Coltness
Coltness is the largest suburb of the town of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The 2001 census indicated a population of almost 4,500.
Lying to the north east of the town centre, Coltness is an area of mainly local authority built housing, divided into the two distinct areas of East and West Coltness. The two areas have their own unique identities and are separated by an area of woodland, with a deep gorge running through it.
East Coltness
The larger of the two areas of Coltness, is the eastern half. Following the path of the Coltness Road from its boundary with Cambusnethan, it proceeds almost level for approximately 1.5 miles before descending the steep South Calder Water valley where it meets the main artery of West Coltness, North Dryburgh Road. The housing estate of Branchalwood, built in the 1960s, contains detached and semi-detached bungalows and marks the boundary of East Coltness.
East Coltness has several bus services, with the local First Glasgow service number 240 running every 8 minutes from the suburb to Glasgow, as well as other operator's services to Motherwell(4,5,9,240), Hamilton(9), Cleland(9,248) and Coatbridge(248). There is a twice hourly express service to Glasgow(9X, X2).
Most schools in Coltness are in the eastern half, with the exception of St. Aidans RC High School, which straddles the woodland separating the two areas. Other schools include two non-denominational primary schools, Lammermoor and Coltness, a non-denominational secondary school, Coltness High and an RC primary school, St. Aidans Primary. Two churches are located in the eastern half, St. Marks Church of Scotland, and St. Aidans RC Church.
Commerce in the suburb is mainly located in the eastern side, with convenience stores located in housing areas, as well as hairdressers and takeaway foods. A petrol station, tool hire company, supermarket and public house are located on Coltness Road
West Coltness
This part of Coltness sits lower in the South Calder valley than its eastern counterparts. Following the path of North Dryburgh Road from its junction with Wishaw Main Street in the town centre for almost 2 miles along a hilly and winding course until it meets Coltness Road near the bridge over South Calder Water valley.
This quieter side of the suburb has little in the way of commercial facilities and public transport, but has recently become a rat run for motorists travelling to the M8 wishing to avoid the town centre.
It has only one hourly bus service (93) provided by Hutchison Coaches (Overtown) Ltd, on behalf of SPT, which connects it to East Coltness and Wishaw town centre only.
West Coltness is also the location of Monkey Island which is a landmark in the woodland area of coltness, wishaw(South Calder Woods). Monkey Island links the Wishaw Golf Course at Wishawhill with the woodland area of west side coltness providing a quick getaway for vandels that are often quick to steal the hole 17 flags and rake. Also the South Calder woods is also the domain of the infamous Wishaw Witch™, she is often heard by locals yet never seen besides this one time when 5 young boys from the coltness area once ventured though the woods during a fishing trip during the summer of 2002, the 5 boys named Steven Carswell, Nick Naughton, Simon Smith, Conor Hynds & Sandy Fraser have never been seen since. Reports sugest that the boys where abducted by the witch though this was never confirmed by the local authorities.
Origins
Designed in the 1950s by the then Motherwell and Wishaw Burgh Council to alleviate an acute housing shortage in the area, Coltness is just one of Wishaw's post-war planned housing developments, known locally as "schemes". The other areas of Gowkthrapple, Pather, West Crindledyke, Wishawhill and Greenhead, were all designed according to very different templates.
Coltness was designed as mix of both "back and front door" housing stock and low density flatted accommodation, with lots of open green space. It was built on land which had previously been marshy woodland with some minor mining operations.
Evidence of mining operations are still visible, including a small slag heap in a woodland just off Kilmeny Crescent and abandoned shafts in the woodland to the east of the suburb. None of this appears to have been taken into consideration when the current housing was built and some larger building are now suffering from minor structural problems.
History of Coltness Estate and Coltness House
The area was originally part of the extensive estates of the Sommervilles of Cambusnethan. Their lands, which stretched to the River Clyde were sold off to pay debts. Coltness was eventually purchased by Sir Walter Stewart in 1653. The 18th century economist James Denham-Steuart lived out his last years here. The estate remained with the Stewarts of Allanton and Coltness until 1840 when trustees sold it to the Houldsworths, a family of newly wealthy industrialists who lived in the imposing Coltness House until the 1950s. The mansion then became a residential school run by Barnardo's until the late 1970s when it was used briefly as a refugee resettlement centre for Vietnamese Boat People. The building lay empty for several years, was badly vandalised and severely damgaged in a fire. It was eventually demolished in the early 1980s to make way for the Woodlandsgate estate built by Barratt Homes. The former stables of Coltness House were retained and converted to flats.