over five years ago and the site has been purchest by supermarket Aldi. There is a large bingo hall in Kirk Road.

The local nightclub is called Baker Street.The commercial hotel has also recently opened an over 30s nightclub.

Pubs include Wishaw Malt, Kev's Hoose, Caledonian Bar, Harvies, Girdwoods, Sherlocks, Cross Keys, The Commercial, The West End and The Yard.

Sports facilities

Wishaw has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V. Wishaw also has a running track at the Wishaw Sports Centre. The sports centre also includes two swimming pools, badminton and martial arts facilities, and gymnastic equipment. There are also 5-aside astroturf pitches for football, and construction of a skatepark is planned.

Elsewhere, all-weather pitches and a children's play area behind Morrisons 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.

External links

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