Leadhills
| Leadhills | |||
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| Coordinates | 55 ° 25 ′ N , 3 ° 46 ′ W | ||
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| administration | |||
| Post town | BIGGAR | ||
| ZIP code section | ML12 | ||
| prefix | 01659 | ||
| Part of the country | Scotland | ||
| Council area | South Lanarkshire | ||
| British Parliament | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | ||
| Scottish Parliament | Clydesdale | ||
Leadhills [ lɛdhɪls ] ( Engl. "Lead Hill") is a place of in the southwest of Scotland situated unitary authority of South Lanarkshire .
The village is, after Wanlockhead , the second highest village in Scotland at 395 meters above sea level. Leadshill is near the source of Glengonnar Water , a tributary of the Clyde .
There is a Masonic Lodge and a library in the village. The library is the UK's oldest public library . It was created when 23 miners founded the Leadhills Reading Society in 1741.
By 1939, the Elvanfoot – Wanlockhead branch line branched off from the Caledonian Railway in Elvanfoot . The Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway has operated a narrow-gauge railway on the route since 1986 .
Lead and silver have been mined in Wanlockhead and Leadhill for centuries , according to some scientists, since Roman times . Gold deposits were discovered during the reign of James IV . The quarrying provided work for 300 people and was abandoned in the 1930s as it was no longer profitable .
The minerals Lanarkite , Leadhillite , Susannite , Plattnerite , Scotlandite , Macphersonite , Chenite and Mattheddleit were first found in Leadhills.
The Scottish poet Allan Ramsay and William Symington , a Scottish steamship pioneer , were born in Leadhills. The Scottish mathematician James Stirling worked here for a mining company from 1737 until his death in 1770.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alec Livingstone, 2002, Minerals of Scotland , Edinburgh, National Museums of Scotland
