Cleland: Mining History, Church and Routes

Historical traces in Cleland

Cleland can be explored through several specific themes: its coal-mining heritage, the building history of the Former Cleland Church of Scotland, and the story of singer Sydney Devine. There are also two routes to Cleland from different starting points. For planning purposes, these themes can be considered separately: the historical landmarks tell the stories of mining, the church and a local life; the routes differ primarily in their starting points, lengths and paths.

Cleland has a heritage shaped by coal mining. The first colliery in what is now Cleland was operating at Swinstie by 1763. The land on which present-day Cleland stands belonged to the Cleland family estate. Two distinct historical perspectives therefore come together: early mining at Swinstie and the history of ownership of the area where the present-day settlement stands. The colliery gives the mining heritage a specific location and time period; the estate’s history adds a perspective on the earlier landscape.

Church history and remembrance

The Former Cleland Church of Scotland was built in Cleland in 1877/78 and designed by H & D Barclay in a simple Gothic style. Its construction date and style offer two clues for placing the building in its historical context. In 1929, the Former Cleland Church of Scotland united with the original Free Church. The original Free Church was converted into the Colville Memorial Hall. This change of use applied to the original Free Church, not the Former Cleland Church of Scotland.

Sydney Devine is a personal point of connection. He was born in Cleland in January 1940 and attended school there as a boy. A plaque in his memory was unveiled in front of Cleland Primary School. His birth, schooling and the plaque link the person, the place and the school; unlike the church and mining history, this brings an individual’s life to the fore.

The timeline also distinguishes these themes: the first colliery at Swinstie was operating by 1763, the church was built in 1877/78, and the union with the original Free Church took place in 1929. Sydney Devine’s year of birth, 1940, provides a biographical connection to the 20th century. Taken together, these dates do not form a single line of development, but rather offer different ways of exploring Cleland’s history.

Railway station and routes to Cleland

Cleland railway station is on Bellshill Road in Cleland, North Lanarkshire. As station facilities can change, check their current status if needed.

Route N runs for 1.7 kilometres from Calder Bridge, north of Wishaw, to Cleland and follows Core Path 269. Route U runs for 2.9 kilometres from Carfin to Cleland and partly follows Core Path 268. Route N is therefore 1.2 kilometres shorter; the starting points and paths also differ. Check current path conditions before setting off.

Discover more destinations: Coatbridge, Kilsyth, Motherwell, Chryston, Bellshill, Shotts, Gartcosh, Holytown

For the broader travel overview: North Lanarkshire.